Finishing the work is not closing the job
Illustrative. Companies, people and dates are fictional.
Consultancies, contractors, agencies and fit-out firms deliver well and still wait for the money.
Illustrative figures for one engagement, not a measured result.
Choose a moment in the engagement.
Pricing needs the partner’s sign-off, and she is travelling.
With the chain: Rate rules price standard work; anything outside them goes to a named approver with a delegate.The client asks for extra work on WhatsApp. It gets done and never billed.
With the chain: A change request is logged against the engagement with a price and an approval before work starts.Delivered on a Saturday. The account manager tells nobody in particular.
With the chain: Marking a milestone complete is a step on the record that starts the next one.The client is happy but has not formally accepted.
With the chain: Completion sends a sign-off request; acceptance is recorded with the date.Finance waits for someone to tell them.
With the chain: Approved work becomes an invoice draft the same day.Nobody follows up until cash is tight.
With the chain: Due dates run a reminder schedule and then go to a named person.Illustrative. Companies, people and dates are fictional.
Lead capture and qualification, proposals priced from your rate rules, approval, project set-up and milestones, change requests, sign-off, invoicing and collection reminders, with an owner’s view of work done but not yet billed.
Bring the dates: delivered, invoiced, paid.