Contractor Invoicing Software That Gets You Paid Without the Paperwork

The work is done, the homeowner is happy, and the money is still weeks away. It's rarely because the homeowner won't pay. It's because billing is the job nobody has time for.

• The invoice goes out late. It waits for a quiet evening, and every day it waits is a day longer until you're paid.
• The job gets typed in again. Line items, extras and HST are rebuilt from the quote by hand, and mistakes start disputes.
• Nobody tracks who owes what. Deposits, progress payments and cash end up in different places, and nobody's sure what's still owed.
• Chasing payment is awkward. Asking a homeowner for money feels uncomfortable, so the reminder doesn't get sent.
• Paying is harder than it should be. A cheque or an email address to type in gives the homeowner a reason to wait.

1. You mark the job "Complete" from your phone, at the job site.
2. The invoice is built from the signed quote. It has the same line items, each change order, any deposit already paid, and Ontario HST on its own line. Nobody retypes it.
3. The invoice PDF goes out by email and text with your company name, logo, and colours, your terms, and a link to pay by Interac e-Transfer.
4. Reminders go out while it's unpaid, on the schedule you choose, and the customer can turn them off from any reminder.
5. Each payment is recorded against the job, whether it's e-Transfer or cash.
6. Reminders stop when the balance reaches $0, and the thank-you and review request go out.

You still answer billing questions and settle disputes. The Growth Engine handles the routine sending and reminding. See how contractor follow-up automation works.

The homeowner signed a specific version of your quote, with a timestamp. The invoice starts from that version, so the price, scope and terms they agreed to are what they're billed. If a question comes up, the invoice points back to the quote they signed.

A discount, credit or refund after signing is a change order on the quote, and every invoice updates to the new balance. See discounts, credits, and refunds on the quote.

Not every job is paid in one go. Invoices follow the payment stages in your contract terms, set up for how your trade works:

• Deposit invoice: goes out when the homeowner signs the quote.
• Progress invoices: go out at the stages you set, such as materials delivered or rough-in complete.
• Final invoice: goes out when you mark the job "Complete", for the balance after everything already paid.

Every invoice is recorded against the same job, so you, your office and your crew see what's been paid and what's still owed.

Invoices include the details the Canada Revenue Agency asks for on an HST invoice, so business and property-manager customers can claim their input tax credits. The warranty date also sets when the warranty check goes out before the warranty ends.

The money goes straight into your own business bank account. It never passes through Strategic Mind or any account I control. I check that your bank offers Interac e-Transfer for Business and help set it up. Money requests go out under your business name, so the homeowner sees who is asking. Your bank sets its own fees for the service.

1. Tap the pay link in the invoice email or text. It opens an Interac e-Transfer money request from your business, with the amount filled in.
2. Pick their bank or credit union from the list.
3. Sign in to their own online or mobile banking, the same way they pay a bill.
4. Accept the request after checking your business name and the amount.

The money usually reaches your account within minutes. The homeowner never enters a card number, creates an account or installs anything.

Your customer needs online or mobile banking at a Canadian bank or credit union. More than 250 banks and credit unions use Interac e-Transfer, including every major bank. A few smaller ones don't support money requests yet. Those customers send an ordinary e-Transfer to your business email, and you record it from your phone.

The banks set the limit, and it varies by bank and account, often $3,000 per transfer for a homeowner. A request over the limit can't be paid in part, so the balance is split into several smaller requests, each recorded against the same invoice. The homeowner can also ask their bank to raise their limit, which most banks allow in the banking app.

If a customer pays cash at the end of the job, record it from your phone. The invoice updates, the job is marked paid once the full amount is in, and the reminders stop. Your office sees the customer has paid without asking who collected the money.

Your evenings shouldn't go to typing invoices or remembering which homeowners still owe you. The invoice goes out when the job is done, and the reminders go out until it's paid.

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