Spot It.
You did the work weeks ago, sent the invoice and you are still waiting. A few customers always pay late, and chasing them feels awkward. Meanwhile you are covering payroll and supplier bills out of your own pocket or a credit line. Receivables keep growing, and some invoices are old enough that you quietly wonder if you will ever see the money.
Sight It.
In our experience, slow payment is usually a process problem more than a customer problem. Payment terms are vague or never discussed up front. Invoices go out late, or with errors that give customers a reason to wait. Nobody owns collections, so follow-up happens only when cash gets tight. And customers learn quickly which vendors will wait without saying a word.
Solve It.
Tighten the path from finished work to cash in the bank:
- Send invoices the same day the work is done or delivered.
- Put clear payment terms in every quote and contract, and say them out loud at the start.
- Give one person ownership of collections with a weekly routine: a friendly reminder before the due date and a call right after it.
- Offer easy ways to pay, such as online payment or automatic bank transfer.
- Ask chronic late payers for a deposit or progress payments on new work.
Steady, polite follow-up gets paid faster than the occasional frustrated phone call.
Fixed it yourself? Great. Want help making it stick? Talk to a Troubleshooter.