Stop Chasing Payments: What Construction Contractors Really Need in Accounts Receivable Software

FOUNDATION®’s Accounts Receivable Module gives construction contractors instant financial visibility through automated billing and real-time payment tracking. For commercial and government contractors, this means:

• Faster payments
• Better cash flow
• Less time spent on administrative paperwork

The construction industry faces unique billing challenges that generic accounting software simply can’t handle. You’re not just sending invoices — you’re managing progress payments, tracking retainage, processing AIA applications and dealing with complex contract terms.

After 40 years serving construction contractors exclusively, FOUNDATION easily addresses these challenges. The A/R module was built specifically for the way commercial contractors actually work.

The Construction Cash Flow Problem Nobody Talks About

Construction cash flow collapses when contractors wait months to collect payment on completed work.

Here’s something worth noting: construction contractors wait an average of 83 days to collect payment after completing work.

That’s according to the Construction Financial Management Association, and it’s nearly a month longer than the average across all industries. Payment delays aren’t just annoying — they’re a growing industry-wide challenge.

The Real Cost of Slow Collections

Slow collections weaken contractor finances by withholding cash needed for payroll, materials, and equipment

What does the example above mean for your business?

You’re essentially providing free financing to your customers for nearly three months. Your crews need paychecks. Your suppliers need payment. Your equipment needs maintenance. But your cash is stuck in unpaid invoices.

Manual accounts receivable processes create these cash flow disruptions. Spreadsheets get outdated the moment you create them. Email chains with customers create confusion about what’s been paid and what’s outstanding. Nobody knows if an invoice went out, much less when it’s due.

What Construction A/R Software Actually Does

Construction accounting software with built-in A/R capabilities transforms billing workflows by automating progress payments and integrating seamlessly with job costing systems.

This isn’t about replacing your accountant. It’s about giving them better tools.

Beyond Basic Invoicing

Construction A/R platforms centralize billing activity to give contractors full visibility into cash flow and customer payment behavior.

Think of accounts receivable as your billing command center. It tracks every invoice from creation through payment. It knows which customers pay on time and which ones need reminders. It shows you exactly where your cash is at any moment.

But here’s what makes construction A/R different from regular accounting software: you need to handle billing methods that don’t exist in other industries. Some examples include:

• Progress billing based on percentage complete
• AIA payment applications with supporting documentation
• Retainage calculations that vary by project
• Unit price billing for DOT work

General business accounting software treats every invoice the same. That doesn’t work in construction. Your projects span months or years. You bill against completion milestones, not delivered products.

Why Direct Communication With Job Costing Changes Everything

When A/R is built directly into your construction accounting system, it communicates automatically with job costing. Every invoice ties back to the project budget. Every payment updates your work-in-progress reports. Your financial picture stays accurate in real-time.

When your A/R module is built directly into your construction accounting system rather than bolted on as an afterthought, it handles construction complexities automatically. It generates progress billings based on percentage of project completion. It creates AIA applications with the backup documentation already attached. It tracks retainage by project, so nothing falls through the cracks.

How Unified Systems Eliminate Duplicate Work

Seamless general ledger connectivity eliminates duplicate data entry and ensures financial accuracy across all accounting modules.

This automation reduces errors and frees your accounting team to focus on strategic work instead of data entry.

One Entry, Automatic Updates Everywhere

Integrated construction accounting systems update all financial modules automatically whenever contractors enter new job, billing, or payment data.

Think about your current billing process. You probably enter job cost data in one system, re-enter invoice information for billing, record the transaction again in your general ledger and then update your work-in-progress reports separately.

Every time you enter the same information in multiple places, you create opportunities for errors. A transposed number here. A wrong project code there.

Unified construction accounting software eliminates this duplicate entry. You enter information once. It flows automatically to every system that needs it.

Connected Financial Data Means Real-Time Profitability

Connected financial data links every invoice to job costs so contractors can monitor profitability in real time.

Job costing links tie every invoice directly to project budgets for precise profitability tracking. You can instantly see how much you’ve billed versus how much cost you’ve incurred. You know if projects are running over budget before it’s too late to fix them.

FOUNDATION’s A/R Module: Built for How Contractors Actually Work

Foundation Software has spent 40 years focused exclusively on construction contractors. This specialization shaped every aspect of how we built FOUNDATION — including the A/R module.

