Chasing payments on that $4500 panel upgrade? Here's my go-to script

Been in the Chicago area my whole career doing mostly residential electrical, and collections suck the life outta you sometimes. Last month I had a guy who dragged his feet on a $4500 Eaton panel upgrade after I wired it to NEC 210.8 specs with all the GFCIs. I use Housecall Pro for invoicing, but when they ghost you, I hit em with a polite but firm email script: 'Hey, just following up on invoice #123 for the panel work we completed on 10/15. Payment's now 30 days past due, and I'd hate to have to file a lien on your property.' Works 80% of the time without escalating. Saw a similar rant in Electricians Network on Facebook about stiffed service calls, and yeah, it's the worst part of the job. If you're using QuickBooks for this, make sure to set up reminders automatically. Pro tip: always get a signed change order before starting big jobs like that.