Specialty contractor software built from the sub's side of the contract.
Mechanical, electrical, concrete and drywall subs bill five different GCs five different ways, carry retainage for years and owe a waiver with every check. This edition runs your job cost, your pay apps and your paperwork - not the GC's.
Reply within one business day · Written scope and fixed price before any work starts
Built on a platform our team runs in production. The U.S. edition is being configured with design partners.
Status as of November 2026. How we label products
Pay apps this period
18
Ready to send
11
Waiting on PM %
5
Billing this period
$1.42M
This period by general contractor
| Job · GC | Format | This period | Retention | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayside Clinic · Harbor Point Builders | AIA-style G702/G703 | $184,300 | 10% | Ready to send |
| Elm St Lofts · Northgate Construction | GC portal export | $96,750 | 5% | CO-7 not approved |
| County Courthouse Annex · Redline GC | Custom sheet + WH-347 | $212,900 | 5% | Payroll attached |
| Westfield Parking Deck · Summit Builders | AIA-style G702/G703 | $58,400 | 10% | Over 100% on line 14 |
Needs attention
- Elm St Lofts: CO-7 billed but pending$12,600 · remove or hold
- Westfield line 14 Sleeves & insertsBilled 104%
- Conditional waivers generated11 of 11 ready
Retainage receivable
$1.86M
On closed jobs
$612K
Over 180 days
$238K
Released this quarter
$341K
Oldest retainage first
| Job | GC | Held | Days since substantial completion | Blocker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverwalk Hotel | Summit Builders | $118,200 | 246 | O&M manuals missing |
| Pine Ridge Middle School | Redline GC | $64,900 | 191 | Final certified payroll |
| Lakeshore Medical Office | Harbor Point Builders | $41,750 | 122 | Release requested |
| Oak Commons Retail | Northgate Construction | $29,300 | 64 | Punch list open (3) |
Conditional waivers sent
23
Unconditional owed
9
Lower-tier waivers missing
4
Payments received
$1.07M
Waivers by job
| Job | State form | Through date | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayside Clinic | CA conditional progress (§ 8132) | Oct 31 | $171,400 | Sent with pay app |
| Westfield Parking Deck | TX conditional progress | Oct 31 | $63,200 | Unconditional due on payment |
| Pine Ridge Middle School | AZ conditional progress | Oct 31 | $88,100 | Supplier waiver missing |
| Elm St Lofts | Generic (no statutory form) | Oct 31 | $54,800 | Sent with pay app |
In short
Agenbord Build for Specialty Subcontractors is job cost and billing software for electrical, mechanical, concrete and drywall subs doing roughly $3M-$30M a year. It tracks cost by phase code, prepares pay applications in each GC's format, follows retainage receivable to collection, and manages the lien waivers and certified payroll you must hand over to get paid. The engine runs in production today; this U.S. edition is in early access with design partners.
What slows specialty subcontractors down today.
Every GC wants the pay app a different way
One GC wants an AIA-style G702/G703 by the 25th, another wants line items typed into its portal, a third wants a custom continuation sheet with stored materials split out. Your project accountant rebuilds the same numbers five times a month, and one rejected pay app pushes your cash a full cycle.
Retainage is the profit, and nobody is chasing it
On a 10% retention job, the money you hold back is often more than your margin. It sits on closed jobs for months because punch lists, closeout documents and final waivers are scattered across inboxes, and no one owns the follow-up.
GC-centric software is priced and built for someone else
Most construction platforms are designed for the contractor who manages subs: they track the waivers you collect, not the ones you owe. Subs end up with QuickBooks, a pay-app spreadsheet per GC and a binder of waivers - and no view of which job is actually making money.
How the work flows through the system.
Each workflow runs on one shared record, so nobody re-types numbers between steps.
Monthly pay app to each GC
Foreman → project manager → billing → GC
- Foremen report installed quantities by phase code from the field app; the PM confirms percent complete per schedule-of-values line.
- Approved change orders and stored materials are pulled in, and retainage is calculated at each contract's rate - including reduced rates after 50% complete where the contract allows.
- The system produces the pay app in that GC's format - AIA-style G702/G703, a custom continuation sheet, or a line-item export for the GC's portal.
- The matching conditional waiver for the billed amount is generated from the correct state template and sent with the pay app.
- The billing date, amount and due date land in receivables, so collections knows exactly what's expected and when.
