Counted from the day you finish the job, STC payment is the sum of two things: how long you take to lodge, and how long the trader takes to pay. Only the second is the trader’s choice.
A realistic timeline
- Install day. Photos taken and the assignment form signed.
- Same or next day. You lodge the complete claim.
- Review. The trader checks it. A well-documented claim passes in hours.
- Payment. Depends on the terms: one day with a fast-settlement trader, 20 or 30 days with a slower one.
Typical total: from two or three days to more than a month. The spread comes almost entirely from terms and from claims that need rework.
The part you control
Lodge promptly, with a complete set. A job finished on Monday and lodged the following Friday has already lost four days. Build lodgement into the crew’s end of day routine rather than leaving it to the weekly admin session.
The part to ask about
Ask your trader what counts as complete, when the rate locks, and how a query is communicated. A lock on lodgement protects you from price moves while the check is under way. Our insight on payment timing covers the benchmarks.
What this means for installers
With Energy Merchants, established partners are paid within 24 hours; your first claim takes 48 to 72 hours as we verify your details. The compliance desk pre-checks every claim, so most queries are answered before lodgement rather than after. See how it works, the pricing page and start trading when you are ready.
Remember too that payment timing interacts with your own obligations. If you pay suppliers weekly, a trader paying in a month leaves a hole every week. Match your trader’s terms to your own cash cycle and you will rarely need an overdraft to bridge certificate income.
As a rule of thumb, set an internal service level: lodge within 24 hours of install, and chase any claim that has not moved within two business days. Tracking those two numbers makes payment delays visible early, while there is still time to fix a photo or form with the customer’s goodwill intact.