Why did we create ChqPlz?

If you’re a small business tradie, you know how the game works.
You show up, you do the job, you put in the hours — and then you hope the money comes through. That’s the deal. That’s how it’s always been.

Meanwhile, the big end of town plays by a different rulebook.
At Coles or Woolies, you pay before you take the goods.
Large trade companies run credit checks, sign contracts, and protect themselves from day one.
But when it’s just you or a small crew, you don’t get that kind of safety net.

And the truth is, when you’re on your own, every dollar matters.
A “small” unpaid job isn’t small at all — it’s fuel in the tank, groceries for the family, keeping the lights on, getting through the week. Losing a few hundred bucks hits hard.

Sure, the official advice says to send letters of demand, talk to lawyers, maybe even take it to court. But anyone who’s actually been there knows the reality: the process costs more time, stress, and money than the debt itself. Most tradies simply can’t afford to chase it, so they cop the loss and move on.

And that’s where the real problem starts.
Some customers figure out they can get away with it.
They burn one tradie, then call the next, knowing most of us won’t chase them because it’s just too hard.

ChqPlz isn’t about credit checks or legal threats.
It’s about something much simpler — and much stronger.
It’s tradies looking out for tradies.
Sharing real experiences so the same people can’t keep doing the same thing to the next tradie.

That’s why we built ChqPlz.
To give small business tradies a bit of power back.
To make the game fairer.
To help each other know before you go.