Friday afternoon, the same argument
Your fitters are self-employed and paid by the unit, with set rates for worktops, appliances and extras like cutting in a hob or fitting a pull-out. On Friday each one sends a text listing what they did this week. The office compares it with the jobs, finds two extras they do not recognise and a unit count that does not match the order, and phones. The fitter says the extra was agreed on site by the designer. The designer is off until Monday.
It gets sorted out, eventually, and the same thing happens next week.
Why price work pay is contentious
Price work is a fair way to pay skilled fitters, but it needs agreement on what was done. That agreement relies on records nobody keeps in the same place.
- Rates live in a spreadsheet or an old email and are applied from memory.
- Extras agreed on site are not recorded when they are agreed.
- Work split between two fitters on one job is not divided clearly.
- Return visits and snags are paid, or not, inconsistently.
- Pay is calculated on Friday under time pressure.
What the arguments cost
Good fitters are hard to find and easy to lose. A fitter who feels short-changed or has to argue each week will go elsewhere. The office spends hours each week reconciling. Paying for extras that were not agreed, or not paying for ones that were, both damage trust. And the numbers never feed back into what fitting actually costs per job.
Pay sheets built from the job record
- Your rate card for fitting work is held centrally: per unit type, per worktop, per appliance, per extra, per day where you pay a day rate.
- Each job's fitting scope is taken from the approved design, so units and items are counted from the order, not remembered.
- Extras are recorded when they are agreed, by the fitter with the designer's or customer's approval on the phone, so they are not disputed later.
- When two fitters share a job, the split is recorded as they go.
- Each fitter sees their draft pay sheet for the week, can query a line, and confirms it.
- Confirmed pay sheets go to Xero or QuickBooks as bills, with any deductions such as CIS applied as your accountant sets them up.
| Pay line | Source |
|---|---|
| Units fitted | Approved design and job completion |
| Worktops and appliances | Order lines marked fitted |
| Extras | Recorded and approved on site |
| Return visits | Snag or callback record, paid per your rules |
| Deductions | As your accountant configures |
How fitters are engaged, and whether and how deductions apply, is for you and your accountant. We do not advise on employment status or tax.
What Fridays look like
Fitters see their pay building up during the week and raise questions early. The office checks exceptions rather than every line. Extras are paid because they were recorded and approved when they happened. And fitting costs per job flow into job costing automatically.
Fitters also get something they value: a clear record of what they did, which they can check any time. That makes it easier to raise a question early in the week instead of on a Friday afternoon. The businesses that keep good self-employed fitters are usually the ones that pay accurately and on time without an argument, and the pay sheet makes that easier to do.
Is this your Friday?
- Fitters send their own lists of what to pay them.
- Extras are disputed every week.
- Rates are applied from memory or an old spreadsheet.
- Pay calculation takes someone most of an afternoon.
- You do not know your true fitting cost per job.