Getting paid
Guides on getting paid for UK trades — how to win the work, price it properly, and get paid on time.
Guides in this section
Getting Paid for the Final Stage
The last payment is the hardest to collect on a domestic job. Why that happens, how to close a job so it gets paid, and what to do when snagging stalls.
How to Avoid Payment Disputes Before They Start
Most payment arguments are set up at the quoting stage. What to write down, how to stage payments against work, and how to handle variations so they get paid.
How to Chase an Overdue Invoice
A chasing sequence for domestic customers that keeps the relationship intact where it can be, and builds a usable written record for the times when it cannot.
How Trusted Payments Works for Trades
Registration, vetting, setting up a project, when you get paid, what it costs and who actually pays it. The practical detail for trades doing domestic work.
Protecting Customer Deposits: What the Code Requires
Every approved code requires that customers' money is protected. Here is what that means in practice, and why it is the hardest requirement to evidence.
Should You Take a Deposit?
How much deposit to ask a domestic customer for, how to justify it in a sentence, and why a smaller amount tied to materials wins more work than a large one.
What to Do When a Customer Won't Pay
Practical steps for domestic work: why commercial late payment law does not apply, what does, and how to build a position that survives escalation.
When a Customer Disputes the Quality of Your Work
What your legal obligations actually are on domestic work, why you usually get to put it right, and how to handle a complaint without making it worse.
Why Customers Pay by Card, and What It Costs You
On high-value work customers use a credit card for the protection, not convenience. That protection costs you 1.5 to 2.9% per job. Here is the alternative.
Why Homeowners Hesitate, and What to Do About It
What has changed in what customers read before they hire, why quotes go quiet instead of being rejected, and how to answer an unspoken objection.