getting paid.

[Rick b]

How many of you guys struggle to get paid too?
It seems no matter how much I help or do a good job I still get very bad payers.
What do you do to combat it?
I've been a spark for 17 years and still can't get a grip on this.

 

[Megavolt]

After lots of bad payers. Last year I had a big shake up got T&C's made up. Decided that anything over £500 had to have terms signed and 30% deposit on conformation anything under payment on completion. This applies to all my domestic customers. All my commercial customer that are on a account now and have a strict 4 week terms. May loose the odd domestic customer though this but properly would of been one of the bad ones anyway. What I can say is I no longer have a over draft and the banks never looked so good. And I don't spend days on end chasing bad payers.

 

[Guitarist]

Totally agree Elrick. If someone gets funny about paying a % up-front on a large job, chances are they would have been trouble anyway.

 

[PEM]

I use a standard form of contract on largish jobs ( look at the federation of Master builders website). It's good plain English and clients seam to respect it. Anyone after an excel version which I have amended just ask.
Includes the "cooling off period document etc,etc).
This coupled with my LLB(Hons), etc works.

Regards

 

[Rick b]

Cheers guys.
I have t & c on the bottom of the invoice already but the bigger cash up front idea sounds good.
And cheers mdj I may start doing what you suggested too.
Need good cash flow!!
Thanks!

 

[grantr37]

it may depend on the quality of your work?
i suppose i,m going to get lynched now

spinning wet towel of fury.......whaaataaaeeeaoi

 

[odawire]

How many of you guys struggle to get paid too?
It seems no matter how much I help or do a good job I still get very bad payers.
What do you do to combat it?
I've been a spark for 17 years and still can't get a grip on this.

Have you tried putting his balls in a vice and repeatedly hitting it with a rubber mallet whilst smiling inanely? I always find the smugness drains away and the money is quickly forthcoming, ive had a couple of clients over the years that seem to like the power they have when the work is complete and they can make you wait for the money, interesting its always the private doctor living in a £3 million mansion that thinks hes being hard done by, ive never had anyone on a council estate try to knock me! They always paid eventually, and when they phoned me on a Sunday morning needing an emergency call out because of a big event in there 40 acre garden I politely tell them they need to "wait a couple of weeks". There's plenty of these people out there, if they do it once there not someone you want to work with but if you let them do it twice it becomes the norm and a weird master/servant relationship develops, you need to be tough with these people and word soon gets round that your not gonna tolerate it

 

[Guitarist]

It really boils down to how you let people treat you. You do a job, you get paid. Make that clear from the start, no excuses.

 

[Parker27]

Evening PEM

Please can you send me a copy of your amended excel version?

Regards

Parker27

 

[sparksburnout]

I have been self employed for 11 years in a related industry, for what it's worth, here are my suggestions:
1. Make sure you have proper T&C's and that your customer is aware of them, by referring to them on your quotes.
2. Ensure you state a reasonable time for payment to be made, mine are 30
3. If they don't/won't pay, warn them you will take them to court, this often works
4. If still no joy, google county court form N1, and get a copy. You are supposed to send it to the court, and pay the fee to start proceedings. However, I just fill it in as if I am going to send it, but just send it to the customer and tell them this is a copy of the one you are about to send to the county court to begin proceedings against them. Most will brick it at this one and cough up.
If they still don't then you have to make the choice of abandoning it or actually doing it, which can work out quite expensive with no guarantee that they will pay even if the court awards in your favour. ****e but that's life!

 

[vxwestie]

All I can say us good luck to those who require a deposit upfront, payment the day you finish etc etc, I think you'll struggle to build a successfully business. People pay when they want, simple as!
If you're paying your wholesalers over the counter as you collect gear, bigger fools you.... I'll use my credit and pay later.
even my most loyal customers would laugh in my face if I asked for money upfront or immediate payment and to be honest I'd be too embarrassed to!
its a pile of pants, but it's business!

 

[Badged01]

It's all about where you feel comfortable on the continuum line of payment! Great business men get paid very quickly, those going out of business get paid a lot, lot later ......

 

[vxwestie]

Disagree there .... Being good at business has nothing to do with being paid quickly, but has everything to do with survival. Run your business so you can survive the hard times, keep the customer base, keep the repeat work, keep the reputation.
Ive been self employed now for 20+ years, since I was 21. A large majority of the businesses I've seen come and go are the ones who are greedy, the ones who ask for money upfront, carry invoice books in the van, expect immediate payment and chase the customer when they don't.

 

[Badged01]

Cashflow is what you survive with, regardless of all the rest and if you aint getting paid to cover your outgoings and invest in opportunities it doesnt matter how good your business model is, you are only going one way! Unless of course you have a large overdraft facility or huge deposit of money somewhere to smooth out the cashflow -ve's ...

 

[joe.ninety]

Disagree there .... Being good at business has nothing to do with being paid quickly, but has everything to do with survival. Run your business so you can survive the hard times, keep the customer base, keep the repeat work, keep the reputation.
Ive been self employed now for 20+ years, since I was 21. A large majority of the businesses I've seen come and go are the ones who are greedy, the ones who ask for money upfront, carry invoice books in the van, expect immediate payment and chase the customer when they don't.

Whilst I understand what you are saying, I don't think it is being 'greedy' to simply expect to be paid for the work you have done. Pimlico Plumbers operate the way you describe, and seem to be doing very well indeed. Maybe they did not start out that way, but they certainly expect payment in full on completion now.
I understand that, shall we say 'strict' payment terms might dissuade some customers form choosing you, but at the end of the day, if they can't afford to pay at completion, what's to say they can afford it in 7, 14 or even 28 days time.
I'm actually thinking of getting one of those Paypal gadgets that let you take immediate payment via debit/credit card. If they wannt time to pay fine, they can stick it on a CC rather than make me wait.

Cheers

 

[amckay]

Personally I add 10% of the total job price to the invoice then I stipulate that if payment is received within 30days I will offer an early payment discount of 10%. Plus I only issue certs once payment is received. works well for me...