[Martin]

My title may be a little confusing. Do most of you ask for some type of deposit before starting large jobs, where you're providing all materials and labor?

How do you all do this? 1/2 down balance paid in full at completion, or do you take a draw at different job completion points?

Some of you may have the equity, line of credit, or MONEY to not require a deposit.

I always try to get something upfront...never half, but enough to handle the initial materials and payroll for 2 weeks*.

I'm 4 day's off from going into a 9600 sq ft new home. On my signed proposal I specified $2800.00 down, $3000.00 after all trim and doors are sprayed and First coating the walls begin with the balance paid in full at the end.

I just went to pick up my deposit in order to secure the first round of Materials ($965.00) They told me "Yeah, we saw that on your bid but we don't pay deposits."

Exscuse me....I'm expected to have the money for materials and 3 to 4 peoples payroll for the next 4 weeks? :evil:

-Martin

 

[Nathan]

I almost asked this question about a week ago.
Even on small jobs I try to get at least 30% down and collect the rest at the end of the job. But I know there are a few guys around here that want nothing down. I have a hard time with that.

Thoughts?

 

[Dale]

Martin, If they saw that on the proposal and signed it get the money. Theres a good article in the months PWC mag. on just that topic. A point is made that " when you don't make the customer stick to your payment schedule, then you're accepting the homeowners new payment schedule"..if you do that then you give the homeowner or whoever all the control....an agreement is an agreement.

My title may be a little confusing. Do most of you ask for some type of deposit before starting large jobs, where you're providing all materials and labor?

How do you all do this? 1/2 down balance paid in full at completion, or do you take a draw at different job completion points?

Some of you may have the equity, line of credit, or MONEY to not require a deposit.

I always try to get something upfront...never half, but enough to handle the initial materials and payroll for 2 weeks*.

I'm 4 day's off from going into a 9600 sq ft new home. On my signed proposal I specified $2800.00 down, $3000.00 after all trim and doors are sprayed and First coating the walls begin with the balance paid in full at the end.

I just went to pick up my deposit in order to secure the first round of Materials ($965.00) They told me "Yeah, we saw that on your bid but we don't pay deposits."

Exscuse me....I'm expected to have the money for materials and 3 to 4 peoples payroll for the next 4 weeks? :evil:

-Martin

 

[Richard_GL]

Martin, If they saw that on the proposal and signed it get the money. Theres a good article in the months PWC mag. on just that topic. A point is made that " when you don't make the customer stick to your payment schedule, then you're accepting the homeowners new payment schedule"..if you do that then you give the homeowner or whoever all the control....an agreement is an agreement.

On that same note, they agreed to your payment terms but now want to renegotiate? Ask them if theyve ever heard the term "Breach of Contract" Nothing personal, its just business. But you are not a finance company, but ask them if they require financing youd be happy to recalculate with short term finance charges which are thru the roof and still require a down payment.
Our contract states 50% down to retain and schedule and 50% at complteion. If they balk at your business savy let them know you will seek the full contract price plus costs to recover damages and time lost. Projects that start this way IMO always go down hill from there, but stick to your guns .

 

[ProWallGuy]

1/3 down at signing/scheduling
1/3 draw after 7 working days
1/3 final payment on completion

They said "we don't do deposits" LOL.....Richard is right, its called breach of contract, if its already been signed. Hopefully you have a good contract that will stand up in court. And he also says it will only go down hill from here, that is soooooo true. Good luck.

 

[Nathan]

1/3 down at signing/scheduling
1/3 draw after 7 working days
1/3 final payment on completion

I know I'm kinda off topic (sorry)

Anyways... what you do on small jobs ProWall?

 

[Mike Finley]

Currently - and I say currently because things could change if I find a better way.

My payment schedule is:

5% deposit at time of contract signing. (non-refundable)
47.5% at 1/2 way point (determined by contractor)
47.5% due at completion.

I explain that to the customer and let them know that the 5% guarantees them a place in my schedule, and it is non-refundable because once they are scheduled that time is taken and I have to turn away work or schedule it later. So far I have had no complaints in regard to the non-refundable issue. Customers seem to understand the logic and I have even had people say how they don't have a problem with that, it makes sense to them.

This stuff isn't spelled out on my estimate. It is on the contract. If they accept the estimate, excepting the contract is pretty much a given. I only work with homeowner's.

 

[hatchet]

On small projects I will do a draw schedule but larger projects I ask for 15% down for mobilization and initial procurement of materials then monthly payment requests.

 

[Grumpy]

30% down on normal jobs. If special order, non returnable materials, need to be ordered I make sure my downpayment covers at least the cost of those materials. Note I said 30% minimum.

If the job is a long job in stages I then require progress payments upon completion of each stage. For example if I am doing a whole exterior make over (Roofing, Siding, Gutters, Windows) then I get a progress payment after the roof, after the windows, after the siding.

If the job is just a roof or just a siding I usually just collect final payment when the job is done. If the job is less than $1,000 I usually dont take a downpayment.

 

[Floorwizard]

Half down on materials at time of order.
The remaining materials paid before it leaves my warehouse to be installed
Labor due upon completion

 

[ProWallGuy]

Anyways... what you do on small jobs ProWall?

It depends on my schedule, and the vibes i get from the customer.
Lets call a small job: 1 man, 1 day.
If I'm real busy, like this time of the year, I don't ask for a down payment. If the customer decides to bail on me, I can easily fill it with one of the many other customers waiting in line, or send that man to a larger job in progress.
I have yet to have a customer bail on a non-down payment job, on the day the job is supposed to start, so I guess I'm lucky there.

