Only got stiffed once in 20+ years on my own - as jstolaruk indicates, chasing them down would have been more than it was worth.
Try to keep something back for leverage. In my case, I typically wouldn't provide as-built drawings until payment was received. My standard terms included the right to revoke warranty if payments weren't made on time and in full. On municipal projects the threat to notify the owner I was going to stop warranty protection would break loose payment. The contractor wouldn't get his retainage if that happened, and he was usually hanging out there for a lot more than he owed me.
That is another reason to push for the progress payments I mentioned above. It limits your exposure and identifies the real credit risks early on.