Do you always get disputes when you send the invoice? Here's how to avoid them

We've all been there haven't we? You've had a decent job on with a customer and like always, you've given them a quote to complete that job - simple right? Except, like most jobs, when you're there a few things happen:

• You find unexpected issues with the building structure
• The customer asks you "oh could you just do this for me"
• The customer changes their mind on a few things causing delays

All of these are pretty typical when it comes to working on site and with the public, but the trouble with those issues is they almost always cost you time and money - money that you need to recover at the end of the job. This is when disputes start to arise. It's extremely bad practice to keep silent on the subject and produce a bill at the end. It might be fair and completely valid to charge it, but if you're not having that discussion at the time with the customer - you shouldn't be billing for it.

Don't earn a bad reputation

It's always an awkward conversation to have, but leaving it until the final bill means the customer's probably forgotten what they asked for, or at the very least, feels like the quote should have reflected the costs in the first place. It goes back to "the customers is always right" - if they feel over charged then they are - unless you've been clear from the beginning.

How to solve it and most importantly - get paid properly

When it comes to those disputes, it either escalates and both you and the customer are angry at the outcome, or you just swallow the costs yourself, chipping away at the profit. Neither needs to happen - it's a choice at that point. Here's how to solve it before it becomes a problem:

Quote properly in the beginning

Your quote should always give you a contingency - things 99% aren't the same as what you thought when you get under the floorboards. Adding 10% in contingency helps alleviate those unexpected costs that delays to progress make, without you having to go back begging to your customer for more money.

Don't do any more work without it written down

Customers often ask for extras, change their mind half way through on a decision or take longer to decide their options than they have. All of this at the very least is extra labour time for you and the lads; it's got to be billed. But, crucially, it needs to be agreed before you start doing anything. If you've done the quote properly, itemised the project and been clear on what you're there to do, it makes the conversation easy; their request wasn't included in the original price, so you'll provide a price for the work. Either they accept it, or don't - you either get paid extra or don't have to do the extra work.

Keep it in writing

Every time that conversation crops up, communication is key. An email confirming a conversation is the very least you need to do and it keeps the customer completely aware of what's going to be on the final bill in real time. When it eventually lands, there's no surprises. A lot of tradies don't like having these conversations, whether it's just awkward or because there's an unknown. But treat everything like it's a job quote. Build a margin, and be confident in asking for it - they're asking for your time so why would you give it for free?

How Cole helps?

Cole's quote builder helps to visualise your costs and margin in one place. It gives you costs for all your materials and estimates labour for the job; even building in a margin to each of them for contingency. The quote is shared with your customer when you send it so they know what to expect. When you're on the job, Cole's job task manager helps you and the team stay on top of what needs doing, leading to quicker delivery of projects and a clear expectation from the customer. When they ask for extras or there's a big change to the project, you can quote these on the fly inside the job. They want you to fit a new basin? Swap to tiles instead of vinyl? A quick re-plaster? In seconds, you can create an extra "Scope of work" complete with description and price. This sends straight to the customer for them to accept - which adds it to the task list - or reject, with no awkward conversation. On site, all you do is take the request and say you'll send a quote. Easy as that. Cole does all the hard work on quotes, invoicing and additional works - you focus on the tools and end up with happy customers at the end.