What is a payer score, and how do you predict slow-paying customers?
A payer score is a rating, often 0 to 100, of how reliably a customer pays, learned from how they have actually paid you over time rather than what they promise. It lets a contractor prioritize collections toward the slow and risky payers, and price or qualify future bids based on real payment behavior.
Learned from behavior, not promises
A good payer score is built from observed history: average days to pay, how often they pay on time, and how consistent they are. A customer who always pays in 35 days is a very different risk from one who swings between 20 and 90, even if both claim Net 30.
What it changes
With a score per customer, collections stops being guesswork. You chase the risky payers first and harder, leave the reliable ones alone, and walk into a bid knowing whether this customer is likely to tie up your cash for three months.