To expect to be paid for a job on completion.

[zombieplanmum]

DP has just done a job for someone. It is finished, to their satisfation. It was finished on Monday, signed off by building control on wednesday. We have NO money, our mortgage is overdue and we really need the money. DP has just sent a text as a gentle reminder to the client but im really annoyed - i wouldnt buy something and expect to just pay for it when i have time.

Whilst i realise that our financial situation is not the clients fault (well beyond the fact that we expected payment on wednesday really) and he is not to know that we are broke. I think it is rude, we have even had the text that said, thanks for a great job etc.

Why do people think they can have work done and then just pay later? This happens quite alot and i don't get it. I don't have work done becaues DP does it, but if i did, id expect to pay on completion.

Genuinely: AIBU? Or is this just the done thing? I didn't like having to remind the client to pay but really, they shouldn't put us in the situation where we have to. I need to go shopping but can't becaue we don't have the money. I have about £40 and thats it, i don't want to spend it obviously, in case something comes up.

Ok I thought I recognised your name and looked up your thread from the other day. I can see that your situation is really difficult and it must be causing you a world of stress. However, unless you give your clients some sort of explanation, they won't know how desperate you are. Tell them you need prompt payment.

The thing is, it is not like we are a big building company that can swallow this sort of thing, we don't have account with merchants so we have to pay up front for materials, to be fair the client has paid up front for some of them and we swallowed the rest becaues we were sure he would pay up without issue. Now we are late paying the mortgage so will incur a penalty. Its just such a difficult situation to be in. I am currently desperately looking for work, until i get a job, we can't afford to extrend credit to people.

Try not to stress too much, easier said than done I know.

If you haven't received payment by Tuesday I would send a text saying:

Hi, glad you're happy with the work. Any chance of quick payment, the merchants are badgering me . haha. Hate asking but you know how it is. Thanks.

BACS is usually three days. Sometimes quicker if same bank. Only a CHAPS payment is instant but attracts a fee and is not standard for paying invoices. If he didn't get the bill until he got home, he probably didn't instruct payment that night. Maybe he's posted a cheque.

It really has to be up to you or your husband to communicate the urgency for payment to your client. A gentle request wouldn't offend me.

Ineedthatfork - i think they will pay tbh, they said they would bacs yesterday and they haven't yet, im wondering if they have done and it will be in the account in three working days and if that is the case i don't know how the hell we will manage :( I have already had to borrow money from my mother. The last BACS they sent was instant but if it came from a different account it might not be. I wouldn't mind but i spent about £30 yesterday on bits and peices for DD at second hand uniform sale, gas and electric and i had a bottle of wine because the client told us he was going to pay, he now hasn't and im so upset because i should have held that money back.

It's shit being self employed isn't. If you can swallow your pride, just ask them what the deal is.

We have had lots of different building work done, and we have never paid after the event, as the people doing the work for us have stipulated either payment by check on completion - they dont leave our house without a cheque!
Or, we have paid in installments, 10% up front, 20 % after day 1, 20% after day 2, and the final 50% upon completion, for a 3 day job, for example.

I think you need to do the same.

There is also of course the issue of VAT? When you do your books, you risk that you will need to pay out vat before you have received your payment.

DP sent them a text today and said the BACs not gone through yet, but they haven't replied. So frustrating.

quint, we are not VAT registered, we dont earn anywhere near enough for that.

I am sorry, but reading back your replies, you seem very haphazard and disorganized with the book keeping and business side of your dhs work.

Do you blend your personal finances with your business finances?

Do you take from company money or your own personal money to pay for materials? Does that not get extremely confusing? How do you account for vat and expenditure and income in this way?

ah, ok scrap that.

30 days is standard although big businesses ignore that ime

I chase on the 30th day

Or if we're skint I email a week before saying when payment is due and asking for a payment date.

Its because it was all done so friendly that has caused the problem, if its a client we don't "know" i would have stipulated on the invoice/estimate, at some point! that the balance would be due on completion. To be fair 90% of our clients fall over themselves to pay once the job is finished.

