TapeAndFloat.comPast-due pay app? Polite collection scripts for drywall subs
When a drywall pay app goes past due, send a short, friendly email first, then a text, then a phone call, then a firmer written note, and name the pay app number, amount and date sent every time. On private Texas jobs the owner generally has 35 days to pay the GC after a written request, and the GC must pay you within 7 days after it gets paid (Property Code § 28.002), so the first question to ask is whether the owner has paid yet.
Stay polite, stay specific and put everything in writing. A follow-up that lists the job, the pay app, the amount and any missing paperwork is easy for the GC's accounting office to act on, and it builds the paper trail you need if the money never comes. Keep your Texas lien notice deadline on the calendar the whole time, because it keeps running while you wait.
Not legal advice. Check with an attorney. This is a general guide for office staff on private Texas jobs. Your subcontract (pay-when-paid or pay-if-paid terms, notice addresses, dispute steps) can change the timing, and public jobs follow different rules. Read the statutes linked below and check specific jobs with a Texas construction attorney.
1. Figure out when it is actually late
"Late" means late under your subcontract first. Find the payment terms and note, for each pay app, the day you sent it and the day the GC said it would pay.
If the subcontract is silent, Chapter 28 sets the default for private jobs. The owner pays the GC no later than the 35th day after receiving a written payment request, and the GC pays each sub its share of that owner payment no later than the 7th day after receiving it (§ 28.002). If the owner has a construction loan, asked for the funds on time and the lender has not paid them out within 35 days, the owner's deadline moves to the 5th day after it receives the loan proceeds (§ 28.008).
So "the owner hasn't paid us" may be true. Find out when the owner paid, or will pay, and follow up from there.
2. Check your own paperwork before you ask
Before you ask for money, make sure nothing on your side is holding it. Look for:
- Did the GC receive the pay app, and did it make the billing cutoff?
- Was it approved as billed, or cut? If cut, by how much and why?
- Did you send the conditional lien waiver for the amount requested?
- Is anything else missing: current insurance certificate, signed change order backup, a bills-paid affidavit the GC asked for?
If something is missing, send it with your first follow-up.
3. A simple follow-up ladder
These steps are a suggested office routine, not legal deadlines. Adjust them to the GC and the relationship.
- Day 1 past due: friendly email to the GC's accounting contact, copy the PM.
- Day 3: short text to the PM.
- Day 7: phone call, then an email recap of what was said.
- Day 14: firmer written note to the PM and the GC's office manager or owner.
- Any time: check your lien notice date (section 6). Do not wait on promises past it.
4. Copy-paste scripts
Email 1, friendly (day 1).
Subject: [Job name] - Pay app #[4], $[amount], status? Hi [Name], Checking on our pay app #[4] for [Job name], period ending [date], for $[amount]. We sent it on [date] with the conditional lien waiver. Our records show it was due [date]. Can you tell me if it has been approved and when payment is scheduled? If you need anything else from us, let me know and I will send it today. Thanks, [Your name], [Company], [phone]
Text 1 (day 3).
Hi [Name], it's [Your name] with [Company]. Following up on pay app #[4] for [Job], $[amount], sent [date]. Any update on when it will be paid? Happy to send anything you need. Thanks!
Call notes (day 7). Ask three questions and write the answers down: Has the owner paid this draw? If yes, on what date? If no, when is it expected, and is anything on our pay app holding it up? Then send a two-line recap email: "Thanks for the call today. You said the owner paid on [date] and our payment of $[amount] will go out by [date]."
Email 2, firmer (day 14).
Subject: Past due - [Job name] pay app #[4], $[amount] Hi [Name], Pay app #[4] for [Job name], $[amount], sent [date], is still unpaid. We followed up on [dates]. All paperwork you requested has been provided. Please confirm in writing by [date, about 3 business days out] when payment will be made. If any part is disputed, please list the specific items so we can resolve them, and release the undisputed amount. We value working with you and want to keep the job moving. [Your name], [Company], [phone]
Keep the tone even. No threats, no all caps. If you want to mention statutory interest or a lien, have your attorney approve the wording first.
5. If the GC disputes part of the pay app
Texas allows a payer with a good faith dispute to hold back only part of the payment: not more than 110 percent of the difference between what you claim and what they say is due on a detached single-family home, duplex, triplex or quadruplex, and not more than 100 percent of that difference on other jobs (§ 28.003). A dispute over whether work was done properly counts.
In practice, ask for the disputed items in writing, fix or price what you can, and ask that the undisputed part be paid now. Unpaid amounts required under Chapter 28 bear interest at 1.5 percent a month starting the day after the payment is due (§ 28.004), and a court may award costs and reasonable attorney's fees in an action to enforce the chapter (§ 28.005).
6. Do not let the lien clock run out
Collection emails do not protect your lien rights. For unpaid work on a private job, a sub generally must send a notice of claim to the owner and the original contractor by the 15th day of the 3rd month after the month the work was done (2nd month on residential projects) (§ 53.056). The same section also lets you send the original contractor a written notice that an invoice is past due; that notice is optional and is not required for a lien to be valid (§ 53.056(a-4)).
Put the notice date on the calendar the day a pay app goes past due. Our Texas lien deadline calculator gives the dates for any month you worked, and the Texas lien deadlines post explains each step.
7. Before you stop work, call an attorney
Chapter 28 has a right to suspend work when the owner has not paid the undisputed amount on time, but only after 10 days' written notice to the owner (and in some cases the owner's lender), and it does not apply to 1-4 family homes or government jobs (§ 28.009). Your subcontract may add its own rules, so get advice first.
8. Keep a one-line collections log
Job / GC ................ Example Apartments / Example GC Pay app # / amount ...... 4 / $18,450 (made-up numbers) Sent / due .............. Apr 1 / Apr 30 Follow-ups .............. May 1 email, May 3 text, May 7 call + recap GC says ................. owner paid May 6, check by May 13 Lien notice date ........ on the calendar (see calculator) Status .................. open
TapeAndFloat is an office assistant for drywall subs and small GCs. During the free pilot it flags pay apps that are past their expected pay date and keeps the lien notice dates next to them, and a real person on your team reviews every follow-up before it goes out. If that would help your office, take a look at the Austin pilot.
Official sources
- Texas Property Code, Chapter 28: Prompt Payment to Contractors and Subcontractors (§§ 28.002, 28.003, 28.004, 28.005, 28.008, 28.009)
- Texas Property Code, Chapter 53: Mechanic's Lien (§ 53.056)
Related: how to fill out a drywall pay application in Texas, which Texas lien waiver to sign and how to get your retainage back.
Not legal advice. General summary as of October 27, 2026. Check specific jobs with a Texas construction attorney.
Frequently asked questions
When is a drywall pay app past due in Texas?
First check your subcontract. If it is silent, on private jobs the owner pays the GC within 35 days after a written payment request and the GC pays you within 7 days after receiving that payment (Property Code Sec. 28.002). Not legal advice.
How do I politely ask a GC for a late payment?
Send a short email naming the job, pay app number, amount and date sent, ask when payment is scheduled and offer any missing paperwork. Follow with a text, a call with a written recap, then a firmer written note.
Can the GC hold my whole pay app over a dispute?
In a good faith dispute, Sec. 28.003 lets the payer withhold not more than 110 percent of the disputed difference on 1-4 family homes, or 100 percent on other jobs. Ask for the disputed items in writing and for the undisputed amount to be paid.
Do collection emails protect my lien rights?
No. For unpaid work on private jobs, send the notice of claim by the 15th day of the 3rd month after the month the work was done, or the 2nd month on residential projects (Sec. 53.056). Not legal advice.