The Get-Paid-Faster Checklist

Before you invoice

Most of the battle is won before the invoice exists. Agree your terms in writing up front, in the quote and any credit application, so they are accepted before the work begins. Quote the scope specifically, confirm every variation in writing, and obtain a purchase order number where the customer uses them. On larger or longer jobs, take a deposit and agree a milestone schedule rather than carrying all the risk to the end.

Terms accepted in advance?

Stated in the quote and identical on the invoice.

Scope and variations in writing?

Nothing extra done on a verbal nod.

Deposit and milestones for big jobs?

Exposure kept small throughout.

Get the invoice right

When you do invoice, leave nothing to query. Issue it promptly — delay only blurs the customer's memory and resets the clock in their mind. Use one consistent template carrying your ABN, a unique number, an explicit calendar due date, and an itemised description in the customer's language. If you are GST-registered, make sure it is a compliant tax invoice with the GST shown correctly.

Issued promptly?

The day the work is done, not weeks later.

Explicit due date?

'Due 14 March 2026', never 'net 14'.

Matches the quote and PO?

Same numbers, same descriptions.

Well-built invoice templates bake most of this in so compliance is the default, not a nightly check.

Make it easy to pay and follow up

Remove every excuse not to pay. Show clear EFT or BPAY details with the exact reference to use, present your cheapest-to-process method first, and make the amount and due date impossible to miss near the total. Then let a consistent reminder cadence do the chasing: a courtesy note before the due date, a polite prompt just after, and firmer follow-ups that escalate on a known schedule.

Payment details and reference clear?

Most payments reconcile themselves.

Reminder cadence running?

Automated, polite, and consistent.

Payments reconciled promptly?

You always know exactly who owes what.

Reconcile incoming payments near-daily so you never chase someone who has already paid.

When to escalate

Discipline does not mean infinite patience. If a customer engages but genuinely cannot pay in full, a written payment plan with a default clause can recover the whole debt over time. But once your reminder cadence is exhausted and an amount is genuinely overdue rather than merely slow, the right move is a firmer human step — a call, a letter of demand, or referral to a recovery specialist.

Know your line and hold it. An invoice ageing into the 90-day column despite a clean process and consistent follow-up is signalling that a different approach is due. For those accounts, Merion can act on a referred debt on a commission basis, with an appraisal of where the account really stands before you commit to anything.