Net-60 Wasn't a Strategy. You Just Never Went Back.
ClearBridge Operating Solutions works with independent machine shops and small manufacturers in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts to surface and fix the structural cash timing problems built into how jobs are quoted and billed. This post covers how accepted payment terms compound over time as job sizes grow, when shop owners actually have leverage to renegotiate, and how to open that conversation without threatening the relationship. ClearBridge offers fixed-fee operations consulting starting at $3,500, based in Torrington, Connecticut. Book a discovery call at clearbridgeos.com/book.
At some point early in a customer relationship, you accepted their payment terms. Net-60, maybe Net-90. You wanted the contract, the terms were theirs, and saying yes made sense at the time.
The problem is that nobody went back.
How the Exposure Grows
Payment terms feel like a fixed condition of the relationship. They were set once and they stay. Meanwhile the job sizes grow, volume increases, and the float your customer is carrying on your working capital gets bigger every year without a conversation happening.
"A shop that accepted Net-60 on a $15,000 order is running that same term on $60,000 and $90,000 jobs. The money going out for materials and labor in week two doesn't change because the invoice terms haven't."
Milestone billing has the same pattern. A deposit plus final-on-completion made sense for a small, short job. Applied to a 14-week job at $90,000, it's a cash gap built into the quote before work starts. You ordered raw stock in week three. You won't invoice until week fourteen.
When You Have Leverage
Most shop owners assume the customer will push back hard or walk if terms come up. That happens, but far less often than owners expect, especially once the relationship has a real track record.
You have more room than you think when:
On-time delivery is consistent
You're a preferred or sole-source supplier for specific work
Volume has grown significantly since the original terms were agreed to
Replacing you would take the customer real time and effort
In those situations, a conversation about terms isn't a threat to the relationship. It's a normal business discussion that you've just been putting off.
What the Conversation Looks Like
You don't open with "we need better terms." You open with the business reality. Jobs are larger now, lead times are longer, material costs go out well before the job ships.
"Most customers respond to that framing. The ones who push back hard are telling you something useful about the relationship either way."
The 90-Day Cash Flow Radar will show you exactly where your current terms are creating pressure in your cash map. Download it at clearbridgeos.com/resources.
A discovery call is enough to figure out whether there's a sprint worth running. No pitch, no commitment.
