How to Get Paid Faster as a Tradie

When you need to buy tools or materials, put petrol in the van, pay suppliers and make sure you pay your team and yourself, you must have the money in the bank for work you’ve already done. That means making sure you get the invoices out and making sure they get paid. This can be a challenge for hands-on people like tradies, and some of us struggle to find the time to sit down and get the admin work done when there are always new jobs to think about.

However, there are some useful tips you can use now to help you get paid faster.

Get your invoices out as soon as possible

Your customers can’t pay you until they get your invoice. It sounds obvious, but it’s easy to get side-tracked and, before you know it, it’s been weeks or even months since you finished the job. The longer you leave it before even calling in the payment, the more you are going to struggle with your cash flow. Some tradies are still using handwritten invoices and, with working most of the week on-site, by the time they get around to writing it all up they have forgotten the details. It’s important to find ways around this that work for you. Software for job management, accounting and invoicing can provide massive help by automating a lot of the process for you and turning records of work into invoices ready to send out. Outsourcing admin tasks like invoicing can also be a great way to ensure your invoices are going out promptly while freeing up your own time and energy.

Use accounting software to keep on top of debtors

Talking of accounting software, one of the benefits is that it can help you easily see your outstanding debtors at a glance. If you send out lots of invoices every week it’s easy to lose track of who has paid and who hasn’t. Chasing up unpaid invoices often falls off the end of our to-do lists, and it’s harder still if we don’t even know which clients we need to give a nudge.

With accounting software like Xero or MYOB, you can clearly see when payments are due as well as narrowing things down to see just the late-payers and send them each a notification within moments. Software like this offers various benefits for tradies, but helping you get paid the money you’re owed has to be a big one. A good accountant for tradies can help you choose the accounting software that is right for you and help you get started.

Get paid instantly with mobile card readers

Most people like to pay for products and services on a card these days: for ease and convenience as well as the incentives of cash-back or rewards programs. Accepting payments by card has become much easier for small and medium sized business, and the benefit for you is that the payment is instant. If you do a lot of smaller projects lasting a few hours to a few days, you can consider getting each van set up to take card payments on site as soon as a job is finished. It’s not as difficult as you might expect, with some companies offering an app with a small dongle that attaches to a smartphone, making it a mobile payment device. Many banks also offer similar products with their business packages. Again, a business advisor or accountant can help you look at the options and get set up.

Contact us for a free consultation to find out how we can help you get paid faster, solve your cash flow headaches and allow you to grow your business with confidence.