ADVANCE PAYMENTS

I generally do not pay contractors for labor in advance.  It is very risky to do so.  I will pay materials up front, though it is better to pay the supplier than the contractor because they often spend the upfront money on other things.

Today I am faced with a conundrum.  A contractor who is going to be doing a lot of different jobs for me has asked for $1000 up front and I thought this was fair so I said okay and to send me an invoice for the total job so that I could pay the $1000 against that invoice.  What he sent me was a messy invoice requesting a draw of $1500.  Looking at the list of work to be done, there is less than $1000 of materials total.  I am going to just send the check for $1000 because that is what I agreed to but am realizing now that even that much is a risk to pay in advance.

GOING FORWARD

From now on, my initial response to payment requests will always be, “let me get back to you on that.”  More time needs to be spent thinking things through when it comes to finances or I will destroy my business very quickly.