WHEN YOUR GC WON'T PAY.
A GC who won't pay is one of the most stressful situations a subcontractor faces, and most subs respond with a few phone calls, some emails, and then either absorbing the loss or filing a lien when it's almost too late. What works instead is a documented four stage escalation that starts at day one past due and ends with a lien filing at day 45. Every step is written, dated, and unemotional, so nothing you send reads as a threat and everything you send counts as notice.
The reason a process beats instinct here is that your leverage works on a clock you didn't set. Preliminary notice windows and lien filing deadlines vary by state, and both of them close whether or not anybody at your office is watching them. A sub who escalates on a schedule keeps every option open through day 45. A sub who waits for a call back trades away the only tool that makes a GC's accounting department move, and then asks for a favor instead of making a claim.
WHAT IT MEANS.
GC non-payment is a general contractor holding money you've already earned past the terms in your subcontract, either by disputing it or by going silent on it.
Escalation isn't the same as aggression. The right process is firm, professional, and documented at every step, which is what makes it work on a GC's accounting department rather than on the project manager who can't cut a check anyway. Nothing in it requires raising your voice, and every piece of it creates a record you can use later.
The best collections process is the one you rarely need. Most non-payment problems are prevented by consistent AR management rather than resolved after the fact, which is why the flags at 30, 45, and 60 days do more work than the demand letter ever will.
WHY SUBS LOSE THIS DISPUTE.
You finished the work and the GC went silent
You submitted the pay app, built the work, and met the schedule, and the GC stopped responding. This happens more often than it should in commercial construction, and it's rarely about the quality of what you built. Most subcontractors have no documented escalation process, so they improvise, lose leverage, and either wait too long or take the wrong first step.
Your lien rights are expiring while you wait
Mechanic's lien rights follow strict deadlines: preliminary notice requirements, filing windows, and enforcement timelines that all vary by state. While you're waiting for the GC to call back, that clock is counting down against you. Most subcontractors don't know their specific lien deadline until it has already passed.
You don't want to damage the relationship
Most subcontractors hesitate to escalate because they don't want to burn the GC relationship, and that instinct is understandable. It's also how you end up absorbing losses on money you legitimately earned. A GC who isn't paying you has already damaged the relationship, and the escalation process only makes that visible.
RESEARCH FROM OTHER SOURCES.
These figures come from another company's survey, not from SPM's clients. Each one cites the report and the page.
Billd's 2026 National Subcontractor Market Report found 64 percent of subcontractors reported being paid slowly by general contractors.
Source: Billd, 2026 National Subcontractor Market Report, page 5 (survey of 623 respondents, published May 13, 2026).
Billd's 2026 National Subcontractor Market Report found 28 percent of subcontractors use early pay programs, and only 13 percent of general contractors with less than $100M in revenue offer one.
Source: Billd, 2026 National Subcontractor Market Report, page 4 (survey of 623 respondents, published May 13, 2026).
THE FOUR STAGE ESCALATION.
Written notice goes to the GC project manager and to their accounting department, not just the PM. Every communication is documented with a date, an invoice number, and a dollar amount. The point of this stage is to establish a record, because everything that follows references it.
The account escalates to the GC's senior leadership in writing. The letter references the payment terms written into the subcontract and the state prompt payment statute that applies to the project. Senior leadership responds to statutes in a way that project managers usually can't.
A formal demand letter goes out citing the specific amounts owed, the contract terms that support them, and your intent to exercise lien rights. This is the letter that gets an invoice moved into the next check cycle at most GCs. It's also the last step before the process leaves your office.
A vetted lien and collections partner takes over: preliminary notice if it hasn't been filed, then the lien filing itself if payment doesn't come in. A formal demand from a construction attorney combined with an imminent lien filing resolves most disputes without going to court. That work is billed separately and isn't part of the SPM monthly fee.
Open invoices are tracked continuously and slow payers get flagged at 30, 45, and 60 days, which starts the escalation before leverage is lost. Most collection problems are prevented by consistent AR management rather than resolved after the fact. The four stages exist for the accounts that get past the flags, not as the plan.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Three tiers, priced by your trailing twelve month revenue. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No hourly billing. No payroll. The one-time onboarding fee is right here in the table.
| Last 12 months revenue | Monthly fee | One-time onboarding |
|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | $1,900 to $3,300 | $1,000 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 to $5,300 | $1,500 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 to $8,300 | $3,000 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 to $11,800 | $4,500 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 to $14,900 | $6,000 |
| $12.5M to $15.5M | $7,400 to $17,650 | $7,500 |
| $15.5M to $18.5M | $9,400 to $22,400 | $9,000 |
| $18.5M+ | Quoted individually | Quoted individually |
The onboarding fee covers migrating your books back to the start of your last taxable year and getting you fully operational in 60 days. It's billed once, with your first invoice. It's the same for all three tiers. Your first month is prorated, and your monthly engagement starts on the first of the first full month.
Range reflects the three tiers below. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No payroll. No hidden line items. The onboarding fee is right here in the table.
You stop guessing.
You get the CFO work. Job costing built against the way you estimate, a 13 week cash forecast, monthly WIP, and a meeting every month that ends in decisions and never in a report.
Your bookkeeper still does the books.
Every job shows its margin while it is still open.
Everything in Core, plus the bookkeeping and bank reconciliations done for you, and the job costing and WIP software set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed every month. Use your own online software, or move to ours and we cover it.
A bookkeeper we choose does the books and reconciliations. No payroll.
You approve, and the money side gets handled.
Everything in Strategic, plus a controller we choose who handles your bills and receivables for you the way an in-house controller would. They call vendors, pay the bills and keep the accounting current. We plan the cash flow first, and you approve every payment because it is your money.
A controller we choose does the payables and receivables. No payroll, no pay applications, no collections.
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