From the blog
Sending invoices and getting paid online
· Robert McLaggan
The invoice itself is rarely the problem — it's what happens after you send it. A payment link the customer can use from their phone closes the gap that 'bank transfer when I'm back at my desk' leaves open. Card payments go through Stripe on your own account, not ours, and if an invoice goes quiet past its due date the reminders chase it automatically. You still decide when a job's paid; the chasing just stops being your job.
The invoice itself is rarely where sole traders lose money. It's what happens after you send it — the bank transfer that's "definitely gone through," the cheque that's "in the post," the three weeks of silence before you finally chase it, feeling like you're the one being difficult for asking to be paid for work you already did.
None of that is about your prices or your work. It's about how easy — or hard — you've made it for the money to actually move.
The gap is between "sent" and "paid"
An invoice with a sort code and account number on it is asking the customer to do something: open their banking app, key in your details, remember to actually press send. Every one of those steps is a place the payment stalls, usually with no bad intent — they just got busy, or forgot, or meant to do it "later."
A payment link closes that gap. The customer taps it, pays by card on their phone, and it's done — no details to copy, no separate app to open. The easier you make paying, the sooner it happens.
Where the money actually goes
Card payments run through Stripe, on your own connected account — not through us. That matters for two reasons: the money reaches your bank the way Stripe pays out (not on some schedule we control), and the payment carries Stripe's processing fee — we add nothing.
If a customer would still rather pay by bank transfer, that's fine — the link doesn't force card payment, it just makes card the fast option for the customer who'd otherwise put it off.
The chasing that happens without you
Here's the part that saves the evenings: once an invoice is sent, you don't have to remember it exists. If it passes its due date unpaid, a reminder goes to the customer on its own — and if it's still unpaid, another, up to three as it gets more overdue. Most late payment isn't malice, it's someone who meant to pay and didn't, and a reminder landing in their inbox does more work than you sitting down once a week to work out who still owes you what.
That's also where it stops. Three reminders happen on their own; a customer who still hasn't paid after that isn't a system problem any more — that's the point where it becomes a late-payment conversation you have to have yourself, or a small claims one.
What this doesn't do
It doesn't make a bad customer a good one, and it doesn't guarantee same-day payment — a payment link makes paying easy, it doesn't make anyone want to. And marking an invoice paid is always something you confirm; nothing gets marked settled on your books without you seeing it happen.
Where grafter.ly fits
This is the last leg of the thing we built: quote it, get it accepted, do the work, invoice it — and the invoice carries a payment link from the start, with the overdue chase running underneath it so you're not the one keeping score. Try it free for 30 days — no card to start.
If the invoice is going unpaid for longer than a reminder or two can fix, what your rights actually are as a UK sole trader is the next thing worth reading.
Common questions
- How do I get paid online as an electrician?
- Send the invoice with a payment link on it. The customer opens it on their phone, pays by card, and the money goes to your account — no bank transfer to wait on, no "I'll do it when I'm back at my laptop."
- Do I need a merchant account to take card payments?
- No. Card payments run through Stripe, which handles the card details and the payout — you don't need your own merchant account or a card machine. Stripe's own processing fee applies to the payment; nothing is added on top of that.
- What happens if a customer doesn't pay an overdue invoice?
- A sent invoice that's gone past its due date gets a reminder sent to the customer automatically, up to three times as it gets more overdue. You don't have to remember to chase it yourself — though if it's still unpaid after that, it's back on you to decide the next step.