The Automated Contractor Invoice

If you’ve spent a week working in the construction industry, you know the headaches that come with invoicing.

Feeling burdened by the constant need to keep up with writing the next contractor invoice on your plate?

What about precious time spent circling back to your client reminding them of late payments?

It’s time to explore contractor invoice software that is designed to automate the entire construction payment process and get you paid sooner.

In this guide, we’ll dive into everything related to the contractor invoice — including how invoicing software can make your billing process a lot more efficient.

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• Automate Your Contractor Invoice: Using Flexbase’s Construction Invoice Software
• What You Need To Know About Contractor Invoicing
• What Is A Contractor Invoice?
• Why Are Contractor Invoices Heavily Regulated?
• How Do I Write A Contractor Invoice?
• 4 Reasons You Shouldn’t Create Your Contractor Invoice Manually
• Reason #1: Your Contractor Invoice Can Take Hours To Build
• Reason #2: Building Your Contractor Invoice Manually Is Not Financially Efficient
• Reason #3: Your Contractor Invoice Is Prone To Human Error
• Reason #4: Your Time Is Much Better Spent Elsewhere
• 5 Ways Flexbase Streamlines Your Contractor Invoice Process
• #1: Flexbase Ensures Compliance
• #2: Flexbase Can Auto Generate Your Invoice Within 2 Minutes
• #3: Flexbase Sends Invoice Reminders And Legal Notices On Your Behalf
• #4: Flexbase Cards Will Track Your Spending For You
• #5: Flexbase Reduces Overhead Cost

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Completing contractor invoice after invoice can get old fast.

Invoices need to be thorough, so completing them manually is a tedious and highly administrative task.

But finding a contractor invoice template that accurately covers everything each client needs is rare and difficult to come by.

Enter Flexbase — We have completely automated the contractor payment process (including those tedious invoices).

We’ve streamlined everything from…

• Lien waivers
• Stop notices
• Change orders
• And more

Our platform is aimed at reducing human error and accelerating your receipt of payment.

Consider us as your all-in-one construction invoice software.

Contractors can use our platform to:

• Create contractor invoices
• Send contractor invoices
• Track projects
• Automate all the necessary documents in a payment application
• And more

Flexbase rewrites the way you handle invoicing and simplifies the entire construction payment process.

So you can forget…

• Triple-checking for human errors
• Missed invoicing deadlines
• Sending reminders; or
• Filing legal documentation.

Flexbase has you covered.

And you don’t have to worry about breaking the bank just to save time — Flexbase is entirely free to use.

Gone are subscriptions that expect you to pay even if you don’t get paid.

Get back to the job site and away from the desk with Flexbase.

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Contractor invoices are used both by contractors and subcontractors to bill for any costs included in their contract, ranging from:

• Labor
• Materials; and
• Products used to complete the project.

The contractor invoice will subtract…

1. Any amount that’s been previously paid; and
2. Any retainers

…in order to clearly show that the amount that they are invoicing for is accurate and up to date.

Contractor invoices can be sent at the end of a project, but could also be sent incrementally as progress payments.

A contractor invoice is essentially the invoice that the company is sending to its client.

This could be a:

• Subcontractor sending a contractor invoice to the general contractor; or
• The GC sending a contractor invoice to their client.

But, there’s a catch — Not every contractor invoice will be the same or require the same supporting documents.

These requirements could include:

• Attach an AIA form
• Notarize the contractor invoice (in certain states)
• Include insurance forms
• Any receipts or proof of payment
• Invoice payment terms
• And more

If you’re a construction company and want to get paid for all expenses you’ve incurred on a project, you’ll need to provide documentation and explanation for those purchases in a certain form.

Whether it’s paying for parking for your subs or paying for equipment rentals, the process is the same.

The construction invoice billing process is highly regulated.

The reason is that there are so many parties involved on a project and with each having its own payment timeline, it can be hard to trust that payments will arrive on time.

As a result, there are lots of forms and processes that have been introduced to prevent non-payment.

You have two options when it comes to writing a contractor invoice:

1. Manually; or
2. By using invoicing software.

If you choose to manually draft your invoices, be prepared to combat a number of potential headaches.

An automated platform provides less room for error when writing your contractor invoice.

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You might think manually creating your contractor invoice is the way to go. You can directly oversee and quality check and personally sign on off completed work.

But with different states requiring different documents along with your invoice and strict regulations surrounding them, it can be difficult to keep up with and keep on top of your billing.

Read on for some common problems construction workers face when manually building a contractor invoice.

Building a single invoice can take away valuable…

• Time
• Energy; and
• Focus

… from the business owner or accountant.

Plus, depending on how big or small a construction company is and how big the client or project is, this could mean entire teams of people and tens of hours to complete, every time.

Your entire team might spend anywhere from 6-20 hours for a single invoice — even if it’s just a simple one.

Think about the time and energy needed to consistently keep up with contractor invoices manually.

Building a contractor invoice manually is not the most efficient use of time or money.

It could be potentially harmful to your employees’ professional growth, as well. Think about it:

Menial, tedious tasks often fall to those lower on the totem pole.

