Everything fitted except one trim
The fitters finish the last window at three on Thursday. They are short of one piece of trim for the bay, and a cill end cap is missing. They say they will be back next week. The customer, who has a balance to pay on completion, reasonably waits. Next week becomes the week after, because the trim had to be ordered from the fabricator. By the time the fitter returns, the customer has found a scratch on a frame and a sticky handle. The balance is still unpaid a month later.
Why balances drift
Window installation almost always ends with a few small finishing items: trims, cill ends, silicone touch-ups, hardware adjustments. They are small, but they give the customer a clear reason to hold the balance, and they are easy for your business to deprioritise.
- Fitters leave without a written record of what is outstanding.
- The customer is not asked to sign off what is complete.
- Missing trims and parts are ordered by phone and not tracked.
- New items appear after the fitters leave with no clear boundary.
- The balance invoice goes out late, or not until everything is closed.
What a held balance costs
On a window job, the completion balance is often a large share of the price, and you have already paid the fabricator for the frames. Every week it is held is money you are funding. Return visits for single trims cost fitters' time. And disputes about what was and was not complete are hard to settle without a record from the day.
A completion walk-round and balance flow
- At the end of the fit, the fitter walks round each frame with the customer using a phone checklist: fitted, operating, trims, cills, silicone, glass clean, handles and keys.
- Anything outstanding is recorded with a photo and assigned: a part to order, an adjustment, a return visit.
- The customer signs to confirm what is complete and what is outstanding.
- Parts for outstanding items are ordered straight from the record, and the return visit is booked when they arrive.
- The balance invoice is raised with a payment link, in full or with a retention on the outstanding items if that is how your terms work.
- When the outstanding items are done, the customer signs them off and any retention is invoiced.
| Moment | Without a walk-round | With the walk-round |
|---|---|---|
| Fitters leave | Verbal promise to return | Signed list of what is done and outstanding |
| Missing trim | Ordered by phone, maybe | Ordered from the record, tracked |
| New complaints | Mixed into the original list | Recorded separately with dates |
| Balance | Held until everything closes | Invoiced per your terms, with a link |
Whether to hold a retention and how much are decisions for your terms of business. The system applies what you set.
What changes at the end of each job
Customers see exactly what has been done and what is still to come, in writing, on the day. The outstanding items are few, clear and tracked. The balance goes out promptly with an easy way to pay. Return visits are booked when the parts are in, not guessed. And conversations about what was agreed have a signed record behind them.
Is this how your jobs finish?
- Balances regularly wait weeks after the fit.
- Fitters leave with outstanding items noted nowhere.
- Customers add new items after the fitters have gone.
- Return visits for a single trim are common.
- The balance invoice is raised days after completion.