New construction can keep a plumbing crew busy for months, and a good builder relationship can be the backbone of a business. It can also quietly strangle your cash if you are not careful. Builders and general contractors often pay on their own timeline, tied to draws from a lender or to inspections and milestones that have nothing to do with when your payroll is due.
Plumbing work on a new home is typically split into stages: underground or slab rough-in, top-out or rough-in above ground, and trim-out or finish. Each stage involves materials and labor, and each may be billed separately. But the time between when you do the work and when you get paid can stretch to 30, 45, or even 60 days, particularly when payment depends on the builder receiving a draw.
Meanwhile your supplier wants payment within their terms and your techs want to be paid every week or two. That mismatch, work done now and money arriving later, is the core cash flow challenge of builder work.
Not every builder pays the same. Pull an accounts receivable aging report out of Xero and look at it by customer. You will probably find that some builders pay reliably within terms and others routinely sit at 45 or 60 days. That information is gold. It tells you which relationships are healthy, which ones are effectively lending you the cost of doing business in reverse, and where to focus your follow-up.
Look at the average days to pay for each builder over the last six to twelve months. If one big customer represents a large share of your revenue and pays slowly, that is both a cash flow risk and a concentration risk, and it is better to know now than to find out during a slowdown.
The best time to talk about payment is before the work starts. Agree on the draw schedule, what triggers an invoice, and when payment is due. Put the terms in writing. Submit invoices promptly after each stage is complete, since a late invoice means a late payment, and make sure the paperwork matches what the builder needs to release their own draw, whether that is signed lien waivers, inspection sign-offs, or pay applications.
Louisiana has specific rules around notices and lien rights on construction projects, and the timelines matter. Talk with a construction attorney or your supplier's credit department so you know the deadlines that apply to your work. Missing a deadline can weaken your position if a payment problem comes up later.
If you know a builder pays in 45 days, ask whether your supplier terms and your cash reserves can handle that. Some shops negotiate longer terms with suppliers on large projects. Others require a modest deposit or a mobilization payment from builders to cover the first stage of materials. A line of credit sized for the gap between work and payment can also be a sensible tool, as long as you are using it to bridge timing rather than to fund losses.
Do not let past due invoices sit. A simple routine works well: a friendly reminder a few days before the due date, a call or email the day it passes, and escalation at set intervals after that. Treat it as normal business, not an awkward confrontation. Builders who pay slowly often respond quickly to a vendor who is consistently organized and polite. Our post on staged billing for large jobs covers a related way to reduce the amount you have exposed at any given time.
Builder work is valuable, but it is not free money until the check clears. Know how each builder pays, set terms before work begins, invoice promptly with the right paperwork, understand your lien rights, and follow up consistently. That is how you grow with builders without becoming their bank.
911 Bookkeepers works with plumbing and trades contractors across the Baton Rouge metro and surrounding parishes, tracking receivables by customer so slow payers do not stay hidden.
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