Binswanger

Prior to implementing Siteline, each of the 45 branch offices had its own billing process, each with its own point person (either a branch manager, project manager, or customer service manager) to oversee billing. There was no central place to track the status of each pay application, which resulted in missed deadlines. Additionally, with these disparate processes and systems, Binswanger leadership didn’t have good visibility into their cash flow.

“There wasn't a standard process that was followed,” said Jess. “We were struggling with the custom billing forms…Every branch had a different folder system where they saved things. So it was really hard to get visibility and have consistency.”

They didn’t know when payments were coming in. There were times when they weren’t able to get all of the correct billing documents to the GC on time, which caused payment delays. Occasionally, they missed the opportunity to bill for retention because they didn’t have a centralized system to manage their projects. (Now, Siteline automatically reminds Binswanger’s contract team to bill for retention so they always collect it.)

Pre-Siteline, with all of the back-and-forth and disconnected tools like Excel, Bluebeam, and Word, Binswanger’s team spent, on average, 40 minutes per pay application. And that didn’t include all of the time the finance team spent chasing down information, status updates, and payments. The finance team would then spend more than two hours per month reviewing the status of each project. (Now, with Siteline, they can get through all of the open questions in under 15 minutes.)

Jess had been working on implementing a better payment application process for almost a year and was growing frustrated. But, the clouds parted when the Siteline team reached out to her. “Our CEO forwarded me an email from Siteline,” Jess explained, “I sat on the demo and realized this was exactly what we were looking for!”

The transition to Siteline was seamless, and the software quickly became integral to their day-to-day operations. The positive rollout experience further solidified their confidence in Siteline as an effective solution for their billing needs. “It went really smoothly,” said Jess. “We were able to hit the ground running right away. We didn’t have to wade through hours and hours of training. It was legitimately one training session with our project team and admin team, and we were good to go.”

Team Centralization

Previously, 46 employees handled billing part-time at the branch level on top of their other work, resulting in inefficiencies and coordination challenges. By implementing Siteline, Binswanger centralized all billing operations for the entire company, allocating all of those fractional and part-time responsibilities to a dedicated full-time team of four employees. This centralization fostered a collaborative and streamlined approach, allowing for cross-training and eliminating the risk of billing gaps during employee absences. “I don't think we would have been able to centralize operations as quickly as we did without Siteline,” said Jess.

Custom Forms

The Binswanger team previously struggled with the complexity of custom billing forms, leading to payment delays and last-minute scrambles to rectify errors. “Custom billing forms are tricky,” said Jess. “if you don't get them right, your payment gets held up and you're scrambling to do it.” Siteline simplified the billing process, accounting for all custom forms and ensuring accuracy. The software's ability to handle trade contractor-specific billing requirements stood out as a rare and valuable feature for Binswanger.

New Levels of Visibility and Value

Binswanger's smooth implementation of Siteline brought numerous benefits, transforming its billing operations into an efficient, centralized, and streamlined process. The software's ability to handle custom billing forms, enhance visibility, and facilitate time savings made it an invaluable tool for Binswanger's project managers and administrative team. With Siteline, Binswanger gained control over its billing processes, achieved unprecedented visibility into financial operations, and positioned itself for more tremendous success in the industry.

“Siteline provides tremendous visibility,” said Jess. “We know that paperwork isn’t the issue anymore—thanks to Siteline—so when we’re not paid, we’re able to really drill down. Is it owner funding? Is it retainage? We’re able to get to those really defining moments as to what’s going on and are able to assess our A/R in a very different light than we were previously.”

The Binswanger team also loves the reporting—and it’s not just the accounting team reaping the benefits of the intelligence. The estimating department also benefits significantly from Siteline, as it provides valuable insights into the promptness of payments from various GCs.

When asked what Binswanger would say to other contractors considering Siteline, Jess said, “Don't think too long on it—Just do it! Siteline gave us the visibility we needed to be successful and enabled us to put a streamlined process in place. Everything is nicely bucketed for us to manage easily.”