You've sold the job, got an agreed scope, and did the work - that was the easy part. Now you have to collect. It used to be that this was the easiest and the second most rewarding part of the job (apart from the customer's smiling face). Recently, however, with an increasing tendency by the insurance companies to name mortgage companies to virtually all checks, this has become the hardest part of the process. So how do you get around it? Do you learn to live with 60-day collection times? Do you require payment from the customer and direct them to the mortgage company for reimbursement? Do you stop doing restoration work? Or do you simply evolve as a business and work smarter? Hopefully the choice is easy - now all you have to do is find out how to do it better.

A typical restoration company may spend tens of thousands of dollars a year on training, new technology and consultants. They may even have a good business plan and plenty of customers.