2020 Report: Construction Suffers From Wasted Time & Slow Payment

In theory, a construction project follows a tried-and-true process: Estimate a job, win the bid, do the work correctly, keep up with paperwork, get paid – all on schedule and under budget. Unfortunately, a construction job isn’t nearly that simple or straightforward. In their responses to an industry survey conducted in Q1 of 2020, over 540 construction businesses reveal just how damaged that process is. The 2020 National Construction Payment Report: Spring Spotlight on Jobsite Coordination shows just how the construction industry has grown to accept a status quo that’s far from ideal, from coordinating work on the jobsite to chasing down slow payment.

Twice a year, Levelset collects data from hundreds of contractors to keep a pulse on the state of payments in the construction industry. Through February and March of 2020, we teamed up with Fieldwire to collect data on jobsite efficiency and payments. This survey measured the types of construction companies participating, their performance in coordinating and completing work in the field, and how quickly they get paid for their work.

Key takeaways

• Overall, the construction industry accepts project & payment delays as the status quo.
• 3 out of 4 construction businesses (77%) say they are happy with how quickly they finish a job, and a majority (53%) are happy with how quickly they get paid for their work.
• In reality, fewer than 1 in 3 contractors (30%) finish projects on time and within budget.
• 70% say poor jobsite coordination almost always causes projects to run over budget or past deadlines.
• 80% of companies say they spend a significant portion of their workweek chasing down payments.
• Only half of construction businesses say they receive payment within 30 days of invoicing (15% regularly wait for 60 days or longer to get paid).