Collections nightmare on a water heater swap job

Had this commercial client in the Chicago area stiff me on $3200 for a Rheem tankless install last month, said the job was overkill even though they begged for it during the quote. I sent three invoices with late fees stacking up, but they're ghosting me now after I had to file a mechanics lien just to get their attention. Out here, old commercial buildings like theirs always have sketchy owners who think plumbers are pushovers. Anyone got tips on collections software that actually works for plumbing gigs without breaking the bank? Saw a thread on r/Plumbing about QuickBooks integrations, but I'm still on paper statements half the time. Guy in Plumbers United group mentioned using ServiceTitan for this, but is it worth switching mid-season? FML, this is eating into my winter prep budget.

File small claims if it's under 5k, saved my ass on a similar PEX repipe job.

Same here, chicago winters make chasing payments twice as miserable. Use demand letters first, works 70% of the time before court.

Switch to Housecall Pro for invoicing, auto-sends reminders and tracks everything. Cut my collections time in half on boiler installs.

Screw em, next time get 50% upfront on commercial. Learned that the hard way after a leaky Viega manifold job.