FOUNDATION’s Accounts Receivable Module unifies construction billing directly with powerful job cost accounting for complete financial control. This unified approach eliminates duplicate data entry and ensures your financial data stays synchronized across all systems.

Detailed Billing Options

When you create an invoice in FOUNDATION, it already knows the contract value, current percent complete, previous billings and approved change orders. You’re not starting from scratch every month.

The system supports every billing method commercial contractors use. This includes:

• Time and materials for service work
• Lump sum for design-build projects
• Unit price for government contracts
• AIA applications for standard construction work

You can even mix billing types within a single project when the contract requires it.

Built-In Retainage Tracking and Lien Waiver Management

Automated retainage tracking is built directly into the billing process. The system calculates holdback amounts based on contract terms, tracks them separately by project and automatically releases them when contracts specify.

You don’t need separate spreadsheets to monitor retainage across dozens of active jobs.

Lien waiver management works within your payment workflow. Before you process a payment to a subcontractor, FOUNDATION can prompt for the required lien waiver documentation. This protects you from mechanics’ liens while keeping your payment process moving smoothly.

Digital Invoicing and Electronic Payment Options

FOUNDATION makes it easy to deliver professional invoices digitally via email. Your customers receive invoices instantly, can review supporting documentation and see exactly what they’re being billed for. This transparency speeds up the approval process and gets you paid faster.

Through partnerships with payment processors like Basys, you can include secure payment links directly in your invoices. Instead of waiting for checks to arrive in the mail or processing credit card payments over the phone, your customers can simply click a link and submit payments electronically.

These integrated payment options accept multiple payment methods, including ACH transfers and credit cards, giving customers flexibility in how they pay.

Every invoice sent and payment received automatically updates your A/R records and job costing data in real-time, eliminating manual entry and reducing processing time from days to minutes.

For contractors struggling with the 83-day payment cycle, electronic payment options remove friction from the payment process. When paying is easy and convenient, customers pay faster.

Real-Time Dashboards

Real-time dashboards provide instant visibility into aging receivables, outstanding balances and cash flow projections.

You can see which invoices are approaching their due dates, which customers consistently pay late and which projects have the largest outstanding balances.

This visibility changes how you manage your business. Instead of discovering cash problems when it’s too late, you see them developing and can act early.

Why FOUNDATION Stands Apart for Commercial Contractors

FOUNDATION delivers superior billing performance for commercial contractors by addressing construction-specific financial complexities

Generic accounting software might handle basic invoicing, but FOUNDATION was built from the ground up to solve the specific billing challenges commercial contractors face every day.

This specialization makes a dramatic difference in how efficiently your back office operates.

Built Exclusively for Construction

Generic accounting software companies serve thousands of industries. But when you’re designing software for everyone, you end up building features that work adequately for most industries but excel at none.

In generic accounting software, construction features often feel like an afterthought because that’s exactly what they are.

FOUNDATION doesn’t waste development resources on retail inventory tracking or manufacturing workflows. Instead, every feature focuses on what contractors actually need: certified payroll, prevailing wage compliance and construction-specific financial management.

Specialized for Commercial and Government Work

This specialization matters most in accounts receivable, where commercial and government contractors face additional complexity.

Government contracts often require specific billing formats, electronic invoicing through particular portals and detailed backup documentation that general accounting software simply can’t accommodate.

FOUNDATION handles these requirements naturally because these capabilities are built into the core system, not added as afterthoughts.

Take Control of Your Construction Cash Flow

Automated A/R systems strengthen contractor cash flow by accelerating collections and reducing administrative workload.

Your accounts receivable process directly impacts every aspect of your construction business.

Fast collections mean better cash flow. Better cash flow means financial stability. Financial stability means you can focus on building great projects instead of chasing payments.

The difference between manual A/R and automated A/R is the difference between constantly worrying about cash and having confidence in your financial position. Between spending hours each week on billing paperwork and having that time available for strategic work.

FOUNDATION’s construction-specific A/R module handles the complexity of contractor billing automatically. Progress payments, AIA applications, retainage tracking, multiple billing types, job costing connectivity — all working together seamlessly.

Ready to see how FOUNDATION can transform your accounts receivable process?

Book a demo to see the AR module in action. We’ll show you exactly how it handles your specific billing requirements and works with your complete construction accounting workflow.