The gap between completing work and sending a valid invoice is cash the business must fund. Find where billing waits and remove avoidable delay without billing before entitlement exists.
Corporate Recovery Partners
01 / 06
The next purchase waits for yesterday’s work
A mobile mechanic finishes several fleet repairs but leaves the job sheets in the van until Friday. The office cannot invoice, while parts for next week must be paid for now. The customer payment term has not even started because the business has not completed its own billing task.
Record when the work finished, when supporting information reached accounts and when the invoice was sent. Identify missing purchase orders, signatures or item details. Separate internal delay from the customer’s later payment behaviour.
Use actual dates from several jobs. A general instruction to invoice faster does not reveal whether the bottleneck is field paperwork, pricing approval or an unclear billing responsibility.
Agree what the office needs for each type of job and who supplies it. Keep the process practical for the person on site. A short standard handover can prevent repeated requests for the same missing detail.
Check contract milestones before changing timing. Faster administration should produce a valid invoice promptly, not a premature claim that creates another dispute.
Put the earlier supported invoice and expected receipt dates into the forecast. Business.gov.au cash-flow guidance tracks timing as well as amounts. Show what the business still needs to fund until payment arrives.
Do not assume the customer will pay immediately once paperwork improves. The benefit is reducing an avoidable part of the delay, with the agreed payment term still respected.
Maintain a list of completed work not yet billed, with the reason and responsible person. Review high-value exceptions promptly rather than waiting for month end.
Compare actual completion-to-invoice time after the change. If invoices still sit because contractual entitlement is unclear, obtain the appropriate commercial or legal advice instead of forcing an unsupported bill through accounts.
