The Texas Contractor's Guide to Getting Paid When a Customer Won't

You showed up, did the work, and did it right. Then the invoice went out and the money didn't come in. If you build, sub, or supply in the DFW area, you know this story — and you know how fast an unpaid balance can turn a profitable job into a loss. The good news is that Texas law gives contractors and suppliers more leverage than most realize. The bad news is that leverage runs on deadlines, and the people who wait usually lose it. Here's what to do, in order.

### Move 1: Stop work — in writing

When payment stops, the instinct is to keep working and hope the check clears. Resist it. Every additional hour of labor and dollar of material you put into a non-paying job is more money at risk with no guarantee of recovery. Send a short, dated written notice — text or email is fine — stating that work is paused pending payment of the outstanding balance. This does two things: it stops the bleeding, and it creates a clear, time-stamped record that you raised the nonpayment when it happened, not months later.

### Move 2: Build the paper trail

Collection cases are won on documentation. Gather and preserve everything that's dated: the signed contract or estimate, every change order, your invoices, photos of the completed work, and the texts and emails where the customer acknowledged the job or promised to pay. Casual messages matter — “looks great, I'll get you next week” is evidence. Keep it organized, because the strength of your paper trail often determines how quickly the other side decides to settle rather than fight.

### Move 3: Watch the clock

This is where most contractors leave leverage on the table. Texas gives you powerful tools — mechanic's and materialman's lien rights and the Prompt Payment Act — but each runs on strict deadlines. Lien rights, in particular, have notice and filing windows tied to when the work was performed, and missing them can forfeit your strongest claim. A properly and timely filed lien places a cloud on the property that frequently gets you paid faster than a lawsuit ever would, because it interferes with the owner's ability to sell or refinance. The Prompt Payment Act sets deadlines for payment after proper billing and allows interest to accrue when those are ignored. The common thread: act before the windows close.

### The advantage most people don't know about

On a written contract, Texas law generally allows the prevailing party to recover reasonable attorney's fees on a breach-of-contract claim. In plain terms: if you're owed money under a written agreement and you have to pursue it, you may be able to recover not just the balance but the cost of going after it. That single fact changes the math on whether a debt is “worth” chasing — and it's a big reason a demand letter from an attorney often gets results on its own.

### When a demand letter is enough

Many disputes never need a lawsuit. A clear, professional demand letter — laying out the balance, the contract, the documentation, and the consequences of continued nonpayment — is often the moment a stalling customer suddenly finds the money. It signals that the polite-reminder phase is over and that you understand your rights. It's also a fraction of the cost of litigation, which is why it's usually the first step.

### Don't write it off

The most expensive mistake we see is contractors quietly absorbing unpaid balances because chasing them feels like more hassle than it's worth. Between lien leverage, prompt-payment rules, and recoverable attorney's fees, the picture is often very different from what it looks like at 11 p.m. after a frustrating call with a GC. Before you write off what you're owed, get a straight read on it.

At LEAL-CALANDRA LEGAL we help DFW contractors, subs, and suppliers collect on jobs that went sideways. Tell us who owes you and how much, and we'll tell you straight whether it's worth pursuing — call or text 214-764-6424.