Tradesman chasing for payment

[CharlesIsQueensHorcrux]

Hi - I had a tradesman in last week, finished Friday & invoiced Friday night with email and message. Since then has messaged another five times chasing me! By the way I wasn’t ignoring him I messaged back saying I was out but would deal. Is it me or is he unreasonable to chase me all weekend for an invoice issued on Friday night? I was happy with the work but not sure now I would use him again as I feel a bit ick like there’s a suggestion I wouldn’t pay or something. Aibu?

Making an assumption the request for prompt payment is down to cash flow issues.
Who cares how much income another has, it's none of your business.
Why are people comparing being a freelancer with construction?
What is professionalism, and what constitutes professional behavior?
If the person in your home generates a digital invoice and presents you with a card machine, would you refuse to pay?

I personally feel this is down to inverse snobbery, faux offense, and stubbornness.

Pay him. You should have done it on the Friday. Yabu. He done the job pay him

With some banks it is best to set up payee beforehand and pay a very small amount, DH bank doesn't let you send a large amount to a new payee but I believe mine does.

Receive invoice - pay according to terms of invoice - usually 28 days in my experience.
Agree with PP - sorting bills is a faff hence I do them all at the same time, once a week. Therefore I'd pay a 28 day invoice within 7 days usually which is entirely reasonable.
If you don't want the terms of the invoice then change them or ask for payment on completion of the job - that's also fine because I can just present my card to your card reader - much easier all round.

Read the OP's posts. You should have done it before posting. You might have discovered then that she paid before beginning this thread.

My DH is not unprofessional nor is he entitled or pushy, just sick and tired of ignorant customers (themselves entitled) who think they can pay as and when they feel like it.

If he buys 10 boilers plus any other parts or items he needs and then has to wait weeks or even months for payment how is he meant to organise his cash flow? That's a lot of money going out of his account and none going in

I do know some tradesmen who state "payment within 7 days" on their invoices but I certainly don't know of any who say 28 or 30 days. Why exactly should they wait that long?

That's sort of the nature of running a business, isn't it? Most businesses run on a 28 day payment terms basis and factor that into their stock control. You need to weigh that up with the dangers of putting customers off and attracting bad reviews by being too pushy about payment.

I still struggle slightly with the notion around here that some work has to be paid for immediately whilst it's perfectly satisfactory for other work to be paid weekly or monthly.

We had electrical work done and we got the invoice within a few days then had to pay within 14 days

I still struggle slightly with the notion around here that some work has to be paid for immediately whilst it's perfectly satisfactory for other work to be paid weekly or monthly.

Agree.

I'm all for paying invoices promptly and according to the terms.
I always do.

But why are some sole trades more deserving than others?

Most businesses do not run on a 28-day term some run on a 120-60-30-28-14-7-0-sale or no return etc.

Bad reviews, person company asked for prompt payment so you're going to leave a bad review.😂
The problem is posters have become so invested, and entrenched in this position the arguments are becoming more ridiculous with every post.

my husband has his own business in the trade industry. We except payment as soon as job is completed. That money to feed us, pay employees and get materials for the next job. He has every right to chase the money!!

The problem is posters have become so invested, and entrenched in this position the arguments are becoming more ridiculous with every post.

Hmm don't think so. No more or less invested or entrenched than you @Hrpuffnstuff1

But this MN where you need to be invested 💁‍♀️ by definition, to be contributing.

So really no "problem " just differing views.

my husband has his own business in the trade industry. We except payment as soon as job is completed. That money to feed us, pay employees and get materials for the next job. He has every right to chase the money!!

And I'm sure you make that clear at the outset. When you quote. 👍🏻

I do know some tradesmen who state "payment within 7 days" on their invoices but I certainly don't know of any who say 28 or 30 days. Why exactly should they wait that long?

Because that is standard business practice! In my experience many send a bill at the end of the month, with payment due 20th of the following month. It's always been than way. Their suppliers are usually billing on the same basis.

What are you on about?

I often go away for the weekend. I might have someone round to fix a boiler at 10am, but then I'd be on a Eurostar at 3pm on my way to France. I certainly wouldn't appreciate being sent an invoice which needed to be paid immediately on a Friday night.

Yes, I sometimes had to buy things to do a job and wait for the money. It's called normal life. I had a 'slush fund' where I put money from previous jobs to keep me going until the next clients paid me.

You sound like you're just making more excuses for people who pass on their issues to their customers.

