Illustrative example. Today: The accounts screen shows [n] invoices overdue, £[x] in total. A note on the phone: “Rang [Customer] [date]? Said end of month?” Nothing else is written down. After the fix: “Morning, [Name]. Owed: £[x] across [n] customers. Promised: [Customer], £[x] by [date]. Gone quiet: [Customer], [n] days, second reminder sent [date]. Needs you: [Customer] says the snagging on [job] isn’t finished. Reply drafted. [Approve]”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
01 · Getting paid on time
Customers pay late, and you spend hours chasing.
‘The job’s finished and signed off. Then I spend weeks chasing the money.’
What It Costs You
Late payment is a major obstacle for 36% of construction firms, and a business it hits spends 86 hours a year chasing.
Source: DBT LSBS 2024; London Economics for DBT/OSBC 2025
Illustrative example. Today: The customer’s thread: “Hi, any update on the [job]?” ([day]). “Hello?” ([day]). “Are you still coming on [day]?” No replies. After the fix: “Survey done. Your [materials] are ordered, due [date].” “Fitting booked for [date], [time slot].” “We’ve had to move you to [date] because [reason]. Sorry for the change.” “[Fitter] is on the way, about [n] minutes.” “All done. If anything’s not right, reply here.”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
02 · Keeping customers updated
Customers keep chasing you for updates.
‘Customers ring all day asking when we’re coming.’
What It Costs You
Among home-repair customers who had a problem, 21% faced substantial delays, and 16% of those who complained said the trader ignored them.
Source: Citizens Advice, Built to fail, July 2026
Illustrative example. Today: The phone shows [n] missed calls from numbers it doesn’t know. A website enquiry from [day] is still unread. After the fix: “[Name], [job] in [area]. Texted back at [time]. Survey booked for [date].” “[Name] wants a quote for [job]. Looks like good work. Flagged to you.” “[Name] hasn’t replied. Follow-up sent [date].”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
03 · Answering every enquiry
You miss calls and enquiries, and the work goes elsewhere.
‘I’m up a ladder when the phone rings, and by the time I ring back they’ve booked someone else.’
What It Costs You
What Missed Calls Cost You
An estimate. Before we start, we count your real numbers for a week.
Illustrative example. Today: A text: “About £[x] all in.” An extra agreed on site on [day], written down nowhere. The invoice says £[x]. After the fix: “Quote [n] for [job]: [lines], £[x]. Approved by [Customer] on [date] at [time].” “Change [n]: [extra work], £[x]. Approved [date].” “Invoice £[x]: quote plus approved changes.”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
04 · Agreeing the work and the price
Customers dispute what was agreed and what it cost.
‘We agree the price on site, and the argument starts when the bill goes out.’
What It Costs You
Only 41% of home-repair customers got a written quote, and those who ended up paying extra lost a median £750.
Source: Citizens Advice, Built to fail, July 2026
Illustrative example. Today: [Customer]’s third text about [problem], [n] days after the first. A review threatened. After the fix: “Open complaints: [n]. [Customer], [job]: acknowledged [date], visit booked [date], response due [date]. Draft ready. [Approve]”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
05 · Settling complaints early
Small complaints turn into big ones.
‘Someone’s unhappy with a job, it drags on, and it ends up all over the internet.’
What It Costs You
Of home-repair customers who acted on a problem, 16% said the trader ignored them and 20% said it took a long time to resolve.
Source: Citizens Advice, Built to fail, July 2026
Illustrative example. Today: A note on the van dashboard: “Go back to [Customer]. Leak?” No date, no photo. After the fix: “Callback [n]: [Customer], [job] from [date]. Photos received. Booked [date]. Fixed, confirmed by [Customer] on [date].” “Repeat fault: [product] at [n] addresses this year.” “Check-in sent to [Customer], [n] weeks after the job.”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
06 · Callbacks and aftercare
Jobs keep coming back.
‘Callbacks get written on the back of an invoice and forgotten.’
What It Costs You
Of home-repair customers with a problem, 18% said the job didn’t fix it and 19% paid extra to have it redone; 13% of double-glazing customers had problems after installation.
Source: Citizens Advice, Built to fail; Which?
Illustrative example. Today: [Name] types the week’s job sheets and materials list from texts and photos, [n] hours on a Sunday. After the fix: “Week of [date]: [n] job sheets drafted from bookings. Materials order for [supplier]: [n] lines, £[x]. [Approve]”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
07 · Taking repeat work off the team
Your team is stretched, and you’re covering the gaps.
‘Sunday nights go on job sheets and ordering materials.’
What It Costs You
Recruitment is a major obstacle for 44% of construction firms.
Source: DBT LSBS 2024
Your Problem Isn’t Here?
The problems on this page are the ones we see most often in construction and home services. Yours may be different, and that’s fine. Most fixes are found when an owner and someone who builds them sit down and go through how the work actually gets done. Tell us what’s costing you, and we’ll tell you straight whether we can fix it.
Read next
- Late payment: what you can claim and how to work it outIf another business pays you late, the law lets you add interest at 11.75% a year and a fixed sum of up to £100. Here is how to work it out.
- What a missed call costs a small businessNobody publishes a reliable UK figure for missed calls. Here is how to count yours in a week, and work out what they cost you in a year.
- AI is not a chat windowWhat the research says about AI in UK small businesses, why a chat window isn’t the answer and a one-line test for where AI pays.
Pick One Problem
Tell us which one. We’ll tell you whether we can fix it and how long it takes.