An invoice that never gets paid
Someone rings on a Friday: they need a package taken across the city urgently. You do the job. The invoice goes to the email they gave. It is not paid. The phone number goes to voicemail. After three reminders, the amount is written off, or passed to a debt collector for more than it is worth.
It happens a few times a month. Each one is small. Together they add up, and the time spent chasing them adds up more.
Why one-off jobs go unpaid
Couriers invoice by habit, because account customers are invoiced monthly. New and occasional customers get the same treatment without an account check. Urgency makes it worse: the caller needs the van now, the controller wants the job, and asking for payment feels like it might lose it. Taking a card over the phone means handling card details, which most small firms prefer not to do, so it gets skipped.
| How payment is handled | What goes wrong |
|---|---|
| Invoice after the job | Customer does not pay, job already done |
| Card details read over the phone | Security obligations, typing errors |
| Cash on collection | Driver handling cash, reconciliation |
| Bank transfer before the job | Customer is urgent, will not wait |
What you need to do to handle card data safely is for you and your payment provider to confirm. Using a payment link means your staff never see the card number.
What it costs
Bad debt from jobs already done. Office time chasing small invoices. And a cautious habit that loses work: controllers who have been burnt start turning away new callers, including good ones.
Extras make it worse. A waiting charge or extra drop added after the job is even less likely to be paid by a one-off customer.
Chasing takes a particular kind of time: finding the email, checking the job, writing the reminder, logging the call. It is work nobody wants, done by whoever in the office has a spare moment, and it rarely gets done promptly, which makes collection less likely still.
Drivers are affected too. Owner drivers paid per job still get paid, so the unpaid invoice is a straight loss for the business, and it arrives on the same books that pay for fuel and vans every week.
Payment at booking we build
- A rule for which bookings need payment first: new customers, customers without an account, jobs over a set value.
- A payment link sent by text or email as soon as the quote is accepted, using Stripe or another provider you choose.
- Payment on the online booking page for customers who book themselves.
- The job held from dispatch until payment arrives, with the controller able to override for trusted callers.
- Pre-authorisation for jobs where waiting or extras are likely, with the final amount captured after delivery.
- Receipts and a VAT invoice sent automatically, and the payment matched to the job in your accounts package.
What changes
New customers pay before the van moves, in a way that is quick for them. Staff never handle card numbers. Chasing unpaid one-off jobs stops being part of the week. And controllers can say yes to new callers again.
Signs you need payment at booking
- One-off jobs are invoiced after delivery.
- You write off small unpaid invoices regularly.
- Card details are read over the phone.
- Controllers turn away new callers because of past bad debts.
- Waiting and extras on one-off jobs are rarely collected.