WHAT TYPE OF PRECONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY SHOULD CONTRACTORS CONSIDER UTILIZING AND WHY?
Joseph M. Sforzo
Chief Operating Officer
Surety2000
When evaluating preconstruction technology, contractors should focus on adopting electronic surety bonds. This digital solution significantly streamlines the bonding process by reducing paperwork, speeding up approvals and ensuring compliance with industry regulations. Electronic surety bonds offer enhanced security and traceability, minimizing risks associated with errors or fraud. By incorporating these bonds into their workflow, contractors can boost efficiency, improve collaboration with stakeholders and ensure timely project launches—critical factors in today’s fast-paced construction environment.
Electronic surety bonds are revolutionizing the construction industry by addressing persistent challenges tied to traditional paper bonds. As the industry evolves, the demand for efficiency, accuracy and security has led contractors to embrace digital solutions, with electronic surety bonds emerging as a key innovation. This transition from paper to electronic bonds is more than just a technological upgrade; it represents a fundamental improvement in project management. The advantages of electronic surety bonds extend across several areas, including increased efficiency, enhanced security, improved accuracy, cost savings, better collaboration, positive environmental impact, scalability and greater transparency.
FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY HELPS CONTRACTORS GET PAID AND PAY OUT FASTER. WHAT OTHER BENEFITS DO FINTECH SOLUTIONS OFFER?
Seth Dawson
President and CEO
Paperless Environments
Fintech solutions offer various ways to automate financial tasks such as purchasing, expense tracking, invoice processing, lien waiver, compliance and payment management. This provides efficiencies that reduce the need for manual data entry and ensures that the valuable documentation and data that we run our daily businesses on are not lost or stolen. This frees up valuable time and resources which are becoming more and more expensive and precious as time goes on.
In today’s litigious construction world, maintaining proper documentation on the various transactions that occur on projects is paramount to the success of our project management teams. Fintech solutions can help ensure that data and documentation are easily gathered from the source, whether it be in the field or the back office. These items are stored and easily retrievable when the need arises. Easy access to this data and documentation by field personnel as well as vendors, clients, and subcontractors enables all parties involved in the project to keep up to date with progress and communicate amongst themselves effectively, ensuring that projects are run efficiently and are successful in the end.
Mike Milligan
Chief Growth Officer
GCPay
This answer was taken from last year’s response to the question, ‘How can technology help contractors manage payments to subcontractors?’ GCPay wanted to use last year’s response and stick to the above question.
Managing cash flow in this economy has become all the more critical right now which probably doesn’t come as a surprise. However, what might come as a bit of a surprise is how much currency exchange takes place on a typical project between the general contractor and all of its subcontractors. Did you know that on average, it’s over two thirds of the cost of a project’s total? That’s a lot of cash flow to manage, both incoming and outgoing. Making mistakes is not an option, and double entry accounting processes can not only contribute to mistakes but is a time-intensive and painstaking way to invest serious energy.
Paying subcontractors for their work also requires what seems like endless amounts of paperwork, from compliance documentation to lien waivers. Did you know that just this part of subcontractor management can take the equivalent of two working days a week? It doesn’t have to be. Managing subcontractors and paying them on time, every time can be much easier.
That’s where technology comes in. Cloud-based software applications that integrate with today’s leading construction ERP systems can manage this entire process, from collecting contracts, managing compliance and lien waiver documentation, and paying subcontractors for work throughout the life of a construction project. It can even pay subs electronically if so desired. All the while, eliminating mistakes and double entry accounting processes.
Managing cash flow, especially the payments between you, the general contractor and all of your subs, has never been easier or more efficient.
Laurent Charpentier
CEO
Yooz
By leveraging fintech solutions, contractors gain greater visibility, optimize organization and enhance efficiency in managing their financial operations. For example, an AP automation solution streamlines processes and eliminates manual data entry to allow more time for strategic initiatives and focus on core business activities.
With cloud-based automation platforms, financial data is consolidated from multiple sources, offering construction firms a more effective way to monitor and manage finances, especially for businesses operating across various locations. With this improved visibility contractors can easily track expenses and multiple budgets, enabling informed decision-making about timing for bill payments and optimizing working capital. AP automation becomes a strategic tool to reduce tedious back-office tasks so that you scale your business and focus on your construction projects.
