PestBossPro Blog — Billing & Payments

WDI Inspection Billing: Getting Paid for Real Estate Inspections

A wood-destroying insect inspection for a home sale is one of the stranger jobs a pest control company bills. The person who calls is often a real estate agent. The person who pays might be the buyer, the seller or a title company. The person who lives in the house may be someone else entirely. And everyone wants the report yesterday.

The Customer Is Often Not the Homeowner

Termite inspections and treatments for homeowners are covered in Invoicing Termite Inspections and Termite Work. WDI inspections for real estate transactions are related work, but the billing is built around the sale, not the house.

The key billing question for every WDI inspection is: who pays, and when? Answer it before the inspection is scheduled, not after the report is written.

Who Pays

Depending on your market and the deal, any of these might pay for a WDI inspection:

• The buyer, often for a purchase that needs the inspection.
• The seller, sometimes as part of what they agreed to provide.
• The agent, who orders it and is reimbursed in the deal.
• The closing, with the fee paid out of the settlement by a title or escrow company.

Who pays is between the parties to the sale. Your job is to know before you go out, and to bill that party. Do not leave it as “we'll figure it out.”

Paid at Order, or Paid at Closing

There are two common ways to collect, and many companies use both depending on who is ordering:

• Paid at order. The buyer or agent pays when they book. This is the safest option, because deals fall through and an unpaid inspection on a dead deal is hard to collect. Online payment in the customer app, or a card taken at booking, works well here.
• Paid at closing. The fee is paid from the settlement. This is common and convenient for agents, but it means waiting, sometimes weeks, and the risk of the deal not closing. If you accept payment at closing, get the title or escrow contact and the expected closing date when the inspection is ordered.

A reasonable middle ground is to require payment at order from anyone you do not already know, and allow paid-at-closing for agents and title companies you work with regularly.

Setting Up the Client and Invoice

In PestBossPro, one client can have many addresses. For an agent or brokerage who orders inspections regularly, set them up as the client and add each inspected property as an address under them. Each WDI inspection is a job at that address, invoiced from your service list as “WDI Inspection” at your set price. The agent sees every inspection they ordered on one account.

For a one-time buyer or seller, set them up as their own client with the property address. Put the closing details, the agent and who pays in the job notes, so the office knows where to send the invoice.

If an agent orders often, an account set to Monthly can roll all their inspections into one statement covering every property, which fits how many brokerages prefer to pay.

When the Inspection Finds Something

Sometimes the inspection finds termite activity or damage, and a treatment is needed before closing. That treatment is separate work with a separate estimate and a separate payer, who might not be the same person who paid for the inspection. Quote it from your service list, get it approved, and bill it as its own job. If it has to be done before closing, a deposit or payment at approval protects you if the deal falls apart.

Reporting requirements for WDI inspections, including what form to use and who receives it, vary by state and by the lender or loan program. Check your state's lead agency rules and any lender requirements. Billing does not change those rules; it just needs to keep up with them.

Keep the Record With the Property

The inspection belongs on the property's record: the date, findings, photos and notes. When the buyer becomes the new homeowner, they are a natural candidate for a recurring plan or termite protection, and the history is already there. A short follow-up after closing, offering a quarterly plan at the new address, can turn a one-time inspection into a long-term customer. Selling that first plan is covered in Billing the Initial Pest Control Service: The First Invoice on a New Account.

Know the Payer Before You Go

WDI inspections are fast, steady work for pest companies that bill them cleanly: know who pays, collect at order from new customers, track closings for agents you trust, and keep the inspection on the property record. For the rest of PestBossPro's billing tools, visit the pest control invoicing software page.