GC AP departments process hundreds of invoices a month. The ones that get paid fastest aren't the biggest. They're the ones with the right information in the right format.
A mid-size GC might process 200 invoices in a pay cycle. Their AP clerk has a system. Invoices that match the expected format, reference the right PO number, and show the correct project code go through the system clean. Invoices that are missing information, formatted wrong, or sent to the wrong email get set aside. "Set aside" means "paid last."
This isn't about how good your work is. Your work might be excellent. But the person processing your invoice never saw your work. They see a piece of paper, and it either matches what they need or it doesn't.
Miss any of these and you're giving the GC's AP team a reason to kick your invoice back. Every round trip costs you days.
Legal company name, address, phone, email. Not your personal cell. Your business contact. This seems obvious until you see invoices that come from a Gmail address with no company name anywhere on the document.
Not just "Turner Construction." Turner has 40 offices. Include the project name and address so the AP clerk can route it to the right project manager for approval without asking you to clarify.
Sequential. Never repeated. The GC's system uses this to track payment. If you send two invoices with the same number, one gets flagged as a duplicate and rejected. Pick a system (001, 002, 003 or INV-2026-001) and stick with it.
The date starts the clock on your payment terms. Net-30 from when? From the invoice date. If your invoice date is wrong or missing, the GC's system may default to the date they received it, costing you days.
This is the single most important field for getting paid fast. The PO number ties your invoice to the budget the GC already approved. Without it, someone has to manually match your invoice to a contract. That takes time nobody has.
Dates of work, scope description, location on site if relevant. "Plumbing work - $8,400" is not enough. "Rough-in plumbing, Building C, 2nd floor, units 201-208, May 12-16" tells the PM exactly what they're approving.
Break the work into visible pieces. Labor hours at what rate. Materials at what cost. Even on lump-sum contracts, showing the breakdown builds trust and reduces questions. The PM can glance at it and approve without a phone call.
Where do you want the money sent? Check to what address? ACH to what account? If the GC uses a payment portal, include your portal ID. Don't make them ask. Every question is a delay.
Most subs wait days or weeks after completing work to send the invoice. Sometimes it's because they're busy. Sometimes it's because invoicing feels like office work and they'd rather be on the next job. But every day you wait to send the invoice is a day added to your payment timeline. If the GC pays net-30 from receipt, and you wait 10 days to send, you just turned net-30 into net-40.
The subs who get paid fastest have a system that lets them invoice the same day the work is done. Not because they're sitting at a desk. Because their system captures the job details as the work happens and generates the invoice from what's already there.
A clean, complete invoice tells the GC's AP team that you run a professional operation. It gets processed without questions. It doesn't get kicked back. It doesn't sit in someone's "need more info" pile. It goes in, gets approved, and gets paid.
STUDD generates invoices built for the GC-sub relationship. PO numbers, project references, retention tracking, progress billing, compliance document linkage. The invoice goes out complete because the system already knows the job details, the contract terms, and the GC's requirements.
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