Derek Chu
Product Manager, Financials
CMiC
By design, fintech solutions help construction finance professionals improve job costing, manage costs and deliver accurate financial reporting.
The business benefits of a robust fintech solution are many: enabling users to track key performance measures, such as cash flow and profitability analyses, estimates versus actuals, WIP, earned value and aging reports by project or job. In addition, it provides users with control over all aspects of payroll and asset management, which improves accountability across the organization.
Key business benefits this type of software provides are:
Revenue Management: Helps financial professionals oversee contractor invoices, cash receipts and revenue projections.Cost Management: Helps users manage job and labor costs, inventory, equipment, materials and subcontracts.Financial Reporting: Provides robust capabilities to help manage owner contracts, invoicing, cash receipts and projections.Financial Management: Ensures that field and accounting teams work from the same set of financial data.
Fintech solutions enable users to:
Accurately track performance of revenues to costs (budgeting and revenue forecasting).Track invoices and access historical financial data (by company or across companies).Generate financial statements, cash-flow analyses and custom reports accurately.Capture project-related billing automatically, generate non-project related invoicing and view open receivables.Capture labor, materials and equipment costs in one place as well as easily issue subcontracts.Manage day-to-day cash transactions, cash balances and multiple bank or credit-card accounts.Manage invoices, contracts and change orders electronically, and accelerate approval workflows and auto routing.
Ariela Wagner
President
SunRay Construction Solutions LLC
Financial technology has become a vital tool for contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, offering much more than just faster payments. At SunRay, we leverage fintech solutions to streamline financial processes, particularly in lien and waivers management, bringing significant advantages across the construction industry.
One key benefit fintech provides is enhanced accuracy and compliance. With the complexities of lien waivers, notices and payment tracking, automation ensures that everything is processed correctly and on time. This reduces human error and helps contractors, subcontractors and suppliers avoid costly delays or legal disputes while maintaining compliance with regulations.
Fintech also offers improved transparency and accountability. Contractors can track payments, monitor lien and waiver releases, and ensure all necessary documentation is completed, all in real-time. This transparency fosters stronger relationships among contractors, subcontractors and suppliers by building trust and maintaining clear communication throughout the project lifecycle.
Scalability is another major advantage. As projects grow, fintech solutions like SunRay’s lien and waiver management system can easily adapt to meet the increased demands, eliminating the need for additional manual work. This flexibility allows businesses to focus on project execution and growth rather than being overwhelmed by administrative tasks.
In addition, fintech empowers better financial decision-making. Real-time data analytics provide insights into cash-flow trends, payment histories and outstanding liabilities, enabling contractors, subcontractors and suppliers to make more informed decisions to strengthen their financial health.
At SunRay, we believe fintech is key not just for speeding up payments, but for driving efficiency and strategic growth across the entire construction sector.
WHAT ARE THE TELLTALE SIGNS THAT YOUR CURRENT CONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE ISN’T GETTING THE JOB DONE?
Shelley Gretlein
Senior Vice President, SaaS AECO Software
FARO Technologies
I recently joined FARO® Technologies and have been spending significant time with our customers, diving into challenges and outcomes. Being part of the FARO Sphere® XG team, I’m especially interested in construction software.
Errors, Inaccuracies, Lack of Real-Time Collaboration
Measurement errors span uneven floors to inaccurate wall measurements; creating costly rework, while out-of-date plans create schedule clashes and communication misfires. The ability to sync on-site data to a cloud-based data hub is one modern way to ensure project stakeholders have complete line-of-sight on project completion no matter where they reside. A consolidated platform for reality capture reduces risks of miscommunication, wasted materials and costly rework. If you are seeing data mismatches between project phases or between the design and actual construction, your current software is inadequate and costing your business.
Inefficient and Ineffective Project Management
Your projects are complex, you can’t afford to be ineffective. Modern cloud-based construction software simplifies your operations with secure and instant access to your construction data. Always up-to-date data improves your time to decision by making your data—from drones, cameras, laser scanners—accessible in your browser. You can also save hard travel costs with a solution like this, eliminating site visits to check progress or re-take measurements.
