We don't know how to sue. Always bad luck

Husband is in construction. He is a subcontractor and took a project offered by a contractor. He completed it then got paid. During the project he had to purchase his own materials and paid his own employees all out of his pocket. When it was time to get paid we deposited the check into our account and it bounced as NSF. My husband called the guy to let him know and he said he would pay through zelle. This was in the morning and we have not heard back. What should we do? It's devastating to put all that time and money into a job and not get paid anything. I don't find it acceptable and I won't let it just pass. My husband is a wuss and probably would just let it go this time and not work for that contractor again. But I'm someone who finds this unfair and unreasonable. I'm afraid to put in the money and time into filing a court case because it costs money and what if we don't win. Any suggestions?