Some local contractors associations offer collection agencies to the members. The agencies get no 'up-front' $$, but get a percentage of what they sucessfully collect. Percentages were 25 to 35%, but may be negotiated.
Quite a few ECs take payment via credit/debit cards on the spot, but there are costs associated with that, and equipment I guess. Getting paid COD style seems the best solution for service type work,