If you are encountering rework, inaccurate measurements or having significant communication and collaboration challenges, it’s time to evaluate cloud solutions that combine your reality capture data from 360° photos and laser scans, provide remote collaboration and comprehensive project management designed specifically for the construction industry.
Chelsey Goossens
President
Explorer Software
A clear sign that your current construction software isn’t getting the job done is when inefficiencies grow along with your company. If your system requires increased manual data entry, forcing you to hire more staff just to keep up, it’s time to reconsider your tech stack. For example, manual time tracking in the field is a common pain point that systems like Explorer Eclipse solve by automating the collection of timesheets directly from the jobsite. This reduces the administrative burden, eliminates double entry and data entry mistakes, and provides the added benefit of tracking project costs in real-time.
Another warning sign is the lack of flexible reporting. Different stakeholders—from project managers to CFOs—need tailored data to make informed decisions. Outdated software often only provides standard, one-size-fits-all reports, making it difficult to create views specific to each role or changing business needs. Today’s more intelligent solutions offer flexible analytics, allowing you to customize reports that deliver the right insights to the right people.
Finally, if your software hasn’t kept pace with modern technology, you’ll notice gaps in features like document management, AI, efficient search functionality and streamlined workflows. These capabilities are essential in today’s competitive environment and lacking them can put your business at a disadvantage. If you’re hearing that others in your industry are achieving new levels of efficiency with advanced technology, and your system feels outdated, it may be time to upgrade to a solution built for today’s challenges.
Jake Macholtz
CEO
InEight
Organizations often experience challenges that should prompt a hard look at their software.
First, teams often struggle to adapt their processes as their organizations grow and take on new types of work. Organizations that hope to stay efficient and effective need to constantly adapt their operating rhythms to keep pace with the growing complexity of capital construction. No matter how dedicated or hard-working, when teams are tied to time-intensive processes, inefficiencies compound, causing a ripple effect across budgets, schedules and profitability.
As organizations grow, individual teams commonly onboard solutions to solve particular problems as they arise, leading to the second sign that it’s time for a change—siloed technologies. Competing or fragmented solutions often grow out of expediency, especially when the organization doesn’t have a clear technology strategy. A rudderless approach to construction software creates disconnected or cobbled-together solutions, leading to isolated data, limited inter-operability, redundant licensing costs and vulnerability to cybersecurity threats.
The third sign: The workforce is worn out and frustrated. Ineffective software solutions often mean that reports are out of date, schedules are unreliable, drawings and documents must be hand-scanned and sorted. That creates time-sinks that pull team members away from work that moves projects forward—and the resulting extended deadlines or workdays compound the problem.
Construction work is challenging in the best of circumstances, so it can be hard to recognize a tipping point. But keep an eye out for the signs that it’s time to relieve some of the burden on teams by adopting a more efficient technology solution.
HOW CAN CONTRACTORS LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO MOST EFFICIENCTLY MANAGE THEIR WORKFORCE?
Mike Ode
CEO
Foundation Software
Software is the most effective technology available to successfully manage labor because it automates all the challenges involved in construction-workforce management.
Take employee allocation. With scheduling software, contractors can monitor where employees are currently working and how much progress they’ve completed, so additional resources can then be reallocated based on needs.
To increase visibility at sites, a mobile time-tracking platform is a powerful tool because it collects data in real-time straight from the field. Even from the office, owners can check in and access live information, seeing who clocked in when, what tasks were completed and how long shifts lasted.
HR-management apps digitize new hire onboarding and offer a central dashboard to house all employee data. If contractors need an at-a-glance view of pay stub history, for example, everything is quickly accessible.
Even payday is simplified with a construction-specific payroll solution. They’ll collect digital timecards, process even the most complicated rates automatically, then issue checks and direct deposits.
The type of software contractors should purchase is dependent upon the construction work they perform as well as the number of workers they employ. But to increase ROI, find products that integrate. By creating a tech stack, both manual and double entry are eliminated because employee data is seamlessly shared between systems.
By leveraging software, the work of supervising an entire labor force throughout a project lifecycle is done for you.
John Shrader
Chief Revenue Officer
Arcoro
Technology helps companies work smarter, an important objective given a protracted construction labor shortage. While more young people are choosing a construction career, those new hires won’t be enough to backfill for workers retiring or leaving the industry.