So, gathering supporting documents and files to include with your contractor invoice could likely fall to a junior member of the team, who may be less motivated to be thorough because it’s not directly related to their professional development.

Add on that fact that multiple people (or teams of people, even) are collaborating on one contractor invoice, and the likelihood of human error increases dramatically.

We all make mistakes — but unfortunately, in construction, human error is the biggest issue for contractor invoices.

Some can be more costly than others, but a few common human errors made in contractor invoicing are:

1. Not accurately tracking hours
2. Forgetting to include including payment terms
3. Inconsistent formatting leading to mistakes
4. Failing to send invoices in a timely manner
5. Not following up on late payments

Just like invoicing in general, you can track your hours manually or with a tracking software solution. But beware, once hours are tracked inaccurately or improperly, it’s nearly impossible to fix it.

The quicker you invoice, the quicker you’ll get paid. Conversely, the longer you wait (or forget) to invoice, the longer your payment delay will be — this is a costly error.

Plus, we all have bad days or are overwhelmed with life outside work, and forgetfulness is arguably the most common error that plagues the invoicing process, whether it be sending the contractor invoice or following up.

More efficiency equates to more profit.

Did you know that small business contractors spend a minimum of 20-40% of their time on administrative functions?

Instead of reviewing documents and receipts for your contractor invoice, you could be on the job site working or overseeing your project.

Flexbase takes away the hassle of manually managing invoices, streamlines your payment management process, and significantly reduces the time spent on:

• Applications for payment; and
• Compliance and lien waivers.

You shouldn’t have to worry about contractor invoice issues.

Reduce the amount of time and stress you spend on your invoicing system with a free Flexbase subscription.

Our app gives you the freedom to:

1. Create invoices and payment applications for each client
2. Request payments
3. Track projects, materials used, and receipts
4. Communicate directly with your clients
5. File lien notices
6. And more

Reduce the risk of human error by streamlining your invoice and billing procedures with Flexbase.

Plus, if payments get behind, our payment reminder system will gently nudge your clients to pay that overdue invoice.

Our reminders are sent automatically over SMS and email to every contact you have listed for that client, including…

• The client accountant
• The business owner; or
• The CFO

…along with any third-party contacts involved.

Forget stressing over a contractor invoice and get paid sooner with your Flexbase subscription.

Flexbase can auto-generate all the proper forms to ensure your contractor invoice is compliant with your state or county regulations.

When you log into the platform, you’ll be greeted by every available template, fully compliant with state laws, ready to be auto-filled.

You don’t need to worry about attaching all the right documents and double-checking what is needed.

Simply quality check it and send it off to your client. No need to spend time:

1. Sourcing and downloading a contractor invoice template
2. Filling out every line; and
3. Double-checking your state’s requirements to make sure your contractor invoice is compliant with the laws.

Our automated templates will do all of that for you.

How does sending your contractor invoice and paperwork to your customers in 2 minutes sound?

Your contractor invoice template, complete with your company’s branding, will auto-generate upon login thanks to your Flexbase subscription.

Your first step to getting paid starts with:

1. Choosing the client you’re invoicing.
2. Next, add any missing data and confirm that the schedule of values is correct.
3. Check your schedule of values.
4. Confirm the payment options.

All you have to do is verify the information, enter your client’s contact information and it’s sent.

You can also opt to add a message to your client (a good time to include any reminders about payment timelines, contract details, etc).

Just like that, you’re ready to send the invoice approval request and get back to business.

Get paid faster and always be cash flow positive with Flexbase.

Once your contractor invoice is sent, Flexbase continues to work for you by encouraging clients to pay on time or early.

Our app gives you access to tools like:

• Automatic payment reminders
• Payment notices; and
• The option to offer discounts for early payment.

If you’re a small or midsized construction company, any payment delay can cause major cash flow problems and complicate day-to-day business expenses.

Don’t play the waiting game with your payments anymore.

Flexbase can help to:

1. Negotiate your payment terms
2. Speed up workflow by avoiding costly payment delays; and
3. Get you paid sooner.

And because of all the necessary additional paperwork needed to compile an application for payment in construction (which includes lengthy invoices), it can be easy to misplace or group documents incorrectly.

When you upload your contract to the Flexbase app, however, our team will review all of the payment details and set up your account to send:

• Automatic applications for payments
• Payment reminders; and
• Legal notices if required.

If you’re really looking to streamline your business spending, opt for a Flexbase Card.

From spending to settlement, you or your employees can just swipe and let us do the expenses. No more cash leaking out.

The amount of time you or your staff spends…

• Attaching forms
• Invoicing and billing
• Settling disputes and errors

…the more time they’re spent wasting offsite. And those hours add up quickly.

But with Flexbase, your team’s hours and hours of peering over attachments can be long gone — and that money you’re paying them can be spent elsewhere.

Our app’s construction invoice template is:

1. Easy to follow
2. Structured to make billing each client fast and simple; and
3. Fully compliant with state laws.

No downloads or extra time required.