Getting paid is so important, you would think civil engineering firms would do something meaningful about it, but few do. They send out standard invoices at the standard time of month and then hope for the best. When the best doesn't materialize, they call the client representative, who then places a call to somebody in the client organization's bookkeeping department, who may – or may not – get back in touch.Consider this professional practice best practice developed by ASFE/The Geoprofessional Business Association.

Imagine that you've just come to an agreement with your new client. You say to the client representative, "There are a variety of money issues we need to deal with. Would it be okay if I had the head of our billing department get in touch with someone appropriate in your payables department?" The answer will almost always be yes.

The next step is pretty simple: Have your person call their person. While much of the information sought can be collected by e-mail, telephone is much better than e-mail because it gives proof that the person being communicated with is a human being. The service business being a people business, your demonstration of "peopleness" is a good thing. But how much better the communication would be if it was face-to-face because – one more time – the service business is a people business, and face-to-face communication is the most powerful communication available to people.

Knowing that, you should instruct your CFO or the CFO's chief deputy to call the client's counterpart and invite the latter to lunch on your nickel (if that is permissible; if not, Dutch treat). Lunch in a nice restaurant will permit the two financial folks to communicate with one another in a relaxed, professional business environment.

Most such get-togethers begin with pleasantries: How long have you been with XYZ Company? Where were you before that? Where are you from originally? Pleasantries are important. They often result in two people discovering they have much in common, thus laying the groundwork for long-term relationship building. Of course, your firm's financial representative – just as all its other representatives – should write down (post-meeting) what's learned, for use later.

After the pleasantries, your financial person can ask questions to learn about client preferences. For example: "What's the best day of the week or day of the month for you to receive our bill?" That doesn't mean that you would be obligated to get the bill to the right person at the optimum time; in some organizations that's tough to do. But if getting paid is crucial, what's tough to do may be worthwhile nonetheless. If not, you could simply continue to get it to the right person at the wrong time, assuming the wrong time for the client is the right time for your financial department – "When we always do it." (Does doing things that way make as little sense to you as it does to me?) Another good question: "What media should we use? Do you prefer e-mail or a hard copy or both?"

Next, your CFO or deputy could ask, "To whose attention should we send the bill?" and "Should we send copies to anyone?" The answers could be followed by, "Is there a particular format you'd like us to use?" True, some formats are extremely difficult to modify. But even when they are, you should ask about the key information needed on the bill to expedite processing?

So now the meeting concludes. Your person leaves with not only information about how to get paid faster, but also the information needed to build an important relationship. By keeping in touch, perhaps at various association meetings or at least through an occasional call or note, the relationship will become stronger. And that means, when a bill is not paid on time, your person can call their person to find out why. It may even be that, when the client's finances get strained, your bill will move to the front of the line. Or your CFO may even get a confidential call encouraging early issuance of the bill.

In short, if you really care about getting paid – in full and on time – you need to do something to make that happen. In figuring out what, remember that, in the civil engineering business, as in other service businesses, it's all about people.

John P. Bachner is the executive vice president of ASFE/ The Geoprofessional Business Association, a not-for-profit association of geoprofessional firms – firms that provide geotechnical, geologic, environmental, construction materials engineering and testing (CoMET), and related professional services. ASFE develops programs, services, and materials that its members apply to achieve excellence in their business and professional practices. He can be contacted at john@asfe.org.