Contractors face the concurrent challenges of attracting new hires, training or upskilling existing employees and retaining team members. They also need to effectively manage everyday workforce processes like time tracking, scheduling and PTO tracking.
If done manually or with outdated tools like spreadsheets, these tasks can easily overwhelm an HR or operations teams, shifting focus from other important work. Workforce processes can be inefficient or lack the desired organizational impact, leading to wasted efforts and sunken costs. Contractors need to consider whether their workforce-management approach is unnecessarily squandering precious time and resources.
That’s where HR technology comes in. It removes the risks and inaccuracies of manual processes. Digital solutions better manage data and offer an auditable paper trail, whether it’s employees’ electronic timecards, employment submissions or historical performance reviews, among others.
Technology also adds value by integrating with other construction solutions. Workforce-management tech that can share data with your project-management system, for example, contributes to better insights into vital functions like costing and estimating.
And finally, employees entering the industry expect technology. As digital natives, they want to work for companies with modern processes and tools.
Efficient workforce management is a business necessity. Driving inefficiencies out of the process with HR technology is a vital first step.
IS THE INDUSTRY READY TO EMPLOY AI, MACHINE LEARNING AND ANALYTICS?
Johnny Clemmons
Industry Business Unit Head @ SAP | Construction, Real Estate, Airlines, Airports, Cargo & Passenger Rail, Hospitality, Ports, Trucking, Logistics Services, and Ocean Liners
SAP
Executives in construction are eager to leverage AI, machine learning and analytics to improve performance, lower costs and reduce risk on their projects and across their companies.
However, many find their applications are not ready to support their AI aspirations. A fragmented IT landscape doesn’t provide the data consistency they need to leverage it properly in AI scenarios. Siloed processes require a significant effort to define how the data from different systems should fit together to serve even a single AI use case.
On the other hand, we’re witnessing organizations leveraging solutions with embedded AI are finding real benefits without embarking on a complex AI project. Embedding AI directly into existing business processes and using the trusted data that already lives in these systems ensures the AI is relevant and reliable.
However, companies must select partners who practice the highest ethical standards in their AI development to ensure it is responsible. The most innovation-focused construction firms are seeking partners who leverage an embedded generative-AI framework to provide a context-aware AI assistant.
When evaluating potential software partners, I suggest investigating their AI strategy. If they haven’t built an AI layer with the flexibility to select models from the leading large-language-model providers and can support AI use cases across not only their solutions but also those of other vendors, I suggest further investigation. Following an embedded AI is the most cost-effective way to realize AI-driven results across the critical dimensions of cost, schedule, productivity and safety in construction.
WHAT TECHNOLOGY DO YOU SEE AS BEING THE MOST POSITIVE FOR THE BOTTOM LINE IN THE NEXT DECADE?
Bruce Orr
CEO and Data Scientist
ProNovos Financial Intelligence
Between 2025 and 2028, contractors should focus on maximizing profits as the industry is expected to remain strong. This period offers a prime opportunity to capitalize on steady demand and technological advancements. To fully leverage these favorable conditions, contractors must enhance financial workflows, streamline operations and secure more lucrative projects. Contractors need to adopt platforms that can integrate seamlessly with their existing accounting and project-management software to eliminate inefficiencies, reduce manual errors and accelerate the billing and payment cycles. By doing so, they can improve cash flow, manage resources more efficiently and increase profitability.
This window should also be used to focus on reducing debt and building financial resilience. As the industry thrives, contractors should ensure that payments are timely, projects stay within budget and financial obligations are managed wisely. Using advanced financial-management tools will enable them to scale efficiently and protect their profits.
While the period between 2025 and 2028 offers strong market conditions, contractors should also use this time to prepare for potential challenges from 2030 to 2036. By maximizing profits now, improving financial workflows and reducing liabilities, contractors can create a solid foundation to navigate economic uncertainties or industry disruptions in the future. In short, the coming years present a crucial opportunity for contractors to build their financial strength and position themselves for long-term success.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF USING AUGMENTED REALITY ON THE JOBSITE?
Michael R. Colapietro
CEO and Co-Founder
Smartapp.com
The AEC industry continues to battle workforce and safety challenges that are affecting jobsites across the country every day. Nearly one in four construction workers is above 55 years of age, which means retirements will whittle away at a construction workforce that already had a shortage of more than half a million workers in 2023. A report by EHS also cited construction as the industry with the highest rate of burnout and poor mental health, thanks to irregular work hours, dangerous work conditions and a high percentage of work fatalities.
