Secret Collection Strategy Brings in the Checks

One of the nastiest and most important part of the construction business is collecting money!
Who would argue with this.

After almost 20 years of having difficulty collecting money for every reason imaginable and magically created, I stumbled on a very effective, pleasant, and secret collection strategy.  Here it is….

GET TO KNOW THE PERSON WHO WRITES THE CHECKS AND MAILS THEM TO YOU.

Let me repeat…

GET TO KNOW THE PERSON WHO WRITES THE CHECKS AND MAILS THEM TO YOU!!!.

It has been my experience ( as a subcontractor ) that paper work, and pure laziness is often responsible for a check not be mailed out on time.

Assuming the actual client pays his bill, it always amazed me how long it took to collect money owed to our glass business.

After being pushed around, ignored, and frankly often lied to ( who would do that when it came to paying an invoice?) I decided to make friends with the accountant who actually paid the bill on a particular project.

At the very beginning of a project, when the paper work is first issued, the Project  Manager is usually very cordial, and willing to give you whatever information you need to get going. SO, one of my first questions was… What is the name of the accountant on the project and what is his extension number.

The project manager never hesitated to give me this information. It was the beginning of the project, everyone was cordial, and the PM was anxious to get the project going.

As usual, we were behind schedule and the project hadn’t even started yet. ( Ever have this happen to you? )

Armed with this intel, I immediately called the accountant, introduced myself, and told him I was the glazier on the project. I asked for the dates the invoices had to be in by: and if there were any other forms or information required for the checks to be cut.

The accountant was happy to take the call. As a matter of fact, he was happy to speak to anybody. I asked about his family, friends, hobbies, and which sports teams he liked. I made friends.

These calls were refreshing. I didn’t call often, not wanting to be a pest. But I knew I was doing good, for these employees really did lead lives of quiet desperation and nobody in the company paid any attention to them at all.

I called the accountant from time to time to see what was going on with the project. The intelligence I received was both amazing and valuable.

I found out when the client was going to pay, if there were any problems, and when the contractor intended to pay me.  I was also able to determine whether or not I should finish the job based on the proposed payment.

There were several times when my paper work was not approved by the project manager. The accountant gave me a heads up, and often, he went to the project manager and asked him to approve my bill…so he could cut a check.

The project manager rarely argued. In effect, I had an in house collector working on my behalf.  And all it cost me was a few friendly phone calls to the folks who write the checks.

Next time you start a project, make friends with the accountant. You’ll be glad you did and you’ll bring in the checks!