You finished the rough-in two weeks ago. Your invoice went out the next day. And now you're sitting there refreshing your bank account wondering when — or if — that check is coming.
If you've been an electrical sub for more than a year, you know this feeling. Net-30 turns into net-60. Net-60 turns into "we're waiting on the owner." Meanwhile you've got material suppliers to pay, a crew expecting paychecks on Friday, and another job starting Monday that needs wire on site.
Cash flow problems don't start because you're not doing good work. They start because you're not getting paid on time for the good work you already did. Here's how to fix that.
Understand Why Payments Are Slow
Before you can speed things up, it helps to understand what's actually happening on the other side.
Most GCs don't pay subs out of pocket. They submit a pay application to the owner, the owner reviews it, and then the GC gets funded. Only after the GC gets paid do you get paid. That chain has built-in delays at every step — the owner's accounting team, the lender's draw process, the GC's own billing cycle.
That doesn't excuse a GC who sits on your invoice for three weeks before even submitting it. But it does explain why even well-intentioned GCs can be slow. Your job is to remove every obstacle between your invoice and their pay application.
Bill on Their Schedule, Not Yours
This is the single biggest thing you can do to get paid faster, and most subs get it wrong.
Every GC has a billing cycle. Usually it's the 25th of the month — they collect all sub invoices, compile their pay application, and submit to the owner by the 1st. If your invoice lands on the 27th, you just missed the cycle. Now you're waiting an extra 30 days.
Find out your GC's billing cutoff date on day one of every project. Put it in your calendar. Submit your invoice three to five days before that cutoff — not the day of, not the day after. Early invoices get processed. Late invoices get pushed to next month.
If you're working with multiple GCs, each one probably has a different cycle. Track them all. The 20 minutes you spend organizing this will save you weeks of waiting.
Get Your Billing Format Right the First Time
A surprising number of payment delays happen because the invoice was wrong. Not the amount — the format.
If the contract calls for AIA billing, you need to submit a proper G702/G703 with the correct schedule of values. If line items don't match the SOV the GC approved at the start of the job, your invoice gets kicked back. If the retention math is off by a dollar, it gets kicked back. If you're billing a percentage complete that doesn't match what the GC's PM observed on their last site visit, it gets kicked back.
Every rejection adds two to four weeks. The invoice goes back to you, you fix it, you resubmit, and now you're in the next billing cycle.
Get the format right the first time:
- Match your line items exactly to the approved SOV
- Double-check retention calculations on every line
- Include backup documentation — signed delivery tickets, change order approvals, daily logs
- Use the GC's cover sheet or template if they have one
Front-Load Your Schedule of Values
Your SOV controls when money flows in. If you backload it — putting all the value in rough-in and trim — you'll be cash-negative for the entire first phase of the project while you're buying material and mobilizing.
Structure your SOV to reflect when costs actually hit. Mobilization, material procurement, temporary power, and underground should carry real value because they cost real money. Don't inflate them beyond what's defensible, but don't undersell early phases either.
A well-structured SOV means your first two or three pay applications actually cover your costs. A backloaded SOV means you're financing the GC's project out of your own pocket for the first few months. More on this in our SOV guide.
Document Everything Before You Bill
GCs will dispute charges they can't verify. That's not them being difficult — it's how the process works. The owner's rep will question line items on the GC's pay app, so the GC questions yours first.
Make it easy for them to say yes:
- Photos of completed work before it gets covered up — especially underground, in-wall, and above-ceiling rough-in
- Signed daily logs showing crew hours and work completed
- Delivery tickets for material, matched to the job
- Change order approvals in writing before you do the work, not after
- Inspection reports with passing results
When your invoice shows up with a stack of backup, the GC's PM doesn't need to drive to the site to verify your billing percentage. They check your documentation, approve it, and move on. That alone can shave a week off the process.
Send Preliminary Notices Early
In most states, you have the right to file a mechanic's lien if you don't get paid. But in many states, that right depends on sending a preliminary notice within a specific window — often 20 days from when you first furnish labor or materials.
Miss that window and you lose your leverage. The GC and owner both know it.
Send your preliminary notice on day one of every project, even if you trust the GC completely. It's not adversarial — it's standard business practice. Most GCs expect it. And the ones who don't like it are exactly the ones you need protection from.
Know your state's lien laws. Know the deadlines. Treat preliminary notices like permits — non-negotiable paperwork that protects your right to get paid.
Follow Up Before It's Late
Don't wait until an invoice is 45 days overdue to pick up the phone. By then, the GC's accounting team has moved on and your invoice is buried.
A simple follow-up schedule:
- Day 1: Invoice submitted with backup documentation
- Day 3-5: Quick email confirming receipt — "Just making sure this came through, let me know if anything's missing"
- Day 7: If no confirmation, call the GC's PM directly
- Day 30: If unpaid, escalate to the GC's accounting department in writing
- Day 45: Formal demand letter referencing your contract terms and lien rights
Most payment issues get resolved in that first week. The GC's PM forgot to forward it, or accounting had a question about one line item. A friendly check-in at day three catches these problems before they snowball.
The contractors who get paid slowest are the ones who submit an invoice and then go silent for 60 days hoping it works out. It usually doesn't.
Know the Red Flags
Some payment problems aren't about process — they're about the GC. Watch for:
- Changing payment terms mid-project — "We're moving to net-60" after the contract says net-30
- Disputing completed work that was already approved on a prior pay app
- Holding retention beyond what the contract allows — especially after substantial completion
- Paying some subs but not others — this usually means cash flow problems on their end
- Asking you to keep working while old invoices are unpaid — never let your accounts receivable grow faster than you can afford to lose
If a GC owes you for two billing cycles and isn't returning calls, stop work and protect your lien rights. Continuing to pour labor and material into a project with an unreliable payer is how electrical subs go out of business.
Use Software That Makes Billing Automatic
Half the delays in this article come down to manual errors and manual tracking. Wrong retention math. Missed billing cycles. Invoices without backup. SOV line items that don't match.
This is why we built billing into Faraday from the ground up. Your estimate converts to a schedule of values. Your SOV connects to invoicing. Retention calculates automatically. Change orders flow through from approval to the next pay app without re-keying anything. And your GC can review everything — invoices, documents, project status — through a portal instead of email chains.
You shouldn't need a spreadsheet to figure out what you're owed. Give Faraday a try and see how much time you get back.