We use cookies to keep you signed in and to see what's working and what breaks. No advertising cookies, nothing sold. Details in our Cookie Policy.

California

Getting paid on California jobs

California gives a subcontractor prompt payment deadlines, a lien, a stop payment notice and a bond claim, and most of the ones who go unpaid reach for none of them. These guides cover invoicing that gets approved first time, the deadlines that start running the day you finish, and what to do the week a client goes quiet.

Try this on a real business

Open a seeded business in your trade. Nine jobs on the pipeline, a quote sent and viewed, a deposit paid, and an invoice already overdue.

Open the demo business

No card, no form. Sign in later and everything you built stays on the same account.

18 guides on this

How to run the businessContractor bond and qualifierA surety pays your claimant, then collects the $25,000 back from you under the indemnity agreement. Covers the $100,000 LLC worker bond, the s.7071.9 qualifier bond, the 32 hour employment test, and the 90 days to replace a qualifier who leaves.How to run the business20 day preliminary noticeCiv. Code s.8204 gives you 20 days from first furnishing, and a late notice still protects the 20 days before service plus everything after. Who to serve, what s.8202 puts on the form, and how to prove you sent it.How to run the businessGet paid in 30 daysThe owner owes the direct contractor within 30 days under Civ. Code s.8800 and the prime owes you within 7 days of receipt under BPC s.7108.5, with a disputed line capped at 150 percent of the amount actually in question.How to run the businessWhen a client will not payFive rungs in order, each with a California deadline: the dated demand, the stop payment notice, the lien at 30, 60 or 90 days from completion, and the 90 days to bring suit to foreclose under Civ. Code s.8460. Worked with real dates on one Riverside file.How to run the businessCalifornia home improvement contractsThe BPC s.7159 contract shape: the $500 written threshold, a down payment capped at the lesser of $1,000 or 10 percent, a stage schedule where money never runs ahead of value in place, and how to count the three business day cancellation window.How to run the businessChange orders and extrasWritten and signed before the extra work starts on residential jobs under BPC s.7159, the 150 percent cap on withholding a disputed amount (BPC s.7108.5), and the public works order of preference where agreement comes before force account.Before you qualifyC-46 SolarSince 1 January 2026 field verification runs through the ECC Program and a registered certificate gates permit closeout, which is why 16 days of documentation sit between the crew's last day and completion. Covers the 30 day owner payment clock, the 90 day lien window a recorded notice cuts to 60, and the $1,000 deposit cap.Before you qualifyC-53 Swimming poolOn an $86,000 pool the deposit is capped at $1,000, so the excavation, steel and gunite run on your money. Covers cave-in protection at 5 feet, egress at 4 feet, fall protection above 7.5 feet, and the county health file every public pool clears before it opens.After you qualifyCaltrans and public works bidsHow a bid item price is deemed full compensation, why final pay quantities are never remeasured, the 25 percent quantity swing, working days charged against the controlling activity, 5 percent retention and release 60 days after completion.Before you qualifyB-2 Residential remodelingWhere B-2 stops and a full B starts under 16 CCR 832, why a bearing wall is the line, and the BPC s.7159 rules that cap your deposit at $1,000 on an $86,000 remodel. Plus the $450 application and the $25,000 bond.Before you qualifyC-23 Ornamental metalThe C-23 scope, plus CDTFA Regulation 1521 and the deemed manufacturing profit on metal you fabricate yourself, special inspection on field welds and anchorage, and the $1,000 deposit cap on a $46,500 stair and rail package.Before you qualifyC-39 RoofingSigning with the owner makes the clocks yours: a Notice of Completion recorded inside 15 days of your final cuts the lien window from 90 days to 60. Covers stage billing on a $38,000 reroof that starts on a $1,000 deposit, fall protection above 7.5 feet, and the Chapter 7A vents, eaves and valleys where the bid is won.How to run the businessInvoicing and payment applicationsWhat each line on a California billing does: the license number under BPC s.7030.5, the jobsite address that sets the tax rate, retention as a deduction rather than a discount, and cumulative columns. Includes a $184,000 payment application that recovers a lost month.Before you qualifyC-6 Cabinet and millworkHow CDTFA Regulation 1521 splits materials from fixtures and taxes a shop built cabinet on a cost price carrying deemed manufacturing profit, and how to build a delivery milestone payment schedule around the $1,000 deposit cap on a $60,000 kitchen.Before you qualifyC-15 Flooring and floor coveringCDTFA Regulation 1521 sorts what you install into materials, fixtures and equipment, and the sort decides whether tax lands on your cost or on the selling price. Plus the $1,000 deposit cap and 65 percent CALGreen waste diversion.Before you qualifyC-22 Asbestos abatementWhat a C-22 is worth in California: the CSLB classification, standing Cal/OSHA Division registration and certified workers, plus the 20 day preliminary notice and the lien window a recorded Notice of Completion cuts from 90 days to 30.Before you qualifyC-55 Water conditioningThe lesser of $1,000 or 10 percent binds, so a $6,400 whole house system carries a $640 deposit and three business days of cancellation before you install. Covers the $500 license threshold, the $25,000 bond, and where CDTFA Regulation 1521 puts you in the retailer seat.Before you qualifyC-34 PipelineTrench depth sets the cost: egress at 4 feet, cave-in protection and a Cal/OSHA permit at 5, stormwater coverage at one acre. Covers the 25 percent quantity swing that opens a price adjustment, the 150 percent withholding cap, and five weeks from progress invoice to money.

Count it instead of estimating it

California prompt payment and retention calculatorTwo clocks, not one. Progress payments run from the payment demand; retention runs from completion, not from your final invoice. Enter both dates and see which one is actually late.Free, no signup.
Every calculator

The rest of the California library

Getting and keeping a CSLB licensePreliminary notices and mechanics liens in CaliforniaRetention on California jobsPrevailing wage and public works in CaliforniaBuilding standards on a California siteCal/OSHA on a construction siteWorkers comp for California contractorsSales tax for California contractors
Every guideThe whole California libraryHow to run the business