Builder Pay Backstory
The Problem:
Rapid Growth, Critical Trade Shortage
In 1998, one Atlanta homebuilder skyrocketed from building 300 homes per year to over 1,500 in just two years. But that rapid growth came with a serious downside: a severe shortage of subcontractors to keep up with the work.
For many builders, this scenario is all too familiar – projects can grind to a halt if you don’t have enough skilled trades on site.
The Bold Idea:
Pay Daily, Build Faster
He asked himself, “What if we used daily task payments with subcontractors as a competitive advantage?”, and then he turned that idea into action by approaching subcontractors – even those working for his competitors – with an irresistible offer. He told them: finish a task on my project, and you’ll get paid faster than ever.
In fact, he promised to pay them as often as five days a week, with each payment deposited within 24 hours of completing the task and confirmed checklist.
In short, do today’s work and see the money in your account by tomorrow.
Immediate Results:
Subcontractor Shortage Solved
He didn’t have to wait long to see results. The subcontractor shortage vanished virtually overnight.
Suddenly, he had all the crew capacity he needed, and those crews were showing up at his jobsites as soon as each task was ready to start.
More Than Capacity:
Faster Timelines and Better Quality
Solving the capacity issue was just the beginning – with crews on site promptly, the entire construction schedule sped up. Crews began work the moment each task was ready, and project cycle times shortened dramatically as a result. The reason was simple: the sooner they started, the sooner they got paid – a powerful motivator not to delay.
But faster completion was only part of the story. Quality of work improved as well. Knowing they’d be paid the next day, trade contractors sent their best crews and made sure each job was done right the first time – they didn’t want any mistakes that might hold up tomorrow’s payment.
Hero to the Subcontractors
The Atlanta builder suddenly became a hero in the eyes of his subcontractors. Paying promptly earned their loyalty – crews knew their work was valued, so they made his jobs a top priority. Subcontractors even began asking,
“Why don’t other homebuilders pay us like this?”.
The Competitive Edge for Construction Leaders
For other builders, however, copying this daily-pay strategy wasn’t so easy. The truth was, unless a company had an entire system of predefined purchase orders, daily scheduling, and daily payment approvals in place, they simply couldn’t pay subcontractors that fast. Traditional processes just weren’t built for that kind of speed and flexibility.
BuilderPay changes that. It provides the digital infrastructure and automation to make daily task payments possible for any homebuilder or general contractor. In short, BuilderPay lets you offer your subs the same "get paid tomorrow" experience – without overhauling your entire operation. You can become the builder whom subcontractors love to work for, while you reap the benefits of full crew capacity, faster project timelines, and even higher work quality on every job.
Ready to accelerate your project schedules and become the builder every subcontractor wants to work with?
Learn more about BuilderPay today.