How long should I allow for a weekly commercial payment?

Hi, I'm very new to doing commercial, been mainly doing domestic window cleaning, I am starting cleaning for a large shop and they want it done weekly. So I was going to invoice them at the end of each month. Not sure how long to say I need payment within on the invoice/agreement, like 14 days/28 days?? I've been doing this now about 2 years and never done a job weekly. If I say 28 days and they use the whole of that period I'll be working in arrears.  Whats a good time frame to request payment for commercial? Thanks.

Buddylove said:

Hi, I'm very new to doing commercial, been mainly doing domestic window cleaning, I am starting cleaning for a large shop and they want it done weekly. So I was going to invoice them at the end of each month. Not sure how long to say I need payment within on the invoice/agreement, like 14 days/28 days?? I've been doing this now about 2 years and never done a job weekly. If I say 28 days and they use the whole of that period I'll be working in arrears.  Whats a good time frame to request payment for commercial? Thanks.

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I'd ask them to pay weekly upon completion of the job or at least every other week. I only do a few shops in a garden centre but there monthly and they pay cash every time. 

I do a few and I agree with Jonnyavfc above. Get paid on the day if its a reasonable amount. Most smallish commercial jobs have a float to pay people like us on a weekly basis. They know your coming each week so it should be very straightforward. You could end up chasing them for it if its left clean after clean if you know what I mean and wasting time working out which clean they are paying for. That's  my view anyway

This should have been discussed at quote stage, they might have a company policy of 60 days end of month. They might also have the ability to pay there and then. If I were you I'd go in and present the invoice on completion and say the quote was based on immediate payment.

Most commercial jobs pay within 28 days , if it’s a shop and you know the staff and they can pay  you out of the till I would bill them at the end of each month 

Beware anything to do with Retail. What happens if you wait 3 months and they suddenly go bust, at least weekly you will only lose one week. We had a Pawnbroker shut down without warning and folk had jewellery in the shop waiting for collection. I don't think they got their stuff back because the liquidator swallowed everything to pay off their debt. I did recycling and the shops were reluctant to pay me because they were in recession, now i think they are in depression.

My commercial jobs are 28 days but if it's less than £50 try and get paid on the day. 

This should have been set out in your written quote as to whether you wanting paying upon completion out of the till if this is possible dependant on the company and there policies, from some straight out of the till is fine with big firms it may be required that an invoice is submitted and dealt with by accounts and payment is by bacs only,

I have a commercial job that pays around 21 days after the job is done even though by payment terms are 14 days, the firm was bought out last year so payment takes a little longer as they pay all submitted invoices on a certain date each month, were as previously I would get paid within a week.