The Master Painter Australia - April 2016 Vol. 1 | Page 40

THE MASTER PAINTER AUSTRALIA

040

4 Golden Rules

To help you get paid

In an ideal world, a hard day’s work earns an honest dollar.
Unfortunately, there will be times in your career where the
hard day’s work does not get you the honest dollar. Instead
you get denials, refusal and excuses for non-payment.

At the start of any job, you can rarely tell which customer will
prove to be difficult when it comes time to pay your invoices.
Our plain and simple advice is “get your records right on the
front end to save you time and money on the back end”.

You will inevitably come across the occasional client who
simply refuses to pay you for a variety of reasons. The excuses
are always the same and rarely have any justification. Simply
put, if you have put in the labour, the material and the hours to
produce the goods, you deserve to be paid.

By ensuring your quotes, agreements and invoices are
detailed and your files are well maintained, you will make
it very hard for any customer to try and later dispute your
entitlement to be paid. When all the evidence is plain to see in
black and white, it gives the dishonest client nowhere to go.

Chasing invoices is painful at the best of times and the
thought of taking a client to court can seem like a daunting
task; one you do not have time for.

Below are the 4 Golden Rules to Record Keeping for the
Legally Savvy Painter:
If an unpaid invoice does rear its ugly head or if you receive
a complaint about the quality of your work, take comfort in
the fact that the Master Painters Association and the team at
Turnbull Bowles Lawyers are just a phone call away.

Help is at hand. As a valued member of the Master Painters
Association, you have direct access to our firm of experienced
lawyers who are ready to assist you.

1 2
Contract Essentials

• When the project is big and
complicated, make sure the
description of the work and
the scope is detailed. Give
particular consideration to
locations, number of rooms,
measurements, quantities
and materials.

and statements of account.

• It will also be a lot easier if
you have notes to refresh
your memory.

Make a Written Record of all
Telephone Calls

• You may want to include
a default interest clause in
your Contract that allows
you to charge default
interest on the invoice
amount if the client is late
with paying the invoice.

• This may be difficult to do
on the run. However, if you
keep a log book or even a
simple diary in your work
van or have easy access
to e-mails, it will be helpful
if you make a written note
of any key conversations
with your customer which
take place, before, during or
after a project. How often
have you had to deal with
a dispute on an invoice
because there is a debate
about who said what to
who?

• As well as your Contract,
make sure Key Documents
contain as much detail as
possible. This will help shut
down any arguments made
or complaints about the
description of the work and
the scope as soon as they
arise. Make sure you take
the same approach to your
quotes, invoices, variations

• Be aware that these
conversations may end
up being classified as oral
contracts or variations to
written Contracts. If your
dispute goes all the way to
hearing, a dairy or log note
made at the time of the
conversation which you can
show to the Court will be
very good evidence.

• Always make sure your
customer signs and dates
the Contract with you and is
given a copy to keep.

• If you have the time, follow
up the conversation with an
email to confirm what has
been agreed. Again, if it is
all there in black and white,
it is very hard to dispute.

3
4

Keep a paper trail with
your  client
• Ensure all contracts, quotes,
invoices, variations and
Statements of Account are
sent by e-mail so that there
is no dispute as to whether
the document was sent and
when exactly it was sent.
• Confirm arran