I recently had a job where the customer tried to pay in various formats and payment was never able to go through. I ended up leaving and hoping they would pay at a later date. Thankfully they did pay a few days later. How do others go about this potential issue?
I have thought it may be a good idea to require a small deposit to make sure payment is able to be made before the job is started.
if material is involved, I always get 50% down on jobs under $15K and a variation of 3 payments if it's more than $15k so you aren't strapped to finish the job before you starve.
If it's just labor, I get 10-30% down to hold the schedule and commit to their project. Then 40-50% at a certain stage and remainder when complete.
Do 10% non-refundable up front (if local law allows). This helps you cover the work you put in on acquisition, pricing and communication.
In my experience, anyone that has an issue with that will end up becoming a headache down the road. Quality clients pay it without thinking twice.
Like my old man always said: "It's like an ice cream shop; you gimme the money, then I give you the ice cream cone." He's a retired general contractor, but he's always been enamored with the ice cream shop business model XD
We require 3 payments on larger jobs. 30% down, 40% first day of job and the remaining 30% at completion of job. It works for us and no issues with our customers.
