Does “pay by cash” mean actual banknotes?

[PanettoneMoly]

Tradesman coming round to do some work. Has asked if we can pay “cash”. Now, I have asked him what exact method he means but he’s notoriously rubbish at communication so, to avoid being caught unawares in case he ignores my message, does cash typically mean actual cash (a number of trips to the ATM) or something like a direct bank transfer?

He means bank notes

Yes cash but make sure you get a receipt

cash means notes or coins.
Get a receipt - write a receipt on nice piece of paper and make him sign and date it.

Banknotes.

Ask for a receipt, if it’s any old bit of paper signed and dated it should be easy enough. Something more formal might work out rather expensive.

With a tradesman who comes to your house, cash means banknotes (chances are he’s fiddling the tax). With a purchase such as for a car or house it means no loan and a bank transfer is expected.

Don't pay him all of it upfront, pay upfront for the materials and pay the balance when the job is completed to your satisfaction.

Notes and it should be 20% cheaper! He's avoiding VAT

it means actual notes.

And ignore those saying he’s fiddling his books there are a number of reasons tradesman ask for cash not least because chasing invoice payment be a full time time job and can make cash flow problematic. Plus VAT is only payable when a business or sole trader turns over 85k a year. So yes some tradespeople will insist on cash to fiddle books but the way it perpetuated on here you’d think it was every tradesman

I’m tired so excuse my ignorance but what else would it mean?

There's only one reason why a tradesman wants cash abs that's to fiddle the tax man

If a tradesman asks, it means they’re not declaring all of their income, so that they pay less income tax. Nearly allthe tradesmen I’ve hired have given me a wink/cheeky grin and offered me a discount if I pay in cash. (One later got very sad when he tried to buy a house and the bank would only lend against his official income not his real income which was much higher!)

Sometimes house/car salespeople ask if you are a cash buyer but they just mean one who doesn’t need a loan.

Yep, paper cash to avoid the VAT.

It can also be a way to avoid bank charges as most business accounts charge a fee for transactions in and out.

or, they could be well in the shit with their bank and they don’t want the bank to swallow up the cash to offset what its owed

If you 'pay cash' for a large purchase such as a car or house, it means money directly out of your bank account without a loan or mortgage. I think the OP thought the tradesman might be meaning this.

Bloody hell, paying cash isn't illegal. Why is that trotted out every time on here.
Its usually clients who want to pay cash to avoid paying vat not the tradesman

No, it doesn't necessarily mean that.

@treesandweeds your statement is just wrong. Making blanket statements like that just makes it easier to prove you wrong.

SOME businesses and tradesman will use cash in hand as a way to conceal cash flow for tax avoidance.

But a lot of small businesses and independent tradesmen struggle with clients delaying payment or just not paying and not have the resource to chase or cash flow to do without. I’ve got a few who I’ve used (doing a lot of work in house) and on the first job insist on cash upfront but after than will accept bank transfer. They will provide receipts and written comms of pricing. Not dodgy at all just sensible.

Cash means…cash.

It’s not illegal or dodgy to pay in cash

only if you’re aware they’re doing it to avoid VAT. Eg. I wouldn’t if they said they’d give you a 20% discount for paying in cash, or told you they weren’t putting it through the books.

But otherwise, if you don’t mind (I normally ask to pay by bank transfer as it’s more convenient), then it’s fine as long as you get a receipt and aren’t paying everything upfront before work has taken place.

Thete is no difference waiting for payment in cash or waiting for a bank transfer. A tradesman can delay starting work until money is paid either way. In fact I’d argue for most people the delay will be longer with cash payments as Most people don’t carry a lot of cash and so will have to make a trip to the bank or ATM whereas a bank transfer can be done immediately with their phone.
Then they can buy materials immediately as they don’t pay cash for them either if they are not trying to avoid money coming in and out of their account. So no, I don’t accept that reason as a reason for tradesman wanting cash.

Thanks everyone, he’s sent an invoice for the deposit (presumably to buy materials etc) and has asked cash for the balance at the end of the job so I’m going to be magnanimous and assume that he’s just tired of chasing up invoice payment after the fact. Off for the first of many trips to the ATM, here’s hoping I don’t get mugged

You can ring the bank and get the ATM allowance increased so you only have to make one trip. I do it every time I pay my decorator.

You know you can't tell him you'd prefer to pay by transfer through, right? If you're this concerned about the inconvenience, it's an easy solution.

Nowadays when so many people have bank transfer on their phone it can be just as quick as cash.

Dh asks people to "pay cash" at the end of a job just because he is older and it is a habit/easier to explain. Drives me nuts as he thencomplains he has to bank it.

Customers do ask if they can get a discount for cash but he says no, it is not a tax dodge he does it to get paid promptly, as he hates chasing payments. He would be happier with customers doing a bank transfer while he is still there, saves a trip to bank, but for some reason feels awkward asking them to do it and too often they promise to transfer that night, keep "forgetting" and it is back to chasing payments.