Getting paid on time shouldn’t feel like a luxury. It’s the bare minimum you should expect!
You’ve put your best team on site, done the graft and handed over quality work to your customer; yet somehow, the money still drags its feet and the same old excuses start pouring in. Construction payment delays hit subcontractors harder than most, and they usually start long before the invoice becomes “overdue.”
At CRS, we see this every day, and honestly, we’re as sick of it as you are! So, here’s our simple guide to help you tighten things up early on and help stop late payments knocking your cash flow sideways.
Start With The Basics: Get Your Paperwork Sorted
A signed contract sounds boring and obvious, but it’s the main thing that saves you when the excuses start. Before you pick up tools, get your paperwork in order, watertight and signed!
Keep it simple. Make sure your contract spells out:
• What you’re doing
• What it costs
• When you expect to be paid
• What happens if payment is late
No grey areas, no “I thought you meant…”, just clear expectations that keep everyone honest. Ask yourself: “if this job goes wrong, what proof do I have?”. Clear contracts are your first line of defence against construction payment delays.
You may be friendly with your customer and want to keep things light and informal, but you cannot risk you or your team not getting paid. No matter the customer or the size of the job, get your contracts in place!
Talk Early. Talk Often.
It might not sound appealing to start chasing the site manager who’s most likely already stressed with 100 other things, but staying quiet is where most subcontractors slip up. This is where you can quickly get lost under the chaos and forgotten.
Instead, talk to the main contractor from day one. Keep them updated and make sure you each know where you’re at.
Tell them:
• When you’ll invoice and how
• How you like to be paid
• What you need from them to hit those dates and get the project completed
If the relationship is good, payment usually follows. They may even appreciate you keeping them in the loop and keeping everyone’s expectations clear.
If they dodge your calls now, take that as a warning sign. Keep communication up on your end and make sure you’ve got proof of each time you’ve tried to speak to them. Early communication is one of the easiest ways to avoid construction payment delays before they snowball.
Set Payment Expectations Before The Job Starts
There’s a lot that needs to be discussed and agreed before any physical work takes place on a project. Before boots touch the site, ensure you agree on:
• Payment terms
• Application dates
• Required paperwork
• Who signs off what
Get everything written down and share it with everyone involved. Make sure that you have proof that those who need to have agreed to these expectations. The more people who know the plan, the harder it is for someone to pretend they “weren’t aware.”
Use Joint Check Agreements When Things Look Shaky
Joint check agreements are one of those simple tools that subcontractors don’t use enough. When a job feels a bit shaky, or you’re not fully convinced the main contractor is as organised as they claim, a joint check agreement gives you a safety line.
It means the general contractor and the client both sign the payment to you, so your money doesn’t get trapped somewhere in the middle of the chain. No more “We haven’t been paid yet” excuses. No more waiting while someone blames someone else. Everyone is accountable, and your payment has a clear, direct route to you.
If you’re working with a main contractor who you don’t completely trust, this is the closest thing you’ll get to putting a seatbelt on your cash flow. These agreements are a simple way to cut off construction payment delays before they start.
Work With General Contractors Who Treat You Fairly
Some General Contractors are solid. They pay on time, they communicate, and they don’t play silly games. Others… well, let’s just say you learn quickly. Unfortunately, some are looking to get away from their responsibilities by playing ignorant or making you doubt what’s actually been communicated and agreed on. Learning who you’re working with early on can save a lot of headaches in the future.
Look for General Contractors who:
• Give clear instructions
• Stick to agreed dates
• Don’t move the goalposts
• Pay when they say they will
If you’re constantly chasing, arguing, or waiting, ask yourself: “is this relationship costing me more than I’m making?”. If so, it might be best to get yourself out of the job before it’s too late.
Protect Your Payment Rights
We cannot stress this point enough. Protecting your payment rights is crucial. You need to understand your rights when a contractor starts stalling so you can quickly and confidently fight your corner and get paid what you’re owed.
Depending on the job, you may be able to:
• Pause work under contract terms
• Issue a notice of intention to suspend
• File a statutory demand
• Start a dispute resolution process
Most subcontractors wait too long. Don’t. Act early! The longer you leave it, the easier it is for your money to vanish.
And if you ever need backup, CRS is here to help. We recover construction debt all day, every day. We know the tricks, we know the timings and we know exactly how to break through construction payment delays when they start piling up.
Keep A Paper Trail That Even Sherlock Couldn’t Pick Apart
If you can’t prove something happened, you’re fighting with one hand tied behind your back. Keeping a solid paper trail isn’t about being awkward, it’s about protecting the work you’ve put in. Hold on to everything: emails, sign-offs, delivery notes, photos of the job as you leave it, records of any changes and copies of every invoice or reminder you’ve sent.
These little bits of evidence add up fast. Then, when a contractor turns around and says, “you didn’t finish that section,” you can calmly pull out a time-stamped photo that tells a very different story. It stops the back-and-forth and keeps the facts on your side. Strong documentation is one of the most reliable safeguards against construction payment delays.
Know When To Push And When To Bring In Help
You’ve got to know when a polite nudge stops being enough and when it’s time to bring in backup. There’s always that moment where you realise you’re getting nowhere: your calls are being ignored, the promised payment dates keep drifting, you’re hearing the old “We’re still waiting on our client,” or they keep inventing new hoops to jump through.
When you hit that point, it’s not about being patient anymore: it’s about protecting your business.
That’s when you call someone like CRS. We don’t just chase payments; we untangle the mess quickly, get the right people talking, and push the dispute forward before it spirals. Our job is to stop delays turning into bigger problems and make sure your money doesn’t disappear into the construction abyss.
Final Thought
You deserve to be paid on time. Not months down the line, not after you’ve chased, chased again, and begged someone to “find the right person to approve it.” Getting paid shouldn’t feel like you’re applying for a passport. A bit of solid groundwork; clear paperwork, honest communication and a few smart protections can stop most payment delays before they even start.
And if things do go off track, you’re not left to fight it alone. CRS steps in, takes the pressure off, and cuts through construction payment delays to get your money moving again.
If you’ve got a payment dragging its heels right now, tell us. We’ll get it sorted. https://www.contractrecovery.com/contact/
