The plaster contractor sends a message: "18,000 for the week". No square meters, no breakdown, no mention of what was already paid. Transfer the same evening so you "do not hold him up", and you may have paid for a room that was not in the quote, or for a previous bill that already went out.
A subcontractor bill is not a favor and not a fight. It is a check. Open three things before you transfer: the quote you closed with him, what was done on site from the log and the photos, and what was already paid.
An example, so the gap is visible
Say the quote was 90 per square meter of wall, and you measured 160 square meters. That is 14,400. The bill that arrived is 18,000. The gap of 3,600 might be a ceiling that was never written, an extra room, a return day because a wall was not ready, or a mistake. Do not guess. Ask which square meters.
The numbers here are an example of the check, not a market price for plaster. Every site has its own price. The shape is the same: quantity times the price you agreed, against what the bill says.
Five checks before you transfer
- The amount against the quote, including quantity
- What was actually done, from the log and the photos, not from the message
- What was already paid on the previous bill, so you do not pay twice for the same meters
- How much is left in that budget line after this transfer
- If there is an extra, that it has a written OK from before they started it
The first check catches a price or a quantity that does not match. The second catches work that is not finished, for example a room the log still shows as open. The third catches an earlier progress bill that already covered part of the walls. The fourth tells you if the line is about to run out before the work is done. The fifth catches "we did it because it was needed" with nobody approving the price.
Pay what is clear, hold the rest
In the example, 14,400 sits on the quote and the measure. You can transfer that if the work was actually done and was not paid before. Do not transfer the 3,600 until there is a line: what was added, how much, and who approved it. Do not hold the whole bill out of anger if the base work was done as agreed. A crew stopped in the middle of a site costs you days. And do not pay the extra "to keep the peace" if it is not in the quote.
Write the contractor the same day what was approved and what is missing. "Transferring 14,400 for 160 square meters at 90. The 3,600 needs a breakdown: which room or which ceiling, before it is paid."
How much is left in the line
Say the plaster line in the budget was 20,000, and you already paid 8,000. A bill of 14,400 takes the line to 22,400, over what you planned, and that is before the finish if a room is still left. You see that before the transfer, not at month-end when the money is gone and there is nobody to talk to about the gap.
If work remains and the line is already finished, stop and talk before you book the contractor again. Continuing and "we will close it later" is how a line runs over without anyone deciding that.
An extra that was done with no approval
Sometimes it really was needed. A wall that did not hold, a point that moved, an extra day because the room was not free. You can talk about it. You cannot pretend it was in the original price. Write what was added, the amount, and whether you accept it. Next time, stop before the extra starts, not after the bill arrives.
Keep the bill next to the job expense, with what was approved and what is still open. At month-end you can see what this contractor cost, and what is still left in the line, without rebuilding it from WhatsApp.