How do you pay a tradesman?

bigmomma051204

Mu hubby is a self employed landscaper/garden designer ... We wouldn't be able to cover the cost of your (for example) fence materials and turf of say £2000... So my hubby will always ask the client to pay for materials upfront - he will either call the company (say Travis Perkins for example), place the order over the phone (which means trade discount) and then pass the phone to client to give card details OR he will simply take the money down and place the order at the yard.

Perhaps you (OP) could ask whether they will do the first option?

Larger businesses can certainly afford to spend a few hundred or thousand upfront on a job for materials, but what normal, self employed tradeperson could afford to do that?!

bigmomma051204

Oh, meant to say - my hubby has been given cheques in the past...they are a pain as he has to factor in going to the bank during the working day to pay them in but money is money!!
In fact, rarely do people pay by bank transfer but this is usually because my hubby is not in the slightest bit technology minded and he wouldn't have a clue what details he/the client would need lol!

And as my hubby always says... As he is working on a house/garden, he knows where they live if its a rubber cheque and won't hesitate to return immediately to have a chat

EssexExile

I can't recall ever paying a tradesman before the job is finished.

leveller2911

Doozergirl wrote: »

I've not had a client ask to pay by cheque at all. They all pay via bank transfer. I presume they'd rather us spend time doing work, not shuffling down to the bank.

I think that must be down to your clientele DG....:D

I still get around 70% of payments by cheques.......

redmalc

I recently had a kitchen fitted and remedial work in the kitchen,the terms were 2K deposit,a further 10K when the units and all the appliances had been fitted,the balance was paid when the job was finished to my satisfaction and all warranties and safety certificates had been handed over

cyclonebri1

It's a question that should be asked by you or the builder before the project starts and to be honest there is or should be no issue paying him in any form once materials appear on site.

Yours is a simple job judging from the costs, but it becomes much more important to arrange and agree staged payments as the complexity and cost increases.

You are actually far safer with the transfer than cash, it proves you have paid, and lets face it, near no one uses or accepts checks any longer, just like no one sends letters, it's just too slow.


And finally, some may not think it ethical, but on the rare occaision I use a trader I always ask if there is anything off for cash, goes against what I just said, but this is MSE after all.:money::money:

Reece_

bigmomma051204 wrote: »

Larger businesses can certainly afford to spend a few hundred or thousand upfront on a job for materials, but what normal, self employed tradeperson could afford to do that?!

I have trade credit accounts with any suppliers I use, I certainly couldn't afford to spend hundreds or thousands out prior to a job but most places will open up accounts , you then have 30-60 days to pay them.

I'm not saying taking payment upfront is wrong or suspect however, each to their own, and from a trades point of view taking a deposit or having materials payed upfront will reduce risk of rogue customers which can more common than rogue builders in some areas!

littlerock

When I got my bathroom done I agreed a daily labour rate, paid a deposit and then a weekly amount at end of each week depending on man days worked. It took 2 more days than estimated and I paid for these when it was all complete. (Paid by cheque but can be cheque and cash).

I ordered and paid for the materials myself in the case of the bathroom fittings and either accompanied tradesman to supplier and paid for other materials or paid on receipt of the invoices from the tradesman. Builder asked for it that way as he did not want to store materials on his premises as he worked from home.

Bit wary as my sister paid for her bathroom up front, (labour and parts) and then builder said he could not come for another 4 weeks so she asked for money back for labour and offered to take delivery of parts bought only he had already spent it all on another job....

eamon

I pay my window cleaner by bank transfer. Saves him a potential wasted trip etc. Its the way forward.