net 30 on first job

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laketime

laketime

Senior Member
Never had a customer ask for net 30. But remember net 30 will be 45 days out. If you have the money to fund the job go for it. If you don't then don't take the job if they wont budge from net 30.
 
M

MJJBEE

Member
laketime said:
Never had a customer ask for net 30. But remember net 30 will be 45 days out. If you have the money to fund the job go for it. If you don't then don't take the job if they wont budge from net 30.
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Often we see discounts off net 30 pricing for net 5 or 15. The company I work for can't pay much faster then that just because of approvals. If I were looking at it as a business owner I would look at the risk of not getting paid. If it's a large company in solid financial shape then net 30 is low risk except your costs and all profit are tied up. Personally I would write you a check upon completion and inspection passing if you were working on my house.
 
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-=PEAKABOO=-

Senior Member
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
This is a small commercial job for the schwan food company. I have never worked for them and normally do not do net 30 payments on first time customers. It is probably not a big future deal with them just a 1 time deal or maybe a few small items in the far away future.
Just trying to get a feel of how others are doing it.

Thanks
 
mcclary's electrical

mcclary's electrical

Senior Member
Location
VA
-=PEAKABOO=- said:
This is a small commercial job for the schwan food company. I have never worked for them and normally do not do net 30 payments on first time customers. It is probably not a big future deal with them just a 1 time deal or maybe a few small items in the far away future.
Just trying to get a feel of how others are doing it.

Thanks
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If you're gonna do commercial work,,,better get used to it now
 
mcclary's electrical

mcclary's electrical

Senior Member
Location
VA
satcom said:
99% of our commercial accounts pay 5K and below on credit cards, the other 1% we let someone that thinks they are a bank do the job.
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That must be nice,,,,99% of company's around here have pay cycles. They only pay bills once a month. If you miss that date you'll get your check next month. Submit an invoice they hold it for 20 days or so before they look at it.
 
kwired

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
I did some work for a national company that operates nursing homes, was a service call and not too large of a bill. After about 45 days I finally get a request for a taxpayer ID number that they want before they will pay me, understandable but why 45 days? Then it took another 45 days or so before I finally got a check. Every time I have done work for them it takes around 45 days. I have a grandparent living in one of their facilities and they want payment arrangements before they will do anything for you:mad:

Other larger organizations I have worked for are usually similar, you will get paid but on there terms, sometimes you just need to know when a cut off date is for their accounts payable and get your bill in before that date or you will be waiting an extra month.
 
Chamuit

Chamuit

Grumpy Old Man
Location
Texas
Occupation
Electrician
Did a job for a (huge) car dealership got done handed the guy in charge my bill. He signed off and said go to accounting.

Get up to accounting, hand them my bill. Lady takes my bill looks at it and says, "okay." I say, "how long will I have to wait?" She says, "60 days, that's how we do it." I say "I don't think so. Those aren't my terms." 30 minutes later (lots of belly aching) I get my check.

60 days later, car dealership's doors are closed and the lots are empty.

I do net 30, but not often.

Listen to your inner voice, too.
 
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-=PEAKABOO=-

Senior Member
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
Thanks for the replies. I already I have my feelings on this but was curious of what others thoughts were. I am calling the corporate office tomorrow and see if they can pay on a different term. I have already mentioned to them that I am not a bank as I have said many times in the past. We shall see.
 
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chris500

Member
Location
FL, MO, IL, KS, TX
Get it in writing up front. The time to discuss and negotiate is not after the work is done because you have lost any leverage you had.

That being said, most all commercial work I have done has been net 30. A lot of companies are trying to stretch it even further if they are able. Why not take a free 60 or 90 day loan if you have someone willing to finance you that long? I know I would.
 
J

jmellc

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
Occupation
Facility Maintenance Tech. Licensed Electrician
Can be touchy. My former boss got burned on a night call to a GC badly needing a Panerra Bread location finished. Same issue with w9 forms, etc. Plus, their HO was in Texas, we were in NC. I'm sure we would have to look up to see the bottom of their list. They quit taking our calls. He nearly got burned by an apt complex too. I chased and called them constantly, finally got our $. Found out they had tried to burn every contractor in 2 cities.

Ask around about companies best you can and be sure they are solvent. If you smell a rat, ask for COD on 1st job. 1st time late night calls, ask for COD in advance. Lots of shysters out there. If you have to do 30 day stuff, reflect it in your billing. Print on invoice a discount for early payment, etc. If a place calls for service when a bill is lingering, that's a perfect time to mention it.

Nothing wrong with being flexible, but more & more people want to give us last priority.
 
R

Robert Hutcherson

Member
Location
Pembroke Pines,Florida
Due to circumstances these days, we have had to change some strategies and policies. New customer, I would ask for 30% deposit, file a NTO, and make sure they have all the requirements they need such as new vendor form, licenses/insurance, and W9. I would find out who handles approving the invoice and writing the check. When I am half way completed I am sending the invoice for the job balance which will hopefully expedite the final payment. It is a method but certainly not perfect.

Good luck.
 
S

satcom

Senior Member
mcclary's electrical said:
That must be nice,,,,99% of company's around here have pay cycles. They only pay bills once a month. If you miss that date you'll get your check next month. Submit an invoice they hold it for 20 days or so before they look at it.
Click to expand...

Don't forget we pay the discount fee, to the credit services account, and we get the payment fast, and the company gets 20 days to pay the credit card.
 
P

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
Many companies like to pay as slow as they can, although we have a couple companies that will pay a part up front in exchange for a discount.

The important thing is to make your deal up front. Once you do the work, you are pretty much trapped by their payment policies.

You also need to have your paperwork in order. Making up a few packets in advance you can send with your first bill can make a huge difference. Insurance, tax numbers, etc.

Keep in mind that the people actually writing the checks often have little choice but to follow the rules. If the rules say not to write a check until all the papers are in place, thats the way it is. It does not matter much if it is convenient to you or not.

I suggest not taking emergency type calls from people you do not have an established relationship with, unless payment is COD or credit card.

I once worked for a company that was a very prompt payer, but refused to pay anything unless a P.O. number had been issued. Try to get an oil change on a P.O. number. We finally got some kind of petty cash account for things like that. The manager had a checkbook he could write checks for $50 or less. He had to get a P.O. number though to refill the petty cash checking account every time it needed more money. The only exception allowed was gas could be purchased via gas credit cards. I once got a serious reprimand for buying a wiper blade at a gas station and putting it on the gas card. I am not sure how they expected me to drive the car around in the rain with only one wiper blade. Of course this was a place that made you turn in paper receipts for every reimbursable expense, including toll way tolls. It meant you had to go through the manual booth to get a receipt instead of through the booths you could just toss the 30 cents in the basket.
 
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