How FOUNDATION® and FOUNDATION Pay® Improve Construction Cash Flow

Cash flow is one of the most persistent challenges in the construction industry, even for profitable companies. Construction cash flow suffers because contractors pay labor, materials, and equipment costs long before customer payments arrive.

Projects move forward, crews stay busy and invoices go out, yet cash still arrives later than expected. The issue usually is not one single breakdown. It is a collection of small delays that add up across billing, collections and payment processing.

For many contractors, the biggest obstacle is disconnected systems. Accounting lives in one place. Payments live somewhere else. Time and project costs are tracked separately. Each handoff creates friction, slows down decisions and makes it harder to see what is actually happening with cash.

FOUNDATION and FOUNDATION Pay are designed to remove those disconnects. Together, they link job cost accounting, billing and payments into one workflow, helping contractors move money through the construction business faster and with more confidence.

Why Cash Flow Is a Constant Pressure in Construction

Construction companies often operate with long cash cycles. Labor, materials and equipment costs are paid when due, while customer payments arrive weeks or months later.

Late payments do not just slow growth. They increase financial risk. When receivables lag, contractors may delay vendor payments, miss early pay discounts or hesitate to take on new work.

Over time, even small inefficiencies can compound into major cash flow constraints. The bigger issue is timing. When cash status is unclear, every financial decision becomes harder.

Where Disconnected Systems Create Cash Flow Drag

Disconnected accounting and payment systems slow construction cash flow by delaying invoicing, payment application, and financial visibility.

When accounting and payments operate in silos, delays become built into the process. Invoices may be generated in one system, delivered manually and then tracked separately once payments arrive.

Common friction points include:

• Invoices sent without easy digital payment options
• Payments received outside the accounting system and entered manually
• Delays applying cash to receivables and jobs
• Limited real-time visibility into what has actually been paid

These gaps make it harder to answer basic questions quickly, such as how much cash is available today or which jobs are truly funding operations.

What is FOUNDATION Pay?

FOUNDATION Pay is an integrated expense and payment management solution built to work with FOUNDATION construction accounting.

It helps contractors manage how money moves in and out of the business, including vendor bill pay, online customer payments and controlled spending through the corporate card, all tied back to job costs and accounting workflows.

Expense Management With FOUNDATION and FOUNDATION Pay Bill Pay

Cash flow is affected just as much by how money leaves the business as how it comes in. On the payables side, manual bill processing slows everything down and introduces unnecessary risk.

FOUNDATION manages accounts payable directly within construction accounting workflows. FOUNDATION Pay Bill Pay extends that process by handling how vendor payments are executed, without breaking the connection to accounting.

With FOUNDATION Bill Pay, your team selects and approves vendor invoices in FOUNDATION, then payments are handled for you. Whether payments are sent electronically or by check, the process stays connected to your accounting, and payment status flows back automatically to keep A/P and the General Ledger aligned.

For finance teams, this means:

• Fewer manual A/P steps
• Cleaner audit trails
• More control over payment timing
• More peace of mind when it comes to vendor payments

Instead of reacting to cash shortages, teams can schedule payments based on real cash availability and upcoming inflows.

Payment Management With FOUNDATION and FOUNDATION Pay Online Payments

On the receivables side, how invoices are delivered plays a major role in how quickly they get paid. Paper invoices and mailed checks slow collections and delay posting.

FOUNDATION generates the invoice at the job level, then FOUNDATION Pay delivers it digitally with a secure payment link and accepts the customer’s ACH or card payment. As payments come in, they are applied back to the correct invoice and reconciled in the General Ledger with minimal delay.

When a customer submits payment, it is applied back to the correct invoice and reflected in accounting with minimal delay. Receivables and the General Ledger stay current, reducing the lag between “paid” and “posted.”

This tighter invoice-to-payment loop helps shorten the cash cycle and reduces the back-and-forth that often slows collections.

Controlling Spending With FOUNDATION and FOUNDATION Pay Corporate Card

Uncontrolled spending can quietly erode cash flow, especially when expenses are captured late or coded incorrectly.

FOUNDATION Pay’s Corporate Card adds another layer of control by connecting jobsite and office spending directly to accounting. Transactions can be coded to the correct job and cost category as they happen, rather than weeks later.

The Corporate Card supports:

• Real-time visibility into spending
• Spending limits and merchant controls
• Automatic receipt capture

Transactions flow back into FOUNDATION tied to the right job and cost code, so job costs stay current.

Instead of chasing receipts and reconciling statements at month end, teams can see expenses as they occur and manage cash outflows more deliberately.

How Integration Improves Cash Flow Day to Day

The real value of integration shows up in daily operations. When billing, payments and expenses are connected, teams spend less time reconciling and more time managing.

Automated posting reduces duplicate data entry. Real-time payment visibility replaces assumptions with actual cash data. Better timing on both inflows and outflows makes it easier to plan payroll, vendor payments and future commitments.

Each improvement removes a small delay. Together, they shorten the overall cash cycle.

A Practical Construction Scenario

Imagine a contractor completing a major phase of work.

On the receivables side, the invoice is created in FOUNDATION and delivered digitally through FOUNDATION Pay. The customer pays online, and the payment is applied quickly, updating receivables and cash status.

On the payables side, vendor bills and corporate card expenses tied to that same job are managed through FOUNDATION Pay. Outflows are scheduled intentionally and coded correctly, giving the team a clear view of margins as the job progresses.

Because everything flows back into FOUNDATION, the contractor spends less time reconciling and more time making informed decisions.

Bringing Construction Cash Flow Under Control

Cash flow challenges rarely come from one major issue. They come from small inefficiencies repeated across every construction project and billing cycle.

FOUNDATION and FOUNDATION Pay help contractors reduce friction, improve visibility and move money through the business with fewer delays. By connecting accounting and payments, construction companies can handle cash flow management more confidently without adding complexity.

Together, FOUNDATION and FOUNDATION Pay support the full cash cycle, from billing and collections to expenses and payables, with job-level visibility throughout. For contractors looking to strengthen cash flow, integration is a practical place to start.

Speak to a FOUNDATION expert or check out our expense pay management demo today!