The Challenge
This electrical firm's invoicing ran on Word documents: an electrician finished a rewire or installation, notes went back to the office, and someone eventually turned them into an invoice. The gap between completing the work and billing it was measured in days, sometimes weeks.
Commercial clients — the firm's best accounts — were also the slowest to pay, partly because invoices arrived late and partly because a homemade Word document doesn't move quickly through a corporate accounts process. Debt age crept up and chasing became a standing agenda item.
The Switch To BillMate
With BillMate, electricians generate the invoice on-site the moment testing is complete. The job is billed before the tools are back in the van, not at the end of the week.
Invoices present a professional breakdown of parts and labour as separate, clearly itemised lines — the format commercial clients' accounts teams actually want — and delivery is digital, straight into the right inbox.
How They Use BillMate Day-To-Day
The separation of labour and materials items did more than look tidy: it cut the queries that used to stall commercial payments, because the breakdown answered the questions before they were asked.
Automated reminders now chase overdue commercial accounts without anyone drafting an awkward email, and the PDFs render properly whether the client opens them on a phone on-site or a desktop in accounts payable.
The Results
The firm measured the switch in how fast money came back:
- Immediate on-site invoicing reduced admin lag
- Clear separation of labour and materials items
- Automated reminders chased overdue commercial accounts
- Professional PDFs looked great on mobile and desktop
"The invoice used to be the last job of the week. Now it is the last job of the job. Our commercial accounts pay noticeably faster because the paperwork looks like it deserves to be paid."
Director, Birmingham electrical contractors