For a subcontractor, cashflow is survival. You can be busy, profitable on paper and still run out of money while you wait 60 or 90 days to be paid. Here are five practical ways to keep cash moving.
1. Apply for payment correctly and on time
In construction, a late or invalid application can cost you a whole payment cycle. Submit on time, in the form the contract requires, and keep proof. See applications for payment vs invoices.
2. Know and use your payment rights
The Construction Act gives you firm rights: a notified sum that must be paid if no valid pay-less notice is served, and a right to suspend for non-payment. See the Construction Act explained.
3. Charge for late payment
You are legally entitled to interest and fixed compensation when a business pays late, and even raising it often gets an invoice paid. See your rights on late payment, or work out what you are owed with our late-payment interest calculator.
4. Stay on top of retentions
Retention is money you have already earned. Track every release date and chase it promptly, see retentions in construction.
5. Bridge the gap with invoice finance
When the work is done and certified but the cash is months away, selective invoice finance lets you draw against a single certified invoice and get paid in minutes, without committing your whole ledger. It turns a 60-day wait into same-day cash, so you can pay your team and take the next job.
Strong cashflow is rarely about one big change. It is the habit of getting paid what you are owed, when you are owed it.