Getting paid
Everything about the money side of field work: pricing a job so it earns, invoicing before the crew gets back to the shop, and collecting without chasing anyone.
How do service businesses get paid faster?
The gap between finishing work and having the money is made of three delays: the invoice waiting on paperwork, the customer waiting to be asked, and the payment waiting on a check. Closing all three means invoicing from the job itself the day it closes, taking a card on file up front, and letting the completed job trigger the charge instead of an office task. Teams that do this typically cut days to cash from weeks to days without changing their prices.
Read in this order
- How to Invoice the Same Day a Job ClosesMost service businesses do not have a collections problem. They have an invoicing problem that turns into a collections problem eleven days later.July 16, 2026 · 7 min read
- How Long Should You Wait for Estimate Approval?Most quotes are answered in the first few days or never. Here is a follow-up schedule that works, and how to replace the guessing with numbers from your own estimate history.August 10, 2026 · 7 min read
- Why Your Quotes Lose to the Guy Who Answered FirstYou lost that job before your price was ever read. What happens in the hours between the call and the quote, and how to close that gap without guessing at numbers.August 10, 2026 · 7 min read
- Job Costing for Service Businesses: The Playbook Teams SkipMost service businesses run 'gut-feel' job costing. This is the actual mechanic, meaning the data, the formula, and the weekly review, that turns it into a decision making tool.July 2, 2026 · 8 min read
- Card Authorization Holds for Service WorkCustomers do not want to be charged for work that has not happened. Businesses do not want to finish the work and then chase an invoice. An authorization hold with a short review window solves both, as long as everyone understands the seven day clock.August 7, 2026 · 9 min read
- How Much to Charge for Pressure WashingMost pressure washing quotes are a number the owner remembers from the last job. Here is the arithmetic that replaces the memory, surface by surface.August 10, 2026 · 8 min read
- How Much to Charge for Commercial CleaningA janitorial bid is four numbers: how long the building takes, what an hour of your labor really costs, what supplies and equipment add, and the margin you intend to keep.August 10, 2026 · 9 min read
Questions about getting paid
Should I invoice at the job or from the office?
At the job, from the job record. The hours, materials, and photos are already captured there, so the invoice writes itself and goes out while the customer still remembers the work. Office invoicing adds days for no benefit and is where line items get forgotten.
Is it worth taking a card on file before the work?
For most residential and small commercial work, yes. An authorization on file removes the collection step entirely, and a short review window after the job keeps it fair to the customer. Larger commercial accounts usually still run on terms, so keep both paths.
What is the fastest change I can make this week?
Stop letting a job close without a total. If every completed job has to carry hours, materials, and a price before it can be marked done, the invoicing backlog stops forming in the first place.
Other topics
- Running the scheduleDispatch, routing, and what to do when the day falls apart at nine in the morning. The schedule is the product in field service, and it is the first thing that breaks.
- Running a crewThe people side: hours you can defend, proof of work that ends disputes, and getting a field team to use the tool instead of texting the office.
See how this works inside the software
Pinstripe Fleet is built by Pinstripe Business Services for service businesses that run crews in the field.
Pinstripe Fleet Management is built and supported by Pinstripe Business Services.