We did a job for someone once who was an architect, we fitted an ikea kitchen, she wanted to hold a 20% retention for a YEAR!! lmao - i had to gently remind her that we aren't WIMPY HOMES we are not even a we, its just my DP who has a family to support. Fortunately she paid up.

of course i understand totally if this was a huge job, but it really wasn't this was a two day job (spread over a week because it was so many miles away but we did it because the clients parents wanted us to do it because they trust us to do a good job, which we did).

Sorry OP --it does sound like you have it tough - but maybe agree about being more proactive with the invoice. And if I appeared arsey it is because this thread had touched a raw nerve. My builder's wife recently got really arsey with me because an invoice she emailed to me at 2pm on a Monday was not in her account by 9am on the Tuesday. It was for 5ks worth of windows. They needed to pay upon delivery. They knew when the windows were coming. I did not know the payment terms for the windows. If she had invoice me the week before she would have had the money to pay for the windows. It was not my fault they had no money upfront to pay on the Monday. I actually had paid the invoice immediately - but do you know what, I do not have 5k sitting in my current account. The money cleared their account by 9am Wednesday. This was the fastest I could do it. They had to put the windows on their credit card (apparently). Not. My. Fault.

We are not disorganised, we are broke - we live hand to mouth, that does not mean that we don't do a good job and don't deserve payment. We don't do VAT because we don't earn enough money.

But surely you knew you were having the work done? Why did you not have the money ready? It works both ways.

I don't think anyone thinks you do not deserve payment. But I am not sure how realistic absolutely immediate payment is unless you make it very clear. In this instance send the invoice on the Monday stating payment expected upon sign off by Building Control. Then they know in advance the amount so on the Weds they have the money ready to go?

OP, sounds tough atm

Chances are though he has paid the BACS like he said, but it will not show up until the Monday after 9am.

The bank will only show what is coming out on the Monday as already debited.

all builders we have had in so far charge a 10% of quote before starting, 50 when starting and the last 40 when finished to satisfaction. has worked well for us so far and gives the builder the incentive to work well and the client to pay.

Thing is, if I came home from work on Wednesday to the bill, I might get the online transfer done that night, but depending on how the evening went, I might pay it first thing Thursday morning - if you bank with the same bank as me, it would hit your account Thursday or Friday, if you were with a different bank, it would probably be Monday/Tuesday before it hit your account. Do'nt assume they haven't done the online transfer (if they had handed your DH a check on Wednesday, it still would take until Monday to clear if he'd paid it in Wednesday night)

For future, all your invoices should be the official type and state what your deadlines for payment are, but be realisic about how long it will take someone to pay.

Mousey, we try not to charge any money upfront or upon starting unless the materials are really expensive and we don't have the money to pay. All we ask is that the job is paid for on completion. We don't do the bigger jobs as its only DP, so jobs no longer then a week or two. We aren't disorganised, we have had a very slow month so ended up relying on this job and of course it turns out to be one where the client decides not to pay, any other time i would have waited at least a week before reminding them. I think it is pants because now we have been put ina position where we pretty much having to go cap in hand for the money, its not a very nice feeling i can tell you. I don't want to have to hassle the guy i really really don't but surely an ounce of common sense would tell these people that we really can't afford to wait.

I jsut cant do this anymore, i got rejected for a job interview on wednesday, i spent two days preparing for it, i really needed the job, had i not been preparing for the interview i might have been a bit more on the ball about the invoice instead of leaving it to DP to leave one of his handwritten jobbies. I have just had a row with DP on the phone because i think he needs to ring the client and not text him, you can ignore a text or not check it until later, but if hte phone rings you tend to answer and he could ask the client what the situation is. Because right now im sat here with no money, no idea of when we are going to get any and a tin of tuna to make dinner with. I have well and truly had enough.

Dontmindifido - i know payments take a period of time to go through it very much varies on which accounts people have. All our payments tend to be either BACs or cash as that is what the clients seem to want to do. People don't seem to want to write cheques anymore.

Its the not knowing that is killing me, is there a problem? if so what? i can't contact the client myself as only DP has dealt with it so im relying on him to do things, but he is hiding behind texts

OP - be aware the client might have already thought they have paid, if they have done an online transfer, it will be showing as having left their account even if it's not hit yours yet. That doesn't help you having no food in, but they will have paid as soon as they can. Unless you are paid in cash, you're unlikely to get money the same day as you give the bill.

sorry, it sounds like a tough time.