With late payments estimated to cost the UK economy £11 billion annually, electrical contractors are being warned that cash-flow problems could start long before customers receive an invoice
According to Richard Skelson, Managing Director at field service management software Field Ascend, missing job sheets, delayed engineer sign-offs and incomplete paperwork can leave completed work unbilled for days or even weeks.
“When an engineer finishes a job, it’s easy to assume the business is one step closer to getting paid. However, missing job sheets, unsigned paperwork or incomplete reports can leave completed work sitting in the system without an invoice ever being raised,” he says.
“For smaller trades businesses, even a few days of delay can put pressure on cash flow, particularly when wages, materials and fuel still need to be paid for. The problem with administrative delays is that they often go unnoticed until someone starts chasing an outstanding payment or reviewing the accounts.”
Skelson warns that if several engineers are completing multiple jobs each day, missing paperwork can quickly build up and businesses may have thousands of pounds’ worth of completed work waiting to be invoiced without realising how much money is tied up in the process.
Contractors advised to get head start on job reports
“Relying on paper job sheets or engineers returning to the office to submit reports creates unnecessary delays, especially when teams are travelling between different customer sites,” he continues.
“When information is missing, office staff have to spend time contacting engineers, checking job details and requesting signatures before they can issue an invoice. That additional work can slow down the entire payment process.”
Skelson advises that one of the simplest changes businesses can make is requiring engineers to complete job reports and collect customer signatures before leaving the site.
“Having job information available to the office as soon as work is finished makes it easier to raise invoices promptly. A daily review of completed but uninvoiced jobs can also help identify delays before they turn into bigger cash-flow problems,” he says.
For more from Field Ascend, click here.