Getting paid on time · CONSTRUCTION AND HOME SERVICES
Getting paid on time · MANUFACTURING
Getting paid on time · PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Customers pay late, and you spend hours chasing.
‘The job’s finished and signed off. Then I spend weeks chasing the money.’
‘We deliver on time. Our customers don’t pay on time.’
‘Clients are quick to take the work and slow to pay the invoice.’
What Changes
The journey for getting paid on time in a construction and home services business. Today: 4 steps you do and 3 times it waits. With the fix: 1 and 0.
Construction and Home Services: “the snagging isn’t finished”
The journey for getting paid on time in a manufacturing business. Today: 4 steps you do and 3 times it waits. With the fix: 1 and 0.
Manufacturing: “the delivery was short”; “remittance matched”
The journey for getting paid on time in a professional services business. Today: 4 steps you do and 3 times it waits. With the fix: 1 and 0.
Professional Services: “they query the hours”; “client” for customer
Today
- You: Job done, you type the invoice that evening.
- Waiting: Due date passes and nobody notices.
- You: Weeks later you remember and send a text.
- Waiting: No reply.
- You: You ring, and they raise a query.
- You: You sort it out and chase again.
- Waiting: Paid [n] days late.
- Steps You Do
- 4
- Times It Waits
- 3
With the Fix
- Runs on its own: Job done, invoice goes from your accounts.
- Runs on its own: Reminder a few days before it’s due.
- Runs on its own: Reminders on the day and after.
- Runs on its own: Reply sorted: promised by [date].
- You: The query comes to you with a reply drafted, and you approve it.
- Runs on its own: Paid, and the morning list updates.
- Steps You Do
- 1
- Times It Waits
- 0
- Reminders go out before the due date, on it and after it. Polite at first, firmer as time passes.
- Customer replies are sorted: paid, promised a date, querying the invoice, disputing it or ignoring it.
- Anything out of the ordinary comes to you with a reply drafted.
- Each morning you get one list: who owes what, who has promised a date, who has gone quiet.
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.
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
What Chasing Costs You
An estimate. Before we start, we count your real numbers for a week.
What You Do
Approves the reminder wording once, then deals only with the disputes the list flags.
Illustrative example. Today: An aged debt report printed on [date]. [Customer]’s remittance for PO [n] doesn’t match any invoice. The person who chases is on the shop floor until [time]. After the fix: “Morning, [Name]. Owed: £[x] across [n] customers. Matched: [Customer] paid invoices [n] and [n]. Promised: [Customer], £[x] by [date]. Needs you: [Customer] says delivery note [n] was short by [quantity]. Reply drafted. [Approve]”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
What It Costs You
63% of manufacturers that give credit say late payment is a problem, and large manufacturers paid 21% of their suppliers’ invoices late in 2025.
Source: DBT LSBS 2024; DBT payment practices statistics 2025
What Chasing Costs You
An estimate. Before we start, we count your real numbers for a week.
What You Do
Sets the reminder wording and each customer’s terms, then handles only the queries the list flags.
Illustrative example. Today: An inbox search for invoice [n] finds three chasers from [Name], none answered. The chasing happens between client work, when someone remembers. After the fix: “Morning, [Name]. Owed: £[x] across [n] clients. Promised: [Client], £[x] by [date]. Gone quiet: [Client], [n] days. Needs you: [Client] has queried the hours on [matter]. Reply drafted with the time record attached. [Approve]”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
What It Costs You
67% of professional firms that give credit say late payment is a problem, the second-highest of any sector.
Source: DBT LSBS 2024
What Chasing Costs You
An estimate. Before we start, we count your real numbers for a week.
What You Do
Approves the wording and decides which client queries need a call from a partner.
What It Runs On
Your accounting system and your email.
Agreed Before We Start
How many days it takes you to get paid and how many hours a week go on chasing, from your own records, before and after.
What We Agree Before We Start
| Measure | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Days to get paid | ||
| Hours a week spent chasing |
We fill this in with you before any work starts.
Questions Owners Ask
- Will my customers know the reminders are automatic?
- They come from your own email address, in wording you approve before anything goes out. Anything out of the ordinary comes to you to answer.
- Does it chase a customer who has disputed the invoice?
- No. A disputed invoice is never chased automatically. It comes to you with a reply drafted.
- Which accounting systems does it work with?
- We plan around Xero, QuickBooks Online and Sage. If you use something else, tell us and we’ll say whether we can connect to it.
- Can the reminders add late-payment interest?
- Only if you choose to. Statutory late-payment interest applies only to invoices between businesses. You or your adviser decide whether to use it; we don’t give legal advice.
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