Today I want to discuss getting paid. One of the things you need to do is to make sure your invoice goes to the right person in the organisations who you  are working for on a project, so establish that from the outset before work commences on site. In fact, I would encourage you to have this in the minutes in the Pre-Start Meeting Minutes, so there is absolutely no disagreement on this.

There has been an interesting survey recently which looked at why invoices are often rejected as follows:

  • The purchase order number on the invoice sent by the supplier was not a valid open purchase order from the receiver, the customer.
  • The value on the invoice sent by the supplier exceeded the value on the purchase order or receipted value goods against that order.
  • The total value or total tax submitted in the invoice did not match the sum of the line items on the invoice.
  • The customer’s company name on the invoice was incorrect.
  • A product code on the invoice did not match a product code in the catalogue held for that supplier.

The same applies with your payment applications, which I discussed in a previous blog – make sure they go to the right person in the employer or contractors office. Put a delivery and read receipt on your covering email and send my hard copy properly addressed. Make a phone call the next day to make sure its landed ok.

Why am I suggesting all of this: to make sure that your payment applications and invoices are processed properly, and on the date, you are expecting a payment you don’t get told “we never got your invoice” etc.

FIS publishes short blogs by its Consultant Len Bunton on contractual and commercial issues he experiences when supporting FIS members and the wider community – it is designed to help FIS Members avoid common traps and build on the FIS focus on collective experience. The blogs are published fortnightly as FIS member only content and released to SpecFinish two weeks after publication.

Len provides an initial free one hour consultation to FIS members to discuss and review specific issues and to help develop a strategy to address. Should further advice and support be necessary, thereafter then Len will agree the necessary fee levels with each FIS member.

You can find out more about FIS membership here.