Vallencourt Construction
The Challenge
High-performing subcontractors need to ensure they have plenty of money in the bank to avoid tapping into their line of credit for new projects. Because Vallencourt is in a healthy financial position, they’re able to qualify for larger jobs and keep their vendors happy. One thing that previously impeded their cash flow was payment delays.
Their customers will reject pay apps if there are math errors, usually due to issues with their billing spreadsheets. Prior to Siteline, Vallencourt would spend excessive time revising and resubmitting rejected pay apps.
"Setting up an SOV was stressful and time-consuming," said Gammon. "It had to be set up just right and it was all manual." And this frustrating process resulted in payment delays.
The Solution
"In Siteline, they found a better way—a billing tool that ensures pay applications are always accurate. After moving to Siteline, everyone that touches billing at Vallencourt can trust that the retention, percent complete, and billing amounts are calculated accurately. The team doesn’t have to worry about working off of the wrong version of a spreadsheet. With each new pay app created in Siteline, the team knows the previously billed amount is current and accurate.
Siteline created a process that safeguards against broken spreadsheet formulas and generates lien waivers for every pay application automatically and correctly every time—no more PDFing spreadsheets and attaching lien waiver information inside of Bluebeam or Adobe Acrobat.
Siteline also documents who made which changes to each pay app so it’s clear to the entire project team. If the responsible PM completed billing, if the conditional lien waivers are complete, or if the pay app has been sent to the customer—it’s all always visible in Siteline. Everyone on the team is confident that every pay app sent to their customers will not have a math error that holds up payment.
Siteline optimizes the billing workflow and increases efficiencies by re-evaluating internal processes. "Before Siteline, 100% of our pay apps were notarized. Once we realized how easy it could be to e-sign, we started asking our customers if they really need notarizations," explained Gammon. "Now, only 15% of our pay apps are notarized every month. We don’t have to print, sign, scan, and then email our customers. They just sign within Siteline, and then Siteline submits the pay apps directly."
The Results
Fewer payment delays
Siteline ensures faster payments. If a client discovers errors within a payment application and the subcontractor needs to correct and resubmit it, getting paid can take an extra three weeks.
2-3 hours saved per month per project manager
Siteline keeps PMs focused on their projects. “With Siteline, PMs don’t have to worry about if they’ve rolled forward previously billed amounts correctly," said Gammon. "They don’t have to spend a bunch of time redoing pay apps. I’d say, each PM is saving two or three hours per month on the billing process.”
Growth without additional headcount
Siteline reduces the need for additional back office headcount—a major plus in this tight labor market. “Siteline is super easy to use," said Gammon. "We won’t need to hire someone to keep up with our pay apps.”