If its a slow time of the year, I get a down payment no matter what, because I spent my time to sell the job, I don't want to have to struggle to refill that slot. My contract states 1/3 down, customer has a right to cancel in 3 business days, with a full refund of down. After midnight of the third day, if they choose to cancel, I refund all the money, except I retain 10% of the price of the complete job. Example: $300 job, I get $100 down. Six days later, they cancel, I give back all but $30.

So far, I have only had about 5 cancellations in about 10 years, all had good reasons, such as one customer was transferred out of state, another's wife died in a car accident, etc. If its a tragic reason, like the accident, (had another who's son was murdered the night before a job was to start), I refund 100%, because I am just that kind of guy.

 

[Bouch]

Hey all, new to this site. I am a Gas Fitter by trade but have been doing general contracting for money on the side for a few years. I have never really quoted jobs on a professional level, just going by what I feal is fair to myself. I do it more to pass time on off days more than anything. As of lately I have been getting more jobs and have a oppertunity to do a job with approx. 15'000 sq.ft exterior painting. My question to anyone here who can help me is this:
i am painting over existing paint just darker colour
What would I charge per sq.ft for saufit?
What ----------------------- for facia?
What------------------------ for aluminum siding?
What------------------------ wooden exterior?
I took the time to work out all the measurements per material being painted and WILL definately be doing a quote by the books. I would DEFINATELY appreciate help here with some numbers as I dont want to go into this quote too high/low. Thanks all for your time reading this.

 

[Dale]

Bouch, Nobodys going to respond with out more info and even then all you'll get is ballpark figures. some questions may be..what are the measurements of soffit and fascia..1 coat 2 coats prime... access...condition of siding both aluminium and wood ...environment around building ..1 story or more?.. windows? doors? etc....post some pics if you can. good luck

 

[Guest]

Bouch, Nobodys going to respond with out more info and even then all you'll get is ballpark figures. some questions may be..what are the measurements of soffit and fascia..1 coat 2 coats prime... access...condition of siding both aluminium and wood ...environment around building ..1 story or more?.. windows? doors? etc....post some pics if you can. good luck

I should of went into detail. The saufit is 2 feet wide and and between 150-175 feet long on 2 seperate row homes? front & back with 2 coates. The siding is in good shape and only needs to be pressure washed and the wood is also in good condition with just pressure washing in some spots. The saufit is very easily accessable approx. 8 feet high and with no obstruction and in good condition just needing a cleaning. There is a total of 56 ground level windows to cut around.I just want to know a ballpark figure for each. I went with a base price for the doors. Not much prep involved, pretty much just pressure washing. I don't have a digital camra yet so cannot post pics. Thank you for your reply and if anyone could help with ballpark figures I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

 

[Martin]

My title may be a little confusing. Do most of you ask for some type of deposit before starting large jobs, where you're providing all materials and labor?

How do you all do this? 1/2 down balance paid in full at completion, or do you take a draw at different job completion points?

Some of you may have the equity, line of credit, or MONEY to not require a deposit.

I always try to get something upfront...never half, but enough to handle the initial materials and payroll for 2 weeks*.

I'm 4 day's off from going into a 9600 sq ft new home. On my signed proposal I specified $2800.00 down, $3000.00 after all trim and doors are sprayed and First coating the walls begin with the balance paid in full at the end.

I just went to pick up my deposit in order to secure the first round of Materials ($965.00) They told me "Yeah, we saw that on your bid but we don't pay deposits."

Exscuse me....I'm expected to have the money for materials and 3 to 4 peoples payroll for the next 4 weeks? :evil:

-Martin

I'm well into this job. I had a HD failure and have been offline for a couple of weeks. Tonight I was re-reading my post and noticed this typo......"I'm 4 day's off from going into a 9600 sq ft new home. On my signed proposal I specified $2800.00 down, $3000.00 after all trim and doors are sprayed and First coating the walls begin with the balance paid in full at the end......

The $3000.00 after trim and doors was a typo error...good LORD ALMIGHTY...I wish I could make and collect that.........That was typo error...I am not getting "THAT" kind of money./...lol....

Just wanted to make that correction...

-Martin

 

[DecksEtc]

Martin, did they ever pay you the deposit? I, and I'm sure others, are curious to know what happened...

As for payment schedules, this is what I do.

Fences - 50% prior to start, 50% due upon completion
Decks - 33% prior to start, 33% due after completion of framing, 34% balance due upon completion i.e. once all work is completed, site is spotless and the customer is happy.

 

[premierpainting]

40% down- full payment when 100% satisfied. Big jobs require 100% of estimated material cost 40% of labor cost then 30% half way and final at the end

 

[premierpainting]

For a 9500 sq footer you should be getting that $$ We would charge- just shy of $35,000- I hope your kidding

 

[Teetorbilt]

30% upfront plus a draw schedule based on the scope of the work.

 

[Martin]

Martin, did they ever pay you the deposit? I, and I'm sure others, are curious to know what happened...

QUOTE]

Sorry for the late delay in responding. Yes I did get a deposit though it was less than the signed proposal stated. It really only hurt with payroll, since I have accounts to charge material on at the stores. I ended up having to make a couple of weeks payroll out of my own personal funds...that sucks.....I guess sometimes we have to take the good with the bad and the bad with the good!

Job turned out very well though...went VERY smoothly! :thumbsup:

At the end of this job I had to fire two guys though..one for smoking weed and the other for being so slow that he collected dust!!! LOL

Now we're on to several new projects...should be a good winter!!

-Martin