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Procore Pay: Introducing a Modern Approach to Construction Payments

UPDATED: March 22, 2023

The Invitation

In many ways, the construction payment process is similar to throwing a party, both pursuits require careful planning and the exchange of information through multiple stakeholders. Before the festivities can commence though, the host must get the word out, and that all starts with the invitation. While some may underestimate the importance of getting the invitation right, it's a critical first step that sets the tone for the entire event.

Just as a party host would create a guest list and send out save-the-dates, the general contractor starts the construction payment process by inviting the specialty contractor to request payment for work completed and materials supplied. Payment applications submitted by specialty contractors to the general contractor are an essential part of the construction payment process.

Today, many party planners might elect to use a digital service over sending out traditional paper invitations to better manage RSVPs, guest communication and event reminders. With Procore Pay, the invitation to submit a payment application can be initiated by the general contractor’s designated payment administrator on the Procore platform. Similar to a digital invitation, the general contractor’s invitation is delivered to the specialty contractor as a secure link sent via email. The specialty contractor is then prompted to log in to Procore or create a new Procore account if they haven’t done so already.

With their dedicated Procore account, the specialty contractor can then respond to multiple general contractors’ invitations from a single login. In addition to creating a better user experience, Procore can also provide specialty contractors a centralized hub to store necessary banking details and project information.

Using the Procore Invoice Management functionality included with Procore Pay, the general contractor can also administer and track invitations and payment applications more efficiently. Through the Procore platform, general contractors can ensure that payment applications are submitted on a regular schedule, reduce the risk of payment delays and provide specialty contractors with a familiar user interface.

“We’ve saved dozens of hours each month by submitting the correct invoice amounts the first time, and eliminating the need to do two or three rounds of revisions,” said Erik Feld, project manager and director of technical operations at TruEdge Builds.

Check back here for more updates on Procore Pay or have updates delivered to your inbox by joining the Procore Pay waitlist.

February 22, 2023

At last year’s Groundbreak conference, we unveiled Procore Pay, a new service launching in 2023 designed to solve one of the biggest financial pain points in construction— the payment process.

Throughout the construction project lifecycle, money moves through the value chain from the lender to the owner to the general contractor to specialty contractors, material suppliers, and field workers. There are few bigger blockers to taking on more work than dealing with the impact of a slow payment process.

This process is highly complex, with pencil requisitions, retainage, lien waivers, and other compliance documents all required before a single dollar can move. And even as dollars begin to move, the general contractor must continue to supply all the necessary documentation before they can submit their next payment application to the owner.

Construction is one of the slowest paying industries on earth, with a median time to pay across the industry of 83 days from when the invoice was sent. Additionally, according to the 2020 National Construction Payment Report, 80 percent of companies report spending a significant amount of time chasing down payments.

Procore Pay will deliver a modern approach to payments. It’s designed to help satisfy the unique needs of the construction industry, helping maintain healthier project cash flow and providing more sophisticated workflows such as joint checks and sub-tier waiver collection. And with safer payment application and review methods, Procore Pay can also help minimize the possibility of fraud.

“It would be incredibly impactful for the entire industry if we could just get to a place where there was real trust up and down that value chain. And I think a lot of the solution there is cultural, and possibly some of it is just in how we structure our contracts. But I do think technology can contribute to that solution and I’m really glad that [Procore] is working on it.”- Sarah Bush, Landis Construction

Other Procore customers have shared their excitement about:

  • Reducing payment friction by expediting invoice review and compliance document collection.
  • Saving time by removing a separate payment solution from the technology stack and the associated duplicate data entry or integration maintenance.
  • Streamlining lien waiver collection via an automated lien waiver exchange.

We’ll have more to share in the months leading up to the launch of Procore Pay later this year. Check back here for more updates or have updates delivered to your inbox by joining the Procore Pay waitlist.