To think that if you get an invoice you dont NEED to pay it immediately?

The mechanic has shown good faith in letting you take the car before he had worked out what you owed him. He may be behind with his paperwork because he’s busy getting people like you back on the road.

I’m amazed that you’re even thinking about delaying paying him. You have savings, use them and set a reminder to repay yourself on payday.

It depends on the terms on the invoice... as long as they were communicated when the contract was formed.

Vendors can't just stick a 1 working day payment due date on an invoice and expect customers to stick to it if they weren't informed of the T&C's.
I found that I often receive ridiculous invoices with very short payments due date (yet as for OP it took ages to get the invoice) coming out of nowhere. I ignore it and pay within 2 weeks, usually when my wages come in.

@Doteycat but she knew the bill was coming for 4 weeks and hadn't made provision?

I wonder why not?

Because she didn't have the money and was please that the invoice did t arrive for four weld and can now say "next Wednesday"?

Odd!

Could you pay it on a credit card? It will then take a couple of weeks for that bill to come through and you can clear it straight away.

I set mine up to collect the full balance by direct debit but it can be handy in situations like this where you don't want to take out of savings but need another pay day.

This is what I would do.

Poor accounting.
You cannot get grace on an invoice you havent received.
And op didnt get it for 4 weeks. Thats not up to her to compensate for.

@Doteycat what is it then?

I'd pay a mechanic immediately.

Its not grace.

You pay immediately. Yabu if you don't.

You've had four weeks grace and want more??

I'm a sole trader, and I always issue my invoices once a month. I don't write a due date on most invoices (except occasionally if I know someone is a slow payer). Generally about 40-50% of people pay within 3 days and most others pay within the first 10-15 days. But I give them 30 days before following up.

A few very loyal clients pay all their invoices once per month, so I only get their payment 20-25 days after I send the invoice. It doesn't bother me, as long as I know they're honest and will pay.

But if you're not sure, maybe acknowledge that you got the invoice and let them know the day you intend to pay. Some people have done this if they had a cashflow issue like this, and it always makes a good impression on me.

He took 4 weeks to issue it.
Thats not 'grace'.
Thats poor bookkeeping and accounting.
I would pay him when it suited me, which is wednesday for the OP.
His cashflow and crappy accounts are not my problem.
I run a business and i know if im late issueing an invoice for any reason, then my waiting period starts from date of issue.

I always pay my suppliers/sub contractors as soon as I receive their invoice. By doing so we have a great working relationship and I know that if I'm desperate for their help with projects I'm given priority over people who pay them slowly.

So I guess I'm saying it depends on if you're going to use this mechanic again. Yes, he's been slow to send you his invoice but shouldn't you have had the money ready if he'd invoiced immediately after he'd done the work?

I process and pay a fair amount of invoices (family business)

I do try and pay asap, if I can, as it’s easier for me, and it’s good to have a good reputation for prompt payment. However as long as it’s paid within the time frame on the invoice (most seem to be 30 days) then it’s all good. So yes I will consider our own cash flow when I set up payments.

Of course we like it best when people pay our invoices asap, but again as long as it’s within the due date then we’re happy

Does it say "due now" or "due in X days"?

Because that's your answer. Look at the invoice and you'll know how long you have to pay it.

An invoice isn't a standard "pay within" thing, it's a request for payment by a certain point in time. So read it and do what it says.

I do pay promptly, but it does piss me off if I wait weeks for an invoice then get a load of chasing messages if I don't pay within the day!

I waited two weeks for a company to invoice me for a part, I had paid the initial quoted invoice the day it arrived, but this part was extra and was sent out a few days later.

I saw the email yesterday, came to sort it today and theres another 'oi, reminder!' email already. That does wind me up a bit!

We always pay our mechanic when we collect the car. It’s a very busy small garage and they’re excellent.

In your shoes, I’d pay him asap because if you have a car emergency, you want him to prioritise your car, not think, ‘oh they can wait ‘cos they kept me waiting for payment last time’.

Depends on the business.

I am a private tutor and invoice before each lesson, if the invoice isn’t paid in advance then the student doesn’t get their lesson. So yes, I expect invoices to be paid immediately. I’ve had situations in the past where I have been chasing money, or ended up with people accruing large debts. Nobody has ever complained since I’ve implemented this system.

U have had 4 weeks grace. Pay it immediately

I don't get what difference the waiting for the invoice makes.

You could always have put something aside to cover it to prevent dipping into savings or having to wait until you were paid.

It may of took 4 weeks for the invoice but you now have the invoice so pay it. You have money in savings so use that to pay. Like you say it’s not the mechanics fault if you don’t put the money back into savings, that’s for you to sort out. The mechanic has done the work so just pay for it

We had some work done in the bathroom - tradesman left at 6pm, emailed invoice by 6:30pm. Fine. I then had two chase up texts by 9:30pm that same evening (Friday - knackered, thought I'd deal with it in the morning, responded to say as much.) Another three had arrived by 10am on Saturday.

I'm an advocate for paying asap, but that pissed me off to be honest. 5 chase up texts before 24 hours had passed?!

Our mechanic has 30 days end of month terms.

Assuming the invoice was posted or emailed then it could take several days to arrive/check my email. I’d expect at least a week to pay for most invoices like that.

Didn’t they tell you upon collection of the car? I understand if they didn’t invoice you but they didn’t tell you the cost either? Don’t use that mechanic again!