Collect retainage at closeout
Project manager → billing → owner
- When a job hits substantial completion, the system builds a closeout checklist: punch list sign-off, O&M manuals, as-builts, warranties and the final waiver.
- Each missing item is assigned to a person with a due date; the retainage release request is drafted once the list is complete.
- Retainage receivable is aged by GC and by job, so the owner sees which $40,000 balance has been sitting for 200 days.
- Reminders go to the GC's project accountant by email on a schedule you set, and the unconditional final waiver is released only after payment clears.
Weekly certified payroll on prevailing-wage jobs
Foreman → payroll → GC compliance desk
- Crew time is captured daily by job, phase code and wage classification on the field app.
- Payroll checks each worker's rate against the job's wage determination and flags anyone paid below it.
- A WH-347-style weekly report with the statement of compliance is produced from approved time and sent to the GC.
- Reports, signatures and submission dates are filed per job for audits and final retainage release.
What's included in Agenbord Build for Specialty Subcontractors.
Job cost by phase code
Budget, committed, actual and cost-to-complete by phase code, fed by timesheets, purchase orders and supplier invoices as they post.
Contracts & change orders
Each GC contract with its schedule of values, retention terms and billing rules, plus pending, approved and disputed change orders.
Pay apps in each GC's format
One set of numbers, output as AIA-style G702/G703, a custom continuation sheet or a portal-ready export, per GC.
Retainage receivable
Retainage held by job and by GC, release conditions, aging and closeout checklists that unlock the final payment.
Lien waivers you owe
Conditional and unconditional waivers generated from the right state template per job, tied to each pay app and each payment received.
Lower-tier waivers & suppliers
The waivers your own suppliers and sub-subs owe you, collected before you pay them so your upstream waiver is clean.
Field app & production
Daily installed quantities, crew hours, photos and delivery tickets by phase code, so percent complete comes from the field, not a guess.
Payroll & certified payroll
Timesheets by job, phase and classification feeding payroll, with WH-347-style weekly reports on prevailing-wage jobs.
Cash forecast
Expected pay app receipts, retainage releases and payroll by week, so you see the cash gap before it arrives.
AI that does specific jobs and shows its work.
Every AI feature is tested on your own records before it's switched on, and a person approves anything that moves money or goes to a customer.
Pay app rejection check
Before a pay app goes out, compares it with the contract, prior billings and approved change orders, and flags billing past 100% on a line, unapproved change orders, or a retention rate that doesn't match the contract. Limits: it flags; your billing lead decides. It only knows the rules you have loaded for that GC.
Ask your job data
Questions like "which jobs are over budget on labor for rough-in?" or "how much retainage is more than 120 days old?" answered from your own records, with the jobs and phase codes listed so you can check them.
Who it's for and who it isn't.
A good fit if you are
- Self-performing subs with 10-150 field workers and 15-80 active contracts
- Firms that bill monthly on a schedule of values to several general contractors
- Subs carrying significant retainage receivable across open and closed jobs
- Teams that work public or Davis-Bacon jobs and need weekly certified payroll
Probably not the right fit if you are
- General contractors managing their own subs - see the GC edition instead
- Service-only trade shops that bill tickets, not contracts
- Very large subs already running an enterprise construction ERP with in-house admins
Designed around the rules you work under.
Plain-English notes, not legal advice. Software supports your compliance process; it doesn't replace your attorney, CPA or compliance lead.
Federal prompt payment to subs
On federal construction contracts, the prime's subcontracts must include a clause requiring payment for satisfactory work within 7 days of the prime receiving payment from the agency, with interest on late payments. Receivables track the GC's payment date against that clause so you know when to follow up. 31 U.S.C. § 3905.
Miller Act payment bond deadlines
On federal jobs, a second-tier sub or supplier must give written notice to the prime within 90 days of its last labor or materials, and suit on the bond must be filed within one year of that date. The system records last-furnished dates per job and alerts you before those windows close. 40 U.S.C. § 3133; ABA overview.
Certified payroll on Davis-Bacon jobs
Contractors and subcontractors on covered federal jobs submit weekly certified payroll (form WH-347 or equivalent). The payroll module is designed to produce it from approved timesheets. U.S. DOL WH-347.
Statutory lien waiver forms
About a dozen states prescribe the wording of lien waivers, so the waiver you give must match the job's state. The waiver library is set up per state with your attorney confirming each form; this is not legal advice. Levelset overview.
What exists today and what's being built.
Runs in production today
Capabilities of the engine this edition is built on.
