The report is ready, the fee is not
Your practice's terms say the fee is payable before the report is released. In practice, the report is finished, the office sends an invoice, and waits. The buyer is busy with their solicitor and mortgage broker. A day passes. The buyer phones asking for the report, because their solicitor wants it. The office explains it is waiting for payment. The buyer is annoyed. Sometimes, under pressure, the report goes out anyway, and the fee is chased for weeks.
On abortive jobs, where the sale falls through after the inspection, collecting any fee is harder still.
Why fees get chased
- Payment is requested at the end, when the buyer's attention is elsewhere.
- Invoices go by email and are easy to overlook.
- Paying means bank transfer and a reference, which buyers get wrong.
- The office has to check the bank to see whether payment has arrived.
- Releasing the report depends on someone noticing the payment.
What fee chasing costs
Office time on invoices, bank checks and calls. Awkward conversations with buyers at a stressful time. Reports released unpaid and fees never collected. Delays to reports when payment arrives but nobody notices. And abortive fees quietly written off.
| Moment | Today | With payment built in |
|---|---|---|
| Booking | No payment taken | Deposit or full fee paid online |
| Report ready | Invoice emailed | Balance request sent automatically |
| Payment | Bank transfer with reference | Card or open banking payment through a link |
| Checking | Office checks the bank | Payment confirmed automatically |
| Release | Someone notices and sends | Report released when payment clears |
How we build it
- At booking, the buyer accepts your terms and pays a deposit or the full fee online through Stripe or your chosen payment provider.
- When the surveyor signs off the report, a balance request is sent to the buyer by email and text, with a payment link.
- Payment is confirmed automatically, and the report is released to the buyer by secure link as soon as it clears.
- If payment has not arrived after a set time, a polite reminder goes out, and the office sees a short list of reports awaiting payment.
- For abortive jobs, the fee under your terms is calculated and requested, with the surveyor or office able to adjust before it goes.
- Payments are posted to Xero or QuickBooks with the job reference, so the accounts match.
Your terms of engagement decide what is payable and when. We build the process around your terms and do not advise on them.
Reports go out on time, and paid
Most buyers pay at booking or within minutes of the report being ready, because the link is simple and they want the report. The office stops checking the bank. Surveyors do not have to decide whether to release an unpaid report. And abortive fees are requested consistently rather than case by case.
Accounts are cleaner too, because every payment carries the job reference and there is no guessing which transfer belongs to which buyer.
Refunds follow the same route. If a booking is cancelled under terms that allow a refund, the office approves it and the refund goes back through the payment provider to the card or account that paid, with the job record updated, rather than someone arranging a manual bank transfer.
Is fee chasing a problem for you?
- Payment is requested only once the report is ready.
- The office checks the bank before releasing reports.
- Reports have gone out unpaid under pressure.
- Buyers use the wrong reference when paying.
- Abortive fees are often not collected.