Cash flow is the oxygen of a trade business. You can have a full order book and still find yourself in trouble if clients are slow to pay. Late payments are the number one business stress for NZ tradies — and most of them are entirely preventable.
Here's what actually works.
1. Invoice the Moment the Job Is Done
This sounds obvious. Most tradies still don't do it.
The longer the gap between finishing a job and sending the invoice, the lower the priority it becomes in the client's mind. If you're invoicing weekly in a batch, you're giving clients an extra week of free credit without meaning to.
The best practice: invoice on-site, before you leave. Modern job management apps let you do this from your phone — tap, confirm, send. The client gets the invoice while the job is fresh in their mind and they're still feeling the warm glow of a completed project.
2. Put Payment Terms on Every Invoice (And Mean It)
"Payment due on receipt" is vague and ignored. "Payment due 7 days from invoice date" is a deadline.
Most NZ tradies use 20th of the following month as their payment terms — which means an invoice sent on the 5th doesn't get paid for 45 days. Stop doing this.
Recommended terms for residential work: 7 days from invoice date. For commercial clients: 14–20 days is standard.
Include your bank account number on every invoice. Make it as easy as possible to pay. The fewer steps between "I should pay this" and "done," the better.
3. Take Deposits on Larger Jobs
A 30–50% deposit before you start a big job does two things: it locks in the client's commitment, and it funds your materials without you having to carry the cost.
Any client who refuses a reasonable deposit on a significant job is a red flag. Legitimate clients expect to pay deposits — it's normal practice in the trade industry.
Include your deposit terms in your quote so it's agreed upfront, not sprung on them when you're about to start.
4. Use the Progress Claim System
For larger projects — builds, renovations, commercial fitouts — don't wait until practical completion to invoice. Use progress claims at agreed milestones: foundations complete, frame up, weathertight, fitout complete.
This protects you from the worst-case scenario: completing most of a large job and then having a client dispute or default on the final payment, leaving you carrying all the labour and materials cost.
Download our free Progress Claim template to formalise this process.
5. Get Customer Sign-Off Before the Final Invoice
Payment disputes are much harder to defend when there's no written record of the customer accepting the completed work.
Before you invoice the final amount, get the customer to sign a Job Completion Certificate. This documents that the work has been completed to their satisfaction and authorises you to issue the final invoice.
If a dispute arises later, this document is worth its weight in gold.
Download our free Job Completion Certificate template.
6. Accept Card Payments On-Site
"I'll do a bank transfer when I get home" is a euphemism for "you won't get paid until I feel like it."
With Stripe or similar payment gateways, you can take a card payment on-site the moment the job is finished. The client pays while you're still there, on their phone or yours. No chasing. No waiting.
The merchant fee (typically 1.7–2.5%) is a small price for immediate payment and zero follow-up. Factor it into your pricing if it bothers you.
Fastcrew is being built with native Stripe integration so tradies can take payments on-site and have them reconcile to their invoices automatically.
7. Follow Up Systematically
Even with all of the above in place, some invoices will go unpaid past their due date. A systematic follow-up process makes the difference:
- Day 8 (1 day overdue): Friendly reminder — "Just checking this landed okay."
- Day 15 (overdue): Direct follow-up — "This is overdue. Can you confirm the payment date?"
- Day 21: Final notice before formal action — "We require payment by [date] before referring this matter."
- Day 30: Small Claims Tribunal (under $30,000) or lawyer's letter
Most late payers pay at the first reminder. The ones who don't are usually in financial difficulty — the sooner you escalate, the better your chances.
8. Know Your Rights Under the Construction Contracts Act
For construction work, the Construction Contracts Act 2002 gives you powerful tools to get paid.
If you serve a valid payment claim and the respondent doesn't provide a payment schedule within the timeframe, they lose their right to dispute the amount and must pay in full. If they still don't pay, you can suspend work, refer to adjudication, or apply to the courts — and you have strong grounds.
Key points: - Residential work: payment claims must reference the CCA and give the respondent 20 working days to respond - Commercial work: standard adjudication process applies - Never waive your rights without getting legal advice first
The CCA is a powerful tool that most tradies don't use. Our free Progress Claim template is designed to serve as a valid CCA payment claim.
The Cash Flow Formula
Getting paid faster isn't just about chasing invoices — it's about building systems that make late payment the exception rather than the norm:
- Invoice immediately (on-site)
- Clear payment terms (7–14 days)
- Take deposits (30–50% upfront on larger jobs)
- Progress claims on big projects
- Written sign-off before final invoice
- Accept card on-site
- Systematic follow-up
- Know your legal rights
Do all of these and late payments become a rare exception rather than a monthly headache.
Use our free tradie templates to put these systems in place — Variation Orders, Job Completion Certificates, Progress Claims, and more. All free, no sign-up required.