The average contractor is owed $17,500 in unpaid invoices — and does about $8,000 a year of work they never even bill for. Here's how to get paid the second a job is done, without playing collections agent.
The Real Numbers
You finished the work, the customer's happy — and the money still isn't in your account. It's not just you. Late and unpaid invoices are one of the biggest silent killers of trade businesses, and most of it comes down to work that never got invoiced fast enough or followed up on.
Average owed to a small business in unpaid invoices (56% have invoices outstanding).
Of work the average contractor does every year — but never even invoices.
Of a contractor's working time lost to admin: chasing payment, manual invoices, phone tag.
The Fix
We wire automated invoicing into how you already work, so the money stops slipping through the cracks — and you never make an awkward "just following up" call again.
The second you mark a job complete, the invoice is built from the details — service, parts, labor, your notes — and sent in your name before you've packed up your tools.
Unpaid? Friendly, automatic nudges go out at 7, 14, and 30 days. Polite, relentless, and completely hands-off — so nothing gets forgotten.
The money lands while you're on the next job. No more thousands slipping through the cracks, no more begging for what you already earned.
Why DarkHorse
DarkHorse Automations was built by people with 30+ years inside the trades — including wholesale plumbing — not by a generic software company reading a script. We speak your language, set the whole system up for you, and tune it to how trade jobs actually come in and get paid. You keep turning wrenches; the automation catches the money.
FAQ
On average, a small business with unpaid invoices is owed about $17,500, and 56% of small businesses have invoices outstanding. On top of that, the average contractor performs roughly $8,000 a year of work they never even invoice — it slips through the cracks.
The moment a job is marked complete, the invoice is generated from the job details and sent automatically in your name. If it goes unpaid, the system follows up at 7, 14, and 30 days, then escalates — so you get paid without playing collections agent.
No. The follow-up is automatic and polite — friendly reminders on a schedule so you never have to make the awkward call. Contractors waste 25–35% of their time on admin like this; automation gives it back.
Because it's done-for-you and wired into your existing tools, core invoicing + follow-up automation can be live in days. There's no software to learn.
Get Set Up
We'll set the whole thing up for you and wire it into how you already work. Go get your money.