Your customer disputes the hours you worked.

The customer says the crew could not have worked that long

A maintenance contractor bills hourly for a factory shutdown. The customer compares the charge with gate records and says the hours are overstated. The contractor included workshop preparation and travel, which the customer did not expect. The dispute concerns both the work performed and which time the agreement permits charging.

Identify the agreed charging basis

Read the rate schedule and terms for travel, preparation, overtime and minimum attendance. Check whether the customer approved any change. Do not assume every hour paid to staff is automatically billable.

Business.gov.au recommends specifying fee calculations and timing in contracts. Establishing the charging rules comes before debating whether the arithmetic is correct.

Source: business.gov.au - Prepare a contract

Reconcile records by person and task

Compare timesheets with job notes, site access, dispatch records and work orders. Identify breaks, offsite preparation and overlapping entries. Correct duplicate or unsupported charges where found.

Keep original records and explain any later correction. Do not ask staff to recreate uniform times merely to make different records agree.

Explain legitimate differences

Gate records may show site presence but not work elsewhere. Equally, a timesheet may include paid time outside the customer's agreed scope. Build a short reconciliation showing the reason for each difference.

Where the evidence is uncertain, say so. A candid explanation of one unresolved entry may be more useful than defending every minute without support.

Agree the account and improve future approvals

Send the reconciled calculation and ask which remaining entries are disputed. Document any agreed adjustment and preserve the basis for it. Obtain advice if the charging entitlement remains contested.

For future hourly jobs, confirm task descriptions, approval checkpoints and how extras are authorised. The aim is a record both sides can understand while the work is happening, not only when payment is overdue. Keep any agreed daily or weekly sign-off alongside the timesheet, rather than assuming it proves every rate or extra charge.

Reconcile the hours against the billing rules

Check what time is chargeable and match each entry to available records.

Correct errors, explain differences and isolate the remaining disputed amount.

Call CRP today about debt recovery and coordinating the appropriate professional support.