Customer account tracking for plumbers

How customer accounts work in plumbing

A plumber often buys the parts with their own money or on credit from the supply shop, finishes the job and collects later. The customer pays a deposit and the rest “at the end of the month”. On bigger jobs like a new water heater or a full bathroom, payment can stretch over several months. Work for a building is paid by the committee, which waits until it has collected from residents.

The problem: your supplier’s bill is due now, while customers pay late. If you do not see that gap, you end up financing your customers’ jobs from your own pocket.

What usually goes wrong

• Parts and labour blur together: the customer asks “why so much?” and without a breakdown it is hard to explain.
• Extra work: a valve changed halfway through the job is never written down and then forgotten.
• Part payments: deposit, a payment in the middle, the rest; it is easy to lose track of which arrived.
• Supplier debt: parts for several jobs come from one supplier account, and what you owe becomes unclear.

Setting up plumbing accounts in Baki Fast

1. Add each customer or building committee as a customer and put the address in the customer note.
2. Write the job as one credit entry with item lines: “1 × water heater × 450”, “6 × elbow joint × 1.20”, “1 × labour × 120”. Put the job name in the note, for example “2nd floor bathroom refit”.
3. Record the deposit and later amounts as payments; the remaining balance is always up to date.
4. If the rest will be paid over months, split it with instalments; each part has its own due date and reminder.
5. Add your supply shop as a supplier: parts you take are a purchase, money you pay is a payment.
6. With Pro you can attach a photo of the parts receipt or the finished work to the entry.

A job summary to send the customer

Send the account statement as soon as the job is finished. Customers pay most easily while the new work is in front of them; a breakdown sent a month later brings more questions.