Every trade has the same story. The job went fine, the customer was happy, you shook hands and left. Six weeks later you’re sending your fourth text about an invoice while your own suppliers want paying.

Here’s the uncomfortable bit: most late payments aren’t caused by bad customers. They’re caused by a vague agreement made before the work started, followed by an invoice that gave someone an easy reason to sit on it. Getting paid is a system you set up once and run on every job — not something you hope goes well.

General guidance, not legal advice — for your rights on late payment and the current statutory rules, check gov.uk or take professional advice.

Agree the money before you start

Nearly every payment argument traces back to something nobody said out loud. Before a tool comes off the van, the customer should already know four things in writing:

The total price and whether it’s a fixed quote or an estimate that can move (the difference matters more than people think).
When money is due — deposit, any stage payments, and the final balance.
How to pay you — bank transfer, card, whatever you take. Not “we’ll sort it at the end.”
What happens if the job changes — extras get priced and agreed before they’re done, not added as a surprise at the end.

Put it on the quote, not in a separate conversation. When the customer accepts the quote, they’ve accepted the payment terms with it — and you’ve got a record.

Deposits and stage payments

A deposit does two jobs: it covers your materials outlay, and it tells you the customer is serious. A common shape for a domestic job is a deposit up front to cover materials, then the balance on completion. On anything running more than a week or two, add stage payments — end of first fix, end of tiling, whatever the natural milestones are.

The principle: never be more out of pocket than you can afford to lose. If you’re funding thousands in materials and three weeks of labour before you see a penny, you’re acting as the customer’s bank on terms you’d never agree to.

For commercial and landlord work, expect to be asked for payment terms. Shorter is better — the norm you set is the norm you’ll live with.

Write an invoice nobody can stall on

Half of all late payments are administrative. Wrong reference, wrong address, missing detail, and it sits in a pile while nobody tells you. A complete invoice removes the excuse.

Every invoice should carry:

Item	Why it matters
Unique invoice number and date	So it can be tracked, chased and matched to a payment
Your business name, address and contact	And your VAT number if you’re registered
Customer’s name and billing address	For a company, the correct legal entity — not the site address
Their reference or PO number	On commercial work, missing this is the single most common stall
Clear description of the work done	Matching the quote’s line items, so it reconciles at a glance
Amounts, VAT shown separately, total due	No ambiguity about what’s owed
Deposit or stage payments already received	Show the balance, not the gross figure
The due date, as an actual date	”Payment due 14 August”, not “14 days”
Full payment details	Sort code, account number, reference to quote

The due date point is worth dwelling on. “Net 14” means nothing to a homeowner and gets rounded up by an accounts department. A real date lands as a deadline.

If you itemised the quote properly, the invoice writes itself — the lines already match what the customer agreed to. That’s one of the quiet benefits of quoting line by line rather than as a lump sum.

Invoice the day you finish

The biggest single improvement most trades can make costs nothing: send the invoice immediately. Same day, ideally before you’ve left the street.

Payment clocks only start when the invoice arrives. Sit on it for a fortnight because you hate paperwork, and you’ve added a fortnight to your own wait — and let the goodwill of a job well done go cold. The customer is never more willing to pay than the moment they’re standing in their finished bathroom.

Make paying you effortless

People pay the invoice that’s easiest to pay. Remove every bit of friction:

Put bank details on the invoice itself, not in a separate message.
Send it where they’ll see it. Email for the record, plus a short text saying it’s sent.
Offer a card option if you can. Some customers will pay in thirty seconds on a card and take three weeks to get round to a transfer.
Use a sensible reference — the invoice number, not “Job”.
Send a PDF, not a photo of a handwritten docket. It’s harder to argue with something that looks like a real business document.

Presentation genuinely affects payment speed. A tidy, branded PDF gets processed; a scrawled note gets questioned.

The chase sequence

Assume you’ll have to chase sometimes, and have a routine so it doesn’t depend on your mood. Polite and predictable beats angry and sporadic.

1. The day before it’s due — a friendly reminder.

Hi [Name], just a quick note that invoice [number] for [the job] is due tomorrow. Details are on the invoice — any problems, give me a shout.

2. A few days overdue — assume it’s an oversight.

Hi [Name], hope you’re well. Invoice [number] was due on [date] and I don’t think it’s landed yet — could you check it’s gone through? Happy to resend if it’s easier.

3. A week or two overdue — firmer, still professional.

Hi [Name], invoice [number] is now [x] days overdue. Could you let me know when I can expect payment, or if there’s an issue with the invoice I can sort out? I’d rather clear it up quickly than let it drag.

4. Still nothing — pick up the phone.

Email is easy to ignore; a call isn’t. Stay calm, ask directly when it will be paid, get a specific date, and confirm what was agreed by email afterwards so there’s a record.

5. Final notice, then escalate.

State clearly that this is your final reminder before you take it further, and give a deadline. From there your options are a formal letter before action, statutory interest and recovery costs where you’re entitled to them, or the small claims process. Rules and rates change — check gov.uk for what currently applies to your situation, and take advice on anything substantial.

Two rules throughout: never let it go quiet, and never get abusive. Silence reads as “he’s not that bothered.” Losing your temper hands them a grievance to hide behind and can cost you if it ever ends up in front of anyone.

When there’s a dispute

If a customer says they’re withholding payment over a snag, deal with it fast and separately. Fix what’s genuinely yours to fix, then invoice the rest. Where the complaint is really about scope — they expected something you never quoted for — go back to the written quote. Which is exactly why the scope needs to be specific before you start, and why pushback is easier to handle when it’s about value rather than a vague number.

Track what’s owed

You cannot chase what you can’t see. Keep one list of every invoice: number, customer, amount, date sent, date due, date paid. A spreadsheet is fine. Look at it every week, on the same day, and chase anything overdue that morning.

Ten minutes a week is the difference between knowing your position and finding out you’re three grand light when a supplier bill bounces. The same weekly discipline works for quotes waiting on an answer — same habit, different column.

The takeaway

Getting paid on time isn’t about being tough. It’s about being clear early and organised after: agree the terms in writing before you start, take a deposit that covers your outlay, invoice the day you finish with every detail on it, make paying you effortless, and run the same polite chase sequence every time.

Do those five things on every job and most of your late payments disappear. The handful left over get chased calmly, in order, until the money lands.

Queezy turns an accepted quote into a clean, branded record of exactly what was agreed and what’s owed — so the awkward conversations mostly don’t happen. Join the waiting list to get early access.

How to Get Paid on Time (Invoicing for Tradespeople)