Key Debt Recovery is a collection agency, not a law firm, and nothing in this post is legal advice. Lien, bond and payment rules vary by state and by project. Talk to an attorney licensed in your state about your lien and bond rights before a deadline passes.
Getting paid has always been the hard part of construction, and it is getting harder. The average subcontractor now waits 96 days to get paid, up from 90 days in 2019, and only 5% say they are consistently paid on time, according to Siteline's State of Subcontractor Billing in 2025 report.
Most of those invoices do get paid eventually. The ones that don't usually share one thing: the contractor waited too long to act, and a deadline passed while they were being patient. Here is what to do, and when.
Why Contractors Get Paid Late
Construction payments run down a chain. The owner pays the general contractor, who pays the subcontractors, who pay their suppliers. A delay anywhere upstream reaches everyone below it.
Common reasons an invoice stalls:
Retainage: a share of each payment held back until the job is finished, sometimes for months after your work is done.
Change orders: extra work agreed on site but never signed, which becomes the first thing a customer disputes.
Payment clauses: a "pay-when-paid" or "pay-if-paid" line that ties your payment to the owner paying first.
Cash flow: a customer stretched across too many jobs, paying whoever pushes hardest.
The First 30 Days After the Due Date
The first month is when you have the most leverage and the most options. Use it.
Gather the paper: contract, signed change orders, daily logs, photos, delivery tickets and every invoice. Collectors, attorneys and courts all start with the same question: what was agreed, and what was delivered?
Send a statement and call: a polite reminder within a week of the due date, then a call to the person who approves payments, not only the office that receives invoices.
Put it in writing: if the call does not produce a date, send a written demand stating the amount, the work it covers and the date you expect payment.
Check your contract before you stop work: walking off a job can put you in breach. Read the suspension and notice terms first.
Write down every deadline: lien and bond deadlines start running from your last day of work or delivery, not from the day you lose patience.
Know Your Lien and Bond Deadlines
A mechanic's lien is a security interest in the property you improved. It is created by state law, and it only attaches once a proper notice is filed. Each state sets its own preliminary notice rules, filing deadlines and deadlines to enforce the lien, and missing one can cost you the right entirely.
Public projects work differently, because government property generally cannot be liened. On federal jobs, the Miller Act requires a payment bond instead. If you contracted with a subcontractor rather than the prime contractor, you must give the prime written notice within 90 days of your last labor or materials, and any lawsuit on the bond must be filed within one year. Most states have similar bond laws for state and local projects, with their own deadlines.
"Pay-When-Paid" Is Not Always the Last Word
A general contractor may tell you they cannot pay until the owner pays them. Whether that holds up depends on the exact wording and on your state.
A pay-when-paid clause is generally treated as a timing rule: it delays payment for a reasonable time, but it does not cancel it. A pay-if-paid clause tries to shift the risk of the owner never paying onto you, and courts read those strictly. Several states, including California, Illinois, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin, treat pay-if-paid clauses as unenforceable.
If your contract has either clause, it is worth having an attorney read it before you accept "we haven't been paid yet" as the final answer.
When to Bring In a Collection Agency
Keep chasing it yourself while the customer is talking to you and keeping promises. Bring in help when:
The invoice is 90 days past due and there is no firm payment date.
Calls and emails go unanswered, or promised payments do not arrive.
The customer disputes work only after you ask for payment.
You hear the company is behind with other trades or winding down.
A collection agency works the account while you work your next job, and it can coordinate with your attorney when lien or bond rights are involved. Our guide to general contractor debt collection explains how that works in practice, and our post on payment terms covers the lines that make the next unpaid invoice easier to recover.
Key Debt Recovery helps contractors, subcontractors and suppliers recover past-due commercial accounts. If an invoice has gone quiet, submit an account or contact us to talk it through.