Friday, and the roofers' invoice does not match
Your subcontract roofing team sends an invoice for the week: five roofs, two with 'extra rails', one with 'tile repairs'. The office checks: one of the roofs was only half done, because the electrician finished it. The tile repairs were agreed by phone with the install lead, who is not sure how many. The rate for the flat roof job was different. Working it out takes an afternoon and a slightly tense phone call.
Why subcontract payments are hard
- Rates vary by job type, roof type, panel count and extras.
- Extras are agreed on site by phone.
- Stages are sometimes split between teams.
- Subcontractors invoice in their own format.
- The office has no clear record of who did what on each job.
What payment disputes cost
Overpayments nobody notices. Underpayments that damage relationships with good teams you need. Office time checking every invoice line. Late payments while disputes are sorted, which makes good subcontractors prefer other installers. And no view of what each job really cost in labour.
Payments built from job sign-off
- Your agreed rates for each subcontractor are set up by job type, stage and extras.
- When a stage is finished, the team signs it off on their phone, with photos. The install lead confirms.
- Extras, such as tile repairs or extra rails, are requested on site and approved by the install lead or office before the work, with the rate shown.
- At the end of the period, each subcontractor's statement is produced from signed-off stages and approved extras.
- Their invoice is matched against the statement; differences are listed for a person.
- Approved payments go to your accounting software, such as Xero or QuickBooks, for payment.
- Labour cost is recorded against each job, for margin reporting.
Statement versus invoice
| Line | Statement | Invoice | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roof, standard | Signed off | Claimed | Matches |
| Roof, partly by another team | Part stage | Full claimed | Difference, check |
| Extra rails | Approved | Claimed | Matches |
| Tile repairs | Not approved | Claimed | Difference, check |
Paying good teams promptly and correctly
Subcontractors know exactly what they will be paid for and why. Extras are agreed before they are done. Invoices are checked in minutes. Payment runs happen on time. And each job's labour cost is visible.
Agreeing extras before, not after
Most payment arguments come from extras agreed on site. A roofer finds broken tiles and replaces them, or needs extra rails for an awkward roof, and mentions it to the install lead in passing. Two weeks later it appears on an invoice at a rate nobody agreed.
Asking for extras to be requested on the phone, with the rate shown and approved before the work, feels like more admin at first. In practice it takes a minute and saves the argument. Good subcontractors usually prefer it, because they know they will be paid for approved work without having to justify it later.
The same records also show which roof types regularly need extras, which is useful when pricing future jobs.
Are subcontract payments a weekly argument?
- Subcontractor invoices do not match your records.
- Extras are agreed by phone and disputed later.
- Checking invoices takes hours.
- You cannot see labour cost per job.