Great question Christopher. This is a common challenge as construction companies grow. Here are a few thoughts from my past experience:
The 6-day target is achievable on the AP close but this does require vendor cooperation. If you can successfully implement invoice submission deadlines (typically 3-5 business days after month end) and tie early submission to faster payment processing, then you have a win-win. You might consider automated reminders and follow ups to ensure compliance.
For trailing accruals, I would recommend building a robust estimating process for unbilled costs. You could use a combination of active POs that haven't yet been invoiced / percent complete estimates for subcontractor WIPs / known monthly recurring costs based on historical trends, wherever applicable. The goal is to get your accrual accuracy above 90% so that true ups don't impact subsequent periods.
With that said, the most important lever to ensure an accelerated month end is to improve your PMs discipline around the project documentation. Reporting daily in the field on what was done, who clocked in and out, what got delivered, etc. means the team doesn't have to scramble at month end to gather all the data to calculate your cost. Documenting late leads to details getting missed or forgotten, and hence a lower accuracy in your accrual estimates.
Happy to discuss further if needed. Good luck with the process improvement!
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Adileh Mountain
Founder and Principal Consultant
Strat Scale
Murrieta CA
(832) 405-0120
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-20-2026 06:52
From: Christopher Johnson
Subject: Accounts Payable Close