Accounts receivable automation for contractors
The final payment is the one that drags. Here's how contractors stop chasing it, from the quote to the last reminder.
- Most contractor AR problems are solved before the job: deposit, staged invoices, terms in the quote, the payer's mobile number.
- After the job: reminders from day 1 by text, the invoice by email, a polite call on day 7.
- "The work isn't finished" replies need you, not a reminder. Automation should route them to you and pause.
- Spanish-speaking customers get Spanish reminders. It's not optional in most trades.
Why contractors get paid late
Homeowners and GCs pay the final invoice last because the work is done, the urgency is gone, and the number is big. Add a punch-list item they never mentioned and the invoice sits for a month.
The fix has two halves: set the job up so the final payment is small and expected, and chase it from day 1 without it becoming your evening job.
Before the job: the terms that get you paid
- Deposit. 30 to 50 percent to book. Non-negotiable above a few hundred dollars.
- Stages. On anything over a week: start, rough-in, completion. Three smaller invoices beat one big one.
- Terms in the quote. Due dates in days, how to pay, any late fee, in plain words. See payment terms that get you paid.
- The payer's mobile. Not the site contact's. The person who actually pays.
- A walkthrough on the last day, with a sign-off. It kills the "but the trim…" reply.
After the job: the ladder
- Invoice the day you finish, with a card link.
- Day 1 after due: a text or WhatsApp.
- Day 3: email with the PDF.
- Day 7: a polite call.
- Day 10: firmer text, asking for a date.
- Day 14: final notice.
The replies contractors get, and what automation should do with them
- "I'll pay Friday." Pause. Resume only if Friday passes.
- "The trim isn't finished." Stop reminders. Tell you. You book the fix, then the reminders restart.
- "I thought the deposit covered it." Send the breakdown (deposit, stages, balance). Then resume.
- "Waiting on the insurance payout." Offer a date-based plan; pause until the date.
- "Send it to my husband/the GC." Capture the new contact; send the same day.
A reminder tool that can't tell "I'll pay Friday" from "the trim isn't finished" will annoy the customer and embarrass you. Reply handling is the whole point.
Spanish
In most trades, a share of your customers (and plenty of GCs' site managers) prefer Spanish. A reminder in Spanish from your business name gets a reply; one in English gets forwarded, or ignored. Invoice AI writes and calls in Spanish when you tell it to.
Numbers
A remodeler invoicing $60,000 a month at an average 45 days-to-pay has about $90,000 outstanding at any time. Cut that to 32 days and $26,000 comes back into the business, permanently. That's a truck.
Running it
Invoice AI takes the invoice as one line or a photo of the paper, sends the ladder in your name by WhatsApp, text and email, calls politely on day 7, routes "the work isn't done" to you, and tells you each morning who paid. Three invoices free; then from $9 a month.
Questions people ask
How do contractors get paid faster?
Deposit before starting, staged invoices on long jobs, terms in the quote, the payer's mobile number, and reminders from day 1 by text with a polite call on day 7.
What should I do when a customer says the work isn't finished?
Stop the reminders, fix or discuss the issue, get a sign-off, then restart. Never chase payment and argue quality in the same message.
Can I charge a late fee on a home-improvement invoice?
If it was in the signed quote and within your state's consumer limits, yes. Keep it modest and waive it for prompt payers after a reminder.
Should contractors send reminders by text?
Yes. Homeowners read texts within minutes and reply the same day. Email is for carrying the invoice PDF.