If someone wants immediate payment, then they need to state that upfront and provide a means for immediate payment, like a card machine.

Otherwise, it's perfectly acceptable to assume that you have several weeks to pay, like every other business.

I get paid at the end of each month. What if I can't afford to pay a tradesman on the 25th of the month? Why are their needs greater than mine? I have to wait until the end of the month for my own invoices to be paid, but I need to take out a loan to pay Pete the plumber?

It's pure entitlement.

Only ridiculous when you misrepresent them. The point is that when you run a business you have to factor in the fact that you will have to buy stock for which you won't be repaid immediately. If you run a shop, for instance, you will have to pay for stock some of which won't ever get bought. If you run a GP's surgery, you will have to pay salaries, buy in equipment etc but for sure the NHS isn't going to pay you on a daily basis to cover those expenses. If you can't afford to do that, you don't have a good business model.

Manifestly I didn't say I would leave a bad review because I was asked for prompt payment. You don't help your argument by making things up.

I won't be paid for work I do today until next week. I am still waiting for payment for work I did on 1st June, and I have.the same wait every month because I'm paid monthly. So I struggle to understand why it's so dreadful for others not to have to wait a similar period.

Surely it depends on what sort of business you have?

DH has to pay for ALL his materials when he goes to buy them. None of the suppliers he uses bill for goods supplied.

There are two kinds of customers, high-maintenance and low-maintenance.
High-maintenance customers are not profitable.
The unappreciative customer is literally taking up space that an appreciative, loyal and profitable customer could be taking. The low-maintenance customers understand what they hired us to do, the transactional relationship is fast and easy, and profitable.

We are talking small businesses here, sole traders or tradesmen with maybe 1 or 2 employees. I don't know any that have a 28 day payment term.

I am talking about tradesmen I know - plumbers, electricians, gas engineers. All say 7 days or less on their invoices.

DH isn't pushy about payment but no way is he going to let a customer just decided to pay weeks after the work is finished

The convenience of banking apps, card payments and busy lives have made us lose sight of the basics.

Unless someone has decided to extend credit to you (which you will know about), your obligation is to pay for goods and services when they are fulfilled, and yes, it is your responsibility to be there and make time to do so. You need to ask for credit and not assume otherwise. As a consumer, B2B terms are not relevant, such as 30 days payments where they have agreed to these in advance.

Secondly, the method of payment on here is often assumed to be bank transfer. This again is not the default - a tradesman does not even have to have a bank account. Unless you have agreed in advance an alternative method, the only method is cash. You need to have the cash ready to pay - and this is any amount due. If you would like to pay another way, you should ask in advance whether it would be acceptable. No business has to accept cards, bank transfers, cheques, bitcoin, foreign currency, travellers cheques - unless you have confirmed an alternative you should have cash ready to pay before they leave and ensure someone is there to pay them.

Clearly for many it is convenient to extend payment terms and allow bank transfer, but given this convenience afforded to you I would expect on a Friday night payment to have been made either whilst they were there or within an hour - certainly the first thing you did after saying goodbye.

Clearly for many it is convenient to extend payment terms and allow bank transfer, but given this convenience afforded to you I would expect on a Friday night payment to have been made either whilst they were there or within an hour - certainly the first thing you did after saying goodbye.

That is all very well if the tradesman has the invoice ready or a method of giving you a proper receipt. But if they leave and don't send the invoice until 2-3 hours later, they can't expect anything different.

Surely it depends on what sort of business you have?
DH has to pay for ALL his materials when he goes to buy them. None of the suppliers he uses bill for goods supplied.

That's fair enough, but it sounds rather strange to me. If he is running a business then why do his suppliers not bill for the goods, that's the usual way of doing business.

@Turkey98 - who pays in cash these days? And, no matter what you say, in other parts of the world people send an invoice and most do not expect immediate payment. Nobody here expects to pay as soon as a service is provided, unless that is stated at the time (and it never has been to me).

Its usually businesses/tradesmen who don't have a good credit rating who have to pay for their materials upfront.

The credit facilities are for the business's benefit, not yours, as are any discounts.

Unless you have agreed in advance an alternative method, the only method is cash.
Sorry, but not legally, no. There has even been talk that cash payments may be stopped because of tradesmen "forgetting" to declare work for tax. A business has a right to require payment only by transfer or only in cash, but it is up to the business to inform the customer of their payment terms in advance. It is not assumed by most tradesmen that they will be paid in cash and many would be horrified, thinking that means you assume they are a tax dodger.