How to get paid faster as a contractor
Most late payments were set up on day one. Seven habits that move the money from "when I get to it" to the same week.
A customer who pays late is usually not a bad customer. They are a customer who was never told exactly when and how to pay, and then got busy. Every one of these habits is about removing a decision between the finished job and the money.
1. Deposit at the moment they say yes
If accepting the estimate and paying the deposit are two separate steps, the deposit arrives days later or not at all. Put the deposit on the estimate and let them pay it as they accept. The job starts funded, and a customer who has paid a deposit does not go quiet later. How much to ask for.
2. Payment terms on the estimate, in one line
"$700 at signing, balance on completion." That line, on the document they accepted, is the whole conversation about money. Without it, the balance is a negotiation at the end of the job, when you have the least leverage.
3. Invoice the day the job ends, not the week
The customer is happiest the hour you finish. Every day you wait, the finished job becomes normal and the invoice becomes a bill. Send it from the driveway. If your estimate was written properly, the invoice is the same document with the balance due on it.
4. Give them a way to pay from their phone
A check requires a checkbook, a stamp, and a trip. A card link requires a thumb. Card fees cost about 3 percent. Chasing a check for three weeks costs more than that in your time, and some customers simply pay what is easy. Keep cash, check, Venmo and Zelle as options, and add the card link for the ones who will use it.
5. Say what is due, not what they owe
"Balance of $1,700 is due today, here is the link" gets paid. "Let me know when you want to settle up" does not. State the amount, the date, and the way to pay, every time.
6. One reminder on day 3, one on day 7
Then stop. A short, polite reminder with the amount and the link, twice, is normal and expected. More than that reads as a problem. If a tool sends them for you, you never have to be the one who nags.
7. Progress payments on anything over a week
A $20,000 job with the balance due at the end means you are the bank for a month. Deposit, a payment at the halfway point, balance on completion. Put the schedule on the estimate so it is agreed before you start, not asked for mid-job.
BidWriter Pro collects the deposit when the customer signs, requests the balance with one tap, sends the day-3 and day-7 reminders, and makes the invoice PDF. Estimate vs invoice, if the difference is fuzzy.
Free, no account: job price calculator, markup vs margin, hourly rate, and 84 sample estimates.
All guides · How much deposit should a contractor ask for? · Estimate vs invoice: what to send and when · How much does Jobber cost in 2026? · How to write a bid that gets signed · Estimate vs quote vs proposal: which one should you send? · How much does Housecall Pro cost in 2026? · How much does Joist cost in 2026? · How to follow up on an estimate without being pushy · Why customers don't respond to your estimates · What to include in a contractor estimate · How to send an estimate by text message · How to write a change order that gets accepted the same day · How to price a job: a method you can do on your phone · Good, better, best: how to put options on an estimate · Should you charge for estimates? · How to write the warranty line on an estimate · How to ask a customer for a review without it feeling like a form letter · When a customer asks for a discount · How to write a scope of work that stops arguments · How to write an estimate on your phone, in the driveway · Eight estimate mistakes that lose jobs · The best estimating apps for small contractors, with what they cost