The ledger on a Friday afternoon
Your office manager prints the aged debt report on Friday. A long list of builders, landscapers and small contractors owe money for skips delivered weeks ago. Some pay reliably at the end of the month. Some pay when chased. A couple have more skips out right now, booked on the phone by a site foreman, while their account is already well overdue.
Then there are the domestic customers. Most paid by card over the phone, but a few were booked in a hurry with a promise to pay on delivery. The driver did not collect it, the customer never paid, and the skip has been and gone.
Why the money is always behind the skip
The booking and the payment are separate steps, often done by different people, and the booking is always the urgent one.
- Phone bookings are taken first and payment is sorted "later".
- Trade accounts have no credit limit, or have one nobody checks at the point of booking.
- Site foremen book skips on a company's account without the office knowing whether it is up to date.
- Statements and reminders go out when someone has time, not on a schedule.
- Card details taken on the phone are processed by hand, sometimes days later.
What slow payment costs a skip firm
Skip hire runs on tight margins, with disposal and fuel paid out promptly while income arrives late. Late payers squeeze your cash, and the ones who never pay at all are a straight loss of the tipping cost, the fuel and the driver's time.
Chasing is also a hidden cost. Hours each week go on phone calls to builders' offices, and the tone of those calls can damage relationships with customers who are generally good but disorganised.
How we connect booking and payment
What we build makes the payment status part of the booking decision.
- One-off customers pay by card at the point of booking, on your website or through a secure payment link sent by text while they are on the phone, using a provider such as Stripe. No card numbers are written down.
- Trade accounts have a credit limit and a status: good, over limit, on stop. The booking screen shows the status before a skip is confirmed.
- Bookings on accounts that are over limit or on stop are held for a manager, who can approve, ask for payment first, or decline.
- Named people authorised to book on each trade account are recorded, so a site foreman booking is recognised.
- Statements and payment reminders go out on a schedule from your accounts package, for example Xero or Sage, with a payment link included.
- The office sees a daily list of new overdue accounts, rather than discovering them on the aged debt report.
| Customer type | At booking | After delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic | Card payment before confirmation | Receipt sent automatically |
| Trade, in good standing | Booked on account | Invoice, statement, reminders |
| Trade, over limit | Held for manager | Payment requested before delivery |
| Trade, on stop | Blocked with reason shown | Manager decides |
Credit limits and stop rules are yours to set. We build the checks, we do not make credit decisions.
The office on Friday with this in place
A site foreman rings for another 12 yard skip. The booking screen shows his company's account is over its limit with an invoice well overdue. The office explains, sends a payment link to the company's accounts contact, and books the skip once the overdue invoice is paid that afternoon.
A homeowner rings on Saturday morning. The assistant texts her a payment link while they are still talking, it is paid before the call ends, and the booking is confirmed. The aged debt report on Friday is shorter and nobody on it is a surprise.
Is chasing payment part of every week?
- Domestic skips are sometimes delivered before payment.
- Trade accounts have no credit limit, or it is not checked at booking.
- Customers on stop can still book skips by phone.
- Card details are written down and processed later.
- Statements and reminders go out irregularly.