Credit control for construction means managing payment applications, due dates, pay less notices and retentions so money arrives on the dates your contract and the Construction Act set. It works best when every application is logged against the final date for payment, chased before it falls due, and escalated quickly using your statutory rights.
Construction runs on long payment chains. A main contractor waits on a client, a subcontractor waits on the main contractor, and a supplier waits on everyone. When one link pays late, the delay moves down the chain, and it is usually the smaller firms at the bottom that run short of cash first.
Good credit control in construction is not only about sending reminders. It is about knowing your contractual payment mechanism, submitting applications that cannot easily be challenged, and acting the day a deadline passes rather than weeks later. This guide explains how UK construction businesses can build that discipline and where automation helps.
Record the due date, final date for payment and pay less notice deadline for every contract.
No valid pay less notice means the notified sum is payable in full.
You can suspend work after seven days' written notice of non-payment.
Claim statutory interest (base rate + 8%) and fixed compensation where the contract allows.
Treat each retention release as its own invoice with its own reminders.