The industry is essentially dealing with an older workforce along with incredibly high risks to health and safety given the physically dangerous nature of the work. The picture could have seemed bleak until AI, AR and emerging technologies started helping us to better solve these challenges through unparalleled levels of automation that lower the risks to safety, schedule, cost and liability. For example, we were able to provide our client, Whiting-Turner, with an AR solution that brought survey-grade accuracy to their fingertips and revolutionized the way we locate and visualize hidden infrastructure. It gave them the power to see through the ground and avoid hitting underground utilities that could cause even bigger risks to the project and the team!
It’s critically important for us to reimagine the jobsite of the future and explore the broader potential of AR and emerging technologies to minimize the safety and project risks that are impeding our industry’s productivity potential.
WHAT ARE THE BEST PRACTICES FOR USING DATA-COLLECTION APPS AND SOFTWARE IN THE FIELD TO ENSURE INFORMATION COLLECTED IS ACCURATE AND TIMELY?
Marc Goldman
Director, AEC Industry
Esri Inc.
Leveraging GIS ensures the accuracy and timeliness of information collected at the jobsite. Tools like Esri’s SiteScan are invaluable for aerial data collection, analysis and collaboration, allowing teams to generate high-resolution maps and models using drone imagery. Paired with ArcGIS FieldMaps, workers can capture and update real-time, location-based data directly from the site, ensuring that it integrates into larger project workflows. These tools allow AEC pros to maintain precise geospatial awareness across all project phases, from planning to execution.
Beyond data collection, ArcGIS Pro is critical for analyzing and visualizing the data gathered in the field. This gives users the power to conduct spatial analysis, generate 3D models and create detailed maps that reflect real-time jobsite conditions. By using ArcGIS Pro, a construction worker can compare site data against digital plans, identify deviations and ensure that the information aligns with the project’s objectives.
Standardizing data collection processes with ArcGIS FieldMaps and automating workflows within the Esri platform is crucial to maintaining consistency. Using these tools ensures that everyone involved in the project collects and reports data in a uniform format, reducing the risk of errors. Furthermore, integrating these tools with cloud-based platforms such as ArcGIS Online allows a range of workers to sync data between the field and the office instantly. This ensures all stakeholders work with the most up-to-date information, facilitating better communication and collaboration. By relying on Esri’s powerful GIS solutions, you can ensure that the data collected is both accurate and actionable throughout the project lifecycle.
HOW CAN CONTRACTORS IMPLEMENT BUSINESS-INTELLIGENCE SOFTWARE AND WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
Mike Bihlmeier
President
Computer Guidance Corporation
X
Facing strong headwinds from the current economic conditions, commercial contractors are becoming increasingly reliant on advanced, rock-solid ERP platform with dynamic business intelligence and analytics solutions in order to maintain or improve overall performance and ongoing profitability.
Leading contractors are partnering with their solution providers like Computer Guidance to gain real-time insights into every facet of their operations and financials through embedded BI&A tools that support data capture, modification, management, sharing and storage in a variety of formats, anywhere and anytime.
Embedded BI&A solutions function as an all-encompassing database that allows users to house massive amounts of information and then serve it up in meaningful ways for a more proactive construction business. Through eCMS interactive data inquiry, a user’s login establishes their link to a custom dashboard that meets specific job needs and goals with intuitive data displays which can be altered, tracked or acted upon immediately. Whether in the field or office, IDI dashboards can be configured per user or user group, so everyone sees the data they need, how they need it, within the same database, resulting in a single version of the truth.
These data views, dashboards, launchpads and reports are designed to support complex and standard financial reporting and calculations, historical analysis, current performance comparisons, future outcome forecasting and more. Due to the dynamic nature and ease of use of the software, users can access business-critical information without the need for an extensive investment in training or staffing with specific technical skills to get meaningful output. Cutting-edge ERP platforms with built-in BI&A create proactive decision-makers while opening doors to in-depth automation and heightened data analytics, achieving maximum productivity and profit. That’s the digital difference delivered through a future-proof ERP platform like eCMS.
