Contractor Invoicing 101: How to Get Paid Faster

Chasing payment is one of the most avoidable headaches in the trades — and it's almost always fixable with a better invoicing process, not a harder conversation with the client.

Never invoice 100% at the end

Waiting until the job is fully done to send the only invoice puts all the payment risk on you and gives the client no reason to pay quickly — the work is already finished either way. A deposit up front plus progress payments tied to milestones keeps cash flowing during the job and makes the final invoice small enough that nobody delays it.

• Deposit (often 30-50%) before work starts
• Progress payment(s) at agreed milestones
• Final payment on completion — kept small on purpose

Make the invoice payable in one tap

A PDF invoice that requires the client to write a check, find a stamp, or call their bank is competing with everything else on their to-do list. An invoice with a "Pay by card" button gets paid same-day far more often — the friction of "I'll do it later" simply isn't there.

Set the schedule in the contract, not after

Payment terms agreed to before work starts are far easier to enforce than terms brought up mid-project. Bake the payment schedule into the signed estimate/contract itself, so there's no renegotiation moment when the first progress payment comes due.

Selwik generates invoices straight from the signed estimate's payment schedule, and clients pay by card through a link — funds go directly to your account via Stripe, no manual reconciliation.