Process Progress Billing
Streamline foundation construction progress billing with automated invoice generation, percentage-of-completion tracking, and payment collection for faster cash flow and reduced administrative overhead.
When
Foundation Milestone Completion
Then
Progress Invoice Generated and Sent
12 hours per week
Time Saved
3 weeks faster payment
ROI Impact
Foundation progress billing automation generates invoices automatically when construction milestones are completed, calculates billable amounts based on percentage-of-completion, applies retention holdbacks per contract terms, and sends invoices to clients with payment tracking—reducing billing cycle time from days to minutes while ensuring accurate retention calculations and improving cash flow f
How This Automation Works
Foundation Milestone Completion → Progress Invoice Generated and Sent
Monitor Milestone Completion
The system continuously monitors project management platforms for foundation construction milestones marked as complete, tracking excavation, footing installation, wall construction, waterproofing, and backfill stages according to project schedules.
Retrieve Contract and Project Data
Automatically pulls contract billing terms, retention percentages, payment schedules, client contact information, project costs, and previously billed amounts from integrated project management and accounting systems.
Calculate Billable Amount
Computes the invoice amount based on milestone value or percentage-of-completion, applies contract-specified retention holdback, accounts for any change orders, and validates against contract total and remaining unbilled balance.
Generate Progress Invoice
Creates detailed invoice document including project information, billing period, completed work description, schedule of values, current billing amount, retention held, previous billings, and balance to finish, formatted per industry standards or client requirements.
Attach Supporting Documentation
Automatically includes relevant supporting materials such as progress photos, daily reports, material delivery tickets, inspection certificates, and lien waivers from subcontractors as invoice attachments.
Create Accounting Entries
Posts invoice to accounting system with proper job costing allocation, updates accounts receivable, records retention payable, and synchronizes financial data across integrated platforms maintaining accurate project profitability tracking.
Deliver Invoice to Client
Sends invoice via email to designated client contacts with payment portal link, sets payment due date based on contract terms, and provides options for online payment, ACH transfer, or check processing.
Track and Monitor Payment
Monitors payment status, sends automated reminders before due date, alerts accounting team of overdue invoices, tracks partial payments, and notifies project managers when payment is received to maintain project cash flow visibility.
How It Works
Foundation construction projects require precise progress billing tied to milestones and completion percentages. Manual invoice creation, tracking retention amounts, and coordinating with project managers creates delays and errors that impact cash flow. This automation connects project management systems with accounting software to automatically generate accurate progress invoices based on completed work stages, apply retention percentages, send invoices to clients, and track payment status. The system monitors foundation installation milestones, calculates billable amounts according to contract terms, applies proper retention holdbacks, and creates detailed invoices with supporting documentation. When foundation work reaches billing milestones—such as excavation completion, footing installation, or wall completion—the automation instantly generates invoices, emails them to clients, records transactions in accounting systems, and alerts project managers of payment status. This eliminates manual invoice preparation, reduces billing cycle time from days to minutes, ensures accurate retention calculations, and improves cash flow predictability for foundation contractors managing multiple concurrent projects.
The Trigger
Automatically initiates when a foundation construction milestone is marked complete in the project management system, such as excavation finished, footings poured, walls completed, or percentage-of-completion threshold reached. The trigger captures project details, completion percentage, contract billing terms, and client information to begin the billing process.
The Action
Automatically calculates billable amount based on completion percentage and contract terms, applies retention holdback percentages, generates detailed progress invoice with milestone documentation and photos, creates accounting entries in the financial system, emails invoice to client with payment portal link, updates project billing status, and notifies project managers and accounting teams of invoice delivery and expected payment date.
Common Use Cases in Foundation
- A residential foundation contractor managing 15 concurrent projects automatically generates progress invoices when each phase (excavation, footings, walls) is completed, reducing billing staff workload by 12 hours weekly while accelerating payment collection by 3 weeks per project.
- A commercial foundation company bills clients based on percentage-of-completion, with the system calculating billable amounts from daily progress reports, applying 10% retention, and generating AIA-formatted invoices that sync directly to their construction accounting system.
- A foundation repair business invoices upon completing inspection, excavation, underpinning, and restoration phases, with automated invoices including before/after photos and engineer reports sent to homeowners with online payment options, improving collection rates by 35%.
- A large foundation contractor tracks retention across 50+ active projects, with automated retention release invoices generated when projects reach substantial completion, reducing accounting workload and ensuring timely collection of held funds worth millions annually.
Results You Can Expect
Accelerated Cash Flow
Invoices are generated and sent immediately upon milestone completion rather than waiting for month-end billing cycles, reducing the time from work completion to payment receipt and improving working capital for ongoing operations and material purchases.
Reduced Billing Errors
Automated calculations eliminate manual math errors in retention percentages, cumulative billing totals, and contract balance calculations, reducing disputed invoices and payment delays caused by billing inaccuracies.
Administrative Time Savings
Eliminates hours spent manually preparing invoices, calculating retention, gathering supporting documents, and coordinating between project managers and accounting staff, allowing teams to focus on project delivery and customer relationships.
Improved Payment Tracking
Provides instant visibility into outstanding invoices, aging receivables, retention balances, and payment trends across all projects, enabling proactive collections management and more accurate cash flow forecasting.
Better Client Communication
Detailed, timely invoices with supporting documentation and online access to billing history reduce client questions about charges, provide transparency into project progress, and strengthen contractor-client relationships.
Enhanced Compliance
Maintains complete audit trail of all billing milestones, calculations, approvals, and payment transactions with timestamped records and supporting documentation, ensuring compliance with contract terms and industry billing standards.
Frequently Asked Questions About This Automation
The system automatically applies retention percentages defined in the contract (typically 5-10%) to each progress invoice, tracks cumulative retention held, and generates retention release invoices when contract terms are met, such as substantial completion or final inspection approval.
Set Up Milestone-Based Invoice Generation in Minutes
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