ElectricalBossPro Blog — Running an Electrical Business

Getting Paid Faster in an Electrical Business: Card on File, Auto-Charge and Past-Due Follow-Up

Plenty of small electrical shops are busy and still short on cash. The work is done, the materials are paid for, the tech has been paid, and the money is sitting in invoices that haven't been sent or haven't been paid. Getting paid faster isn't about being pushy. It's about making payment part of the job instead of an afterthought.

Billing Is Part of the Work

In Property Managers and Multi-Location Accounts: Monthly Billing for an Electrical Company, one monthly statement made big accounts easier to bill. Most residential customers are simpler still: one job, one invoice, one payment. The goal is to close that loop the same day.

The longer an invoice sits, the less likely it gets paid on time. A bill sent from the driveway is fresh. A bill sent two weeks later is a surprise.

Invoice When the Tech Taps Complete

In ElectricalBossPro, an invoice is created when the tech completes the job, with line items from your service list and sales tax. Nobody has to type it up at night. The service call, the GFCI replacement and the extra outlet the customer asked for are already on it.

That one change removes the most common cause of slow payment in small shops: invoices that never went out. When billing happens at completion, a busy week can't bury it.

Card on File

A card on file lets the shop charge the customer when the job is complete, or on a schedule. For repeat customers and plan customers, it means the visit pays itself. For a new customer, the card can be captured when they sign up through a website form or the customer app.

Tell customers up front how it works. “We keep a card on file and charge it when the work is done. You'll get the invoice by email.” Most customers prefer it. They don't have to find a checkbook or remember to pay later.

Customers can update their own card in the customer app, which saves the office a phone call when a card expires.

Auto-Charge on Completion or on a Schedule

There are two common ways to use auto-charge:

• On completion. The card is charged when the tech taps Complete. Good for service calls, repairs and plan visits.
• On a schedule. The card is charged at a set time, which suits customers who want a predictable billing date.

Larger installs often need a different approach — your own deposit or progress payment policy, agreed with the customer on the estimate. Decide that policy as a business and apply it every time.

Online Payment in the Customer App

Not every customer wants a card on file. For them, the customer app shows their invoices and lets them pay online. The invoice email can point them there. Paying takes less time than reading the bill, which is exactly the point.

The customer app also shows past invoices, so a customer who wants to check what they paid last year can look it up without calling the office.

Past-Due Follow-Up

Some invoices will go unpaid. Past-due follow-up handles the first reminders automatically, so the office doesn't have to write the same polite note again and again. What the office should do is watch the short list of invoices that are still unpaid after the reminders and decide on a next step:

• A personal text or call. Often there's a simple reason, like an expired card.
• A conversation if the customer is unhappy with the work. Fix the problem first.
• Holding new work until the balance is paid, if that is your policy.

Write the policy down so the office applies it the same way to everyone.

Check the Money Weekly

Reports on invoices show what was billed, what's been paid and what's outstanding. A quick weekly look, as described in the simple reports article, catches slow payers early. The habit to aim for: no completed job without an invoice, no invoice without a way to pay, and no past-due balance without a person looking at it.

Estimates Come First

Getting paid quickly starts before the job, with a clear price the customer has agreed to. Approved estimates become scheduled jobs, and the invoice reflects the approved price. The next article covers making sure those estimates get approved in the first place: Following Up on Estimates in an Electrical Business So Approved Work Doesn't Slip Away.

For the rest of the money side of an electrical shop, return to the electrical business software page.