With tight project deadlines and the ongoing cost of living crisis increasing the pressure on contractors, subcontractors, and property developers to complete projects on time and to budget, it’s absolutely vital that applications for payment are completed accurately and efficiently to avoid project delays and disputes.
However, data released by King’s College London revealed inadequate contract administration led to the UK construction industry seeing 2,264 adjudication referrals between May 2023 and April 2024, a 9% increase from the previous year. When you consider that 4,032 construction companies became insolvent in 2024, the need for accurate and trusted payment calculations has never been more important.
While spreadsheets have been the traditional method of inputting and recording application for payment data, this manual process can often lead to errors or inaccuracies in calculations – resulting in project delays.
Switching to more modern practices that utilise innovations in technology, such as Payapps automated software, provides a more reliable, efficient, and accurate alternative.
Spreadsheets and the link to subcontractor payment calculation errors
As stakeholders and anyone working on a project add more data, spreadsheets naturally get larger and the number of formats and formulas can often increase. Consequently, it is very easy for spreadsheets to contain inaccuracies or errors, and even easier for these to be missed.
This is exacerbated by the fact that spreadsheets are rarely subject to meticulous checks and errors of over- or under- value are not particularly obvious. It can also be very simple to get payments and valuations wrong – leading to over-, or under-spend, fractious relationships, or project delays.
Furthermore, the lack of connectivity can also cause increased likelihood of application for payment inaccuracies. For instance, if copies of the spreadsheet are made, it can be difficult to identify the most up-to-date and accurate version. As a result, there is a significant financial management risk.
How Payapps automated construction software provides the solution
Ensuring standardised and automated calculations, Payapps’ application for payment software offers substantial time and cost savings while increasing accuracy and reducing risk.
Enabling clear governance and audit trails, this innovative software simplifies payment application submission and tracking, making life simpler and less stressful for money-conscious contractors and subcontractors across the construction industry.
Additionally, having one set of numbers approved and time-stamped through a logical, automated workflow sequence makes it much quicker to authorise.
Application for payment software such as Payapps can also be integrated with accounting software, streamlining the process and enabling much tighter control over which applications are in process, which applications are approved, and whether money has been paid.. This therefore helps those in charge of finances project final account and forecast cashflow, in turn providing peace of mind that everything is under control.
The resultant reduced number of disputes over valuations and payments will also mean projects are more likely to be completed within budget and on time, reducing pressures on contractors and subcontractors – especially vital given the expected increased construction demand in the coming months.
Indeed, the efficiency and accuracy offered by using technology is highlighted by a survey of quantity surveying professionals – carried out by Payapps in 2024 – that revealed 41% of respondents who use Payapps rarely experienced delays due to inaccuracies or incomplete information in applications for payment. This compares favourably to only 19% of non-Payapps users who said they rarely encountered delays.
With contractors and subcontractors expected to come under increasing pressure to meet tight deadlines and stay on budget, identifying ways to reduce the risk of application for payment inaccuracies or errors – and the project delays that often come with that – is paramount.
As the market-leading cloud-based solution, Payapps makes submitting and approving payment applications easier, faster, and more accurate while enabling cohesive collaboration between contractors and subcontractors.
