How to Get Paid Faster: Credit Control for Building Contractors

"We're always chasing money." It's the line we hear more than almost any other from building contractors. You can be busy, profitable and well-run and still spend half of Friday afternoon ringing people for money you earned weeks ago. It's exhausting, and it's largely fixable.

Getting paid on time isn't luck, and it isn't about being pushy. It's a system. Here's how to build one that gets the money in faster and takes the stress out of it.

Late payment is partly the trade, and partly avoidable

Construction has a genuine late-payment culture; some of it you can't change. But a surprising amount of slow payment is self-inflicted, vague paperwork, invoices that go out late, no follow-up until the money's badly overdue. Tighten up the bits you control and you'll be amazed how much faster the cash comes in.

The credit control system, step by step

1. Get the paperwork watertight before you startA clear quote, written terms, agreed payment days and a purchase order number where needed. If the terms of payment were never pinned down, you've no leg to stand on when it's late. Sort this before the first spade goes in the ground.
2. Invoice, or apply, promptly and correctlySlow invoicing is slow paying. Get your applications for payment in on time, in the right format, with everything the customer needs to approve them. A single missing detail is all a slow payer needs to park your invoice for another month.
3. Use deposits and stage paymentsDon't fund the whole job out of your own pocket and hope. Deposits up front and payments at agreed milestones keep cash coming in as the work progresses, so you're never carrying the entire cost of a job on your own balance sheet.
4. Make it effortless to pay youBank details clearly on every invoice, sensible payment terms, and easy methods. Every bit of friction is an excuse to delay. The easier you make it, the sooner you're paid.
5. Have a chase routine, and start earlyDon't wait until it's weeks overdue. A friendly note a few days before the due date, a prompt on the day, and steady, systematic follow-up after. Most late payment isn't refusal, it's a customer who'll pay whoever chases. Be the squeaky wheel.
6. Know your rights on late paymentOn commercial invoices you generally have a statutory right to charge interest and reasonable recovery costs when a customer pays late. You won't always use it, but knowing it's there, and being willing to, changes the conversation with a persistent late payer.
7. Deal with problem payers earlyIf someone consistently pays late or disputes at the last minute, address it head-on: tighter terms, more up front, or in serious cases the contractual right to suspend work. Don't let one bad payer quietly bankroll their cash flow with yours.

Getting paid and forecasting go hand in hand

Strong credit control feeds straight into your wider cash picture. When you know how quickly money actually comes in, your forecasting gets sharper and the "£300k owed but can't pay suppliers" panic disappears. It's the collecting half of the same discipline. See how a rolling cash flow forecast pulls it all together →

This article is general guidance for building contractors, not advice for your specific situation. Always review your own circumstances with your accountant before acting.