- Projects and job costing with budgets by cost code
- Progress billing with retention and tax withholding
- Procurement and supplier/subcontractor ledgers
- Labor attendance, daily-wage payroll and site diaries with photos
- Mobile payment approvals and an AI copilot over company data
What this edition adds
In development with design partners.
- Pay app output per GC: AIA-style G702/G703, custom sheets and portal exports
- State lien waiver templates for waivers given and lower-tier waivers collected
- Retainage receivable aging and closeout checklists
- U.S. payroll tax handling and WH-347-style certified payroll
- Miller Act and prompt-payment date tracking
- QuickBooks Online and Sage 100 Contractor synchronization
Connects to the systems you already run.
Systems we integrate with
Named platforms are examples we build against through their public APIs - not partnership claims.
How it compares - honestly.
Established products are often the right answer. Here's when each one is the better choice.
| Product | What it is | The better choice when |
|---|---|---|
| Siteline | A billing and receivables tool built specifically for commercial subcontractors: pay apps in GC formats, GC portal submission, lien waivers, retainage and collections. | Your problem is billing and collections only, and you want a focused, ready-made tool rather than one system for job cost, payroll and billing. |
| Foundation Software | Construction accounting and payroll focused on contractors, with job costing and certified payroll. | You want a packaged construction accounting and U.S. payroll system with established payroll tax support today. |
| Sage 100 Contractor | A long-established construction accounting package used by many small and mid-sized subs, with a large consultant network. | Your bookkeeper wants a familiar, on-premises construction accounting package and you're happy to keep pay apps and waivers outside it. |
Detailed comparisons: Procore alternatives
What it costs, up front.
During early access the subcontractor edition is delivered as a configured build on the Agenbord Build engine at a fixed price. Design partners get a reduced build price in exchange for feedback and a reference.
Pay apps + retainage
From $25k
GC contracts, schedule-of-values billing in each GC's format, retainage receivable and the waivers you owe, synced to your accounting system.
8–12 weeks
Full sub edition
$60k–$150k
Adds phase-code job cost, the field app, payroll with certified payroll, lower-tier waivers, cash forecasting and data migration.
4–8 months, phased
Multi-trade or multi-entity
$150k+
Several trades or companies under one owner, intercompany work, branch reporting and complex approval chains.
Phased
Specialty subcontractors: common questions.
Why not just use the same software our GCs use?
GC platforms are designed for the side of the contract that collects waivers, approves pay apps and holds retainage. A sub needs the opposite: produce pay apps in many formats, give waivers, collect retainage and track its own labor cost. Many subs submit through the GC's portal and run their own business in a separate system - this edition is that system.
Can it produce pay apps in each general contractor's format?
Yes - that is the core of the edition. Each GC contract stores its billing format: AIA-style G702/G703, a custom continuation sheet, or a line-item export for portals such as Textura or Procore. If a contract requires official AIA documents, those are licensed from AIA Contract Documents and can be completed from the same data.
How does it handle retainage reductions?
Retention terms are stored per contract, including a reduced rate after a percent-complete milestone and different rates on change orders where your contract says so. The billing engine already handles retention in production; the U.S. edition adds retainage receivable aging and closeout checklists.
Do we have to replace QuickBooks?
No. Most subs keep their general ledger in QuickBooks Online or another accounting system and sync jobs, invoices, bills and payroll journals to it.
Is this different from the electrical contractor edition?
Yes. This edition is for any self-performing sub that bills GCs on contracts. The electrical edition adds service tickets alongside project work, labor-unit productivity tracking and copper price exposure, which are specific to electrical shops.
Is it available today?
The engine - job costing, progress billing with retention, procurement, payroll and site diaries - runs in production today. The U.S. subcontractor edition adds GC pay-app formats, state lien waivers, retainage receivable and certified payroll, and is in early access with design partners.
Sources
- 31 U.S.C. § 3905 - Payment provisions relating to construction contracts (Cornell LII)
- 40 U.S.C. § 3133 - Miller Act rights of persons furnishing labor or material (Cornell LII)
- American Bar Association - Miller Act payment bond claims basics
- U.S. Department of Labor - Form WH-347
- Levelset - States with statutory lien waiver forms
Regulatory notes are plain-English summaries, not legal advice.
Early access
Become an early-access customer of Agenbord Build for Specialty Subcontractors.
Early-access customers get a reduced build price, direct input into the roadmap and a fixed scope in writing before work starts. Tell us how you work today and we'll reply within one business day.
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