More contractors are waiting longer to get paid.
Late payment got worse over the past year for small businesses across the country, and trades that bill property managers and general contractors feel it first.
of small businesses have invoices 30 or more days overdue, up from 47% a year earlier
owed on average to businesses waiting on unpaid invoices
paid extra fees last year just to get at money they had already earned
Source: Intuit QuickBooks 2026 Small Business Late Payments Report. These are industry figures, not our results. WarmList Growth is a new company, and our own numbers will appear here, with clients' names, once we've earned them.
A reminder can't fix a paperwork problem.
Your invoicing software can send "your invoice is overdue" on a schedule. If the payer's system rejected that invoice three weeks ago, the reminder goes nowhere. These are the reasons commercial invoices actually sit.
It went to the wrong inbox
Sent to the project or site manager who approved the work. It never reached accounts payable.
There's no PO number
Many property managers and GCs won't pay without one. The invoice gets parked, and nobody tells you.
It wasn't in their portal
Larger payers only pay what's submitted through their vendor portal. An emailed invoice doesn't count.
Your paperwork expired
An expired certificate of insurance, W-9, or lien waiver can put your whole vendor account on hold.
One line is in question
A question about one charge holds up the full invoice, when most of it could be paid right now.
It missed the check run
Payers cut checks on set days. Miss the cutoff and you've added two weeks without anyone deciding to pay late.
Some invoices are late because the customer can't or won't pay. We separate those out and tell you plainly which ones need your call, and which ones need a collection agency or an attorney instead of us.
Free 3-day email course
Three short emails over three days: why commercial invoices get stuck, how to spot which problem you're dealing with, and the exact emails that get each one moving. Copy them and use them yourself.
Almost done.
Your email app should have opened with the request filled in. Hit send, and day one will arrive shortly after.
What happens every week.
Your routine barely changes. You export one report, approve the occasional email, and read a short summary on Friday.
You send the aging report
A two-minute export from QuickBooks, Jobber, Housecall Pro, or whatever you invoice from. We never need your bank login.
We find each invoice's blocker
Every overdue invoice gets a reason and a next move, checked against the invoice itself, what the payer requires, and any replies so far.
Emails go out in your company's name
From a billing address on your domain, written to sound like you. You approve the approach once, and you see anything over 60 days or over your dollar limit before it goes.
Replies get handled
Payment promises are logged and followed up the day after they're due. Paperwork requests get answered. Disputes come to you with the exact line in question.
You get a Friday report
Cash that came in, promises on the calendar, and what's still stuck and why. When a phone call would help, you get a one-paragraph brief so the call takes two minutes.
What we never do.
Getting paid shouldn't cost you the next job with that customer. These rules are in writing before we start.
- Touch your money.Customers pay you directly, the same way they do now.
- Take a percentage.You pay a flat monthly fee, whatever we recover.
- Write like a collection agency.No threats and no legal language. Firm, specific, and easy to say yes to.
- Contact anyone without your say.You approve how we write before anything goes out.
- Work homeowner accounts.Consumer invoices come with different rules, so we stick to business customers.
- Push past our lane.If an account needs an attorney or an agency, we tell you and we stop.
Start with a free A/R teardown.
Send your aging report. Within 48 hours you get it back with the reason each overdue invoice is stuck and what to do about it.
- Every invoice past 30 days, with its likely blocker
- A drafted email for each one, ready to send yourself if you'd rather
- The short list of accounts that need your call, and why
- An honest read on whether you need us at all
In QuickBooks it's the A/R Aging Detail report. Export it to Excel and attach it to an email. Most other invoicing software has the same report under a similar name.
A writer who knows sales, not a collection agency.
WarmList Growth is run by Kevin Turner in Cary, North Carolina. My career has been in writing and sales, with earlier years in systems administration and enterprise software.
Getting paid without damaging a relationship turns out to be a writing problem. The email has to be firm without being cold, specific about what's missing, and easy for a busy accounts payable clerk to act on. That's the work.
The name comes from the idea behind it: the customers you already have are the most valuable list you own, and they should stay warm while you get paid. I take on a small number of contractors at a time, so the person writing your emails is the person you talk to.
Questions owners ask.
Will this hurt my relationships with customers?
It's designed not to. Emails come from your company, sound like your company, and focus on getting the paperwork right. Most accounts payable teams would rather hear exactly what's missing than get another vague reminder.
Are you a collection agency?
No. We handle billing follow-up for your company, in your company's name. We don't buy debt, take a percentage, or receive payments. If an account needs a collection agency, we'll say so and step back.
Do you call my customers?
No. We work by email and through payers' vendor portals. When a phone call would move something, you get a short brief with who to call and exactly what to ask for.
What access do you need?
A weekly aging report, and a billing email address on your domain, such as [email protected], that we can send from. No bank access and no changes to your accounting software.
What software do you work with?
Anything that can export an aging report: QuickBooks, Xero, Jobber, Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan, and most others.
How fast will I see money?
Paperwork fixes often pay within one or two of the payer's check runs. Disputed and unresponsive accounts take longer, and the Friday report shows where each one stands.
How do you charge?
A flat monthly fee based on how many invoices you send us. Never a percentage of what's recovered. You'll have exact pricing in writing after the free teardown.
Send your aging report. Get it back triaged in 48 hours.
No call required and no obligation. If your receivables are in good shape, I'll tell you that.