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

[Hundredthmillionthdiet]

Context : used a new mechanic to repair car who issues invoices. Its taken 4 weeks to get the invoice and I've said to OH we can pay it when we get paid on Wednesday. OH wants to pay it now out savings , I'd rather not as more often than not the money doesn't get replaced (that's our issue not mechanics')

I'm not disputing paying it - of course not. Just opinions. Usually invoices will say pay withing x number of days which I've asked him to double check. Just wondering what's reasonable, as I'm sure there will be times cars need fixed etc and people to have the money immediately to hand.

Pay the invoice with your savings, today, then repay your savings on payday.

Just pay it and put the money back on payday. Surely you can manage that?

It seems I might have meant no, apologies.
(I suppose being ill isn't really an excuse for causing confusion......but that's all I have....)

It depends on the terms.

My plumber asks for 7 days, I usually pay within 24hrs of receipt. As a sole trader he needs it.

Our huge vet hospital which bleeds me dry (elderly equine), their terms are 30 days from invoice and I pay them when it suits me within that time. Never late but I do often wait until payday.

I probably wasn't completely clear tbf, but we are on the same page :)

What do the invoice terms say?

The terms should be on the invoice.

Also any decent mechanic would know the time it takes. They cannot charge more for the labour hours than the job is expected to take. They have system's that will state. So they should have given the maximum price so you'd have a ball park figure.
For example. If a CMax clutch states 5.6hours labour they can only charge that. If they for example took 8 hours they can't charge 8 hours only 5.6 plus the parts. The mechanic may only take 4 hours and charge 4 hours or they can take 4 hours and still charge the 5.6 max.
So i find it hard to believe you wouldn't have had a quote prior. So you can set money aside.

I’d pay immediately in the hood he remembers my prompt payment and in future schedules in any future work quickly.

This used to be the norm, but I've found over the last couple of years, that when I pick the car up the mechanics tell me that they'll invoice me later. That's two different local garages that I've used.

I'd rather pay straight away, but it seems that with various online invoicing and general small business financial sites becoming available, garages have moved from handwritten billing available straight away, to end of the day/week/month bill management.

I work in accounts and always pay on receipt or to the terms on the invoice unless there is a dispute with service/ goods/ costs etc.

Plenty of small traders are not great at paperwork but still need the cashflow.

What are the payment terms? You follow those.

4 weeks is nothing!

I got one in March for work the electrician had done for me 6 months earlier!

Some really are not great at the paperwork ( and yes I had reminded them I hadn't had the bill!)

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!

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.

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?!

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

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.

U have had 4 weeks grace. Pay it immediately

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.

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’.

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!

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 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

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?