Construction Industry Ready for Change

The building industry is central to our economy, contributing over 13 per cent of our gross domestic product and employing more than 1 million Australians.

However, construction has been plagued by rising costs, stagnant productivity, high waste, and low margins for decades.

The all-too-familiar stories of hardcopy paperwork like progress claims, and the hours spent processing them, highlights the industry’s relatively slow adoption of technology, both in the back office and for those working onsite.

While there have been improvements—predominantly through the digitisation of project management functions and the use of mobile technology—the reality is the industry still lags behind the technological and organisational change of other sectors.

“Inefficient processes don’t just hurt the major builders, there’s impact right along the supply chain, especially when it comes to managing subcontractor payments,” Payapps senior business development manager Nick Opasinis said

“We’re all too aware of the fragmented approach when it comes to managing progress claims and supply chain collaboration.”

Despite the potential benefits, there’s still often a reluctance to adopt more efficient technological solutions in favour of what’s familiar.

The key issues for builders include claims not being submitted on time, inconsistent and error-filled paperwork and managing security of payment compliance.

Meanwhile subcontractors have to deal with cashflow predictability, lack of transparency into the status of open claims, and more time spent on paperwork.

The time spent chasing paperwork extends the payment timeframe, increasing the risk of delayed payment, while increasing the loss of valuable team hours to unnecessary productivity challenges.

“Cloud-based collaboration tools like Payapps are all about getting the paperwork out of the way so teams can focus on higher value tasks,” Opasinis said.

They ensure accuracy and consistency when submitting relevant information.

And because all parties are working from the same set of numbers, there’s improved visibility across the claim approval process.

Then there’s the additional value by being able to integrate with leading enterprise resourcing platforms or accounting software like Xero and MYOB, reducing the need for duplicate data entry.

“At the end of the day, margins are getting tighter, every advantage counts; the construction environment is changing and benefits of digital transformation are real.

“To put it simply, there’s a better way. We believe it’s time to move away from the old ways of working and foster more collaboration.”

Keeping progress claim management simple and transparent, while being fair and compliant, is what makes such a significant improvement on the traditional ways of submitting and certifying progress claims. Learn more at au.payapps.com.

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