HOW TO COLLECT WHAT YOU'RE OWED.
GCs pay on their own schedule when subcontractors let them. The collection process that moves money is documented, systematic, and uses lien rights at the right time, as a standard part of the billing workflow rather than as a last resort. Written follow-up goes out at 30 days past due, a formal demand at 45, a preliminary lien notice at 60, and a mechanics lien filing between 75 and 90 days if the invoice is still open.
Run the sequence on every invoice rather than only on the ones that already look bad. That's the part most subs have backwards. By the time an invoice hits 60 days the documentation to escalate quickly either exists or it doesn't, and building it from scratch at that point costs weeks you don't have. A GC's accounts payable desk also learns which subs run a process and which ones call angry once a quarter, and the ones with a process get paid first. None of this requires a lawsuit.
WHAT IT MEANS.
A preliminary lien notice is the written notice a subcontractor sends to preserve the right to file a mechanics lien later, and in many states it has to go out before a lien can be filed at all.
Lien deadlines run from the work, not from the day you got frustrated. Preliminary notice windows in some states open as early as 20 days from first furnishing labor or materials, which means a notice sent once payment goes bad is often already late. Deadlines and requirements vary a lot by state, so a construction attorney should confirm the specific rules where you build.
WHY THE MONEY SITS THERE.
The GC sets the pay schedule because nobody else does
General contractors pay on their own timeline when subcontractors let them, and most subcontractors let them. There's no cadence, no written follow-up, and no step that comes next, so the invoice stays in the stack it has been sitting in since it was submitted. Nothing about that's personal. It's what happens to an invoice with no process behind it.
The notice goes out after the deadline has closed
The single biggest mistake is waiting until an invoice is 90 or more days past due to send a preliminary lien notice, then finding out the state deadline closed at day 60. Preliminary notice windows in some states open as early as 20 days from first furnishing labor or materials. A lien filed after the deadline is unenforceable, so the leverage is gone before the fight starts.
Lien rights get lost by default and not by choice
Most contractors who lose lien rights never decided to give them up. They ran out of calendar. The notice that should have gone out at the start of the job didn't go out, and by the time somebody looks the rule up the window has closed. Nobody made a decision here. The deadline made it for them.
Verbal follow-up gets treated as noise
A phone call to accounts payable leaves no record and creates no obligation, so it competes with every other call that department took that week. Written, timestamped escalation reads differently, and nobody has to be planning to sue for it to work. A GC's AP department that knows your company runs a process moves your invoices toward the front of the stack.
EVERY INVOICE. EVERY TIME.
Email the GC's AP contact with the invoice number, the original due date, and the amount, and attach the original invoice. Keep the tone professional and direct: the invoice number, the amount, the date it was due, and a request to confirm status and expected payment date. Copy your PM on every collection message so the GC can see the account is documented at more than one level.
Escalate to a formal written demand on company letterhead referencing the contract, the invoice number, the amount, and the due date, and state that payment is required within 10 days. Send it by email and by certified mail. The certified mail receipt is the whole point, because it establishes a receipt date for lien notice purposes and it signals that the account is being worked. This is also where a call to the GC's project manager, rather than only to AP, becomes appropriate.
Send a preliminary lien notice, also called a pre-lien or a Notice to Owner depending on the state. In many states that notice is required before a lien can be filed at all, and deadlines can run as early as 20 days from first furnishing labor or materials. If your state requires early preliminary notices, they belong at the start of every project and not at the first sign of trouble. Confirm your state's requirements with a construction attorney, then send the notice.
File a mechanics lien on the property. That clouds the title, so the owner can't sell or refinance until the lien is released, and most lien filings produce payment within 30 days because the owner puts pressure on the GC immediately. Lien deadlines vary a lot by state, typically 60 to 180 days from the last date of work, and a lien filed after the deadline is unenforceable. Use a construction attorney or a lien service to get both the deadline and the filing right.
Every follow-up, every demand, and every notice goes out in writing with a timestamp. The reason isn't litigation. Documented escalation is taken more seriously than a verbal request, and a GC's accounts payable department that recognizes your process sends your invoices to the front of the stack.
Preliminary lien notices are standard practice in construction. Sending one early signals professionalism and protects a right you'll need if payment goes bad later. Most contractors who lose lien rights lose them because the notice never went out in time, so the discipline is sending them on every job from the start rather than deciding case by case.
For invoices well past due with no response, stopping work until payment is received is legally permissible under most contracts after proper notice. On a job still in progress, the schedule impact of a work stoppage often moves payment faster than a lien notice does. Read the contract and take advice before invoking it, because doing it wrong turns a collection problem into a breach argument.
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, and no add-ons.
Pricing
| Last 12 months revenue | Monthly fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $1M | $1,900 to $2,900 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 to $3,900 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 to $5,700 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 to $7,100 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 to $8,500 |
| $12.5M to $15.5M | $7,400 to $11,000 |
| $15.5M to $18.5M | $9,400 to $13,500 |
| $18.5M+ | Quoted individually |
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.
You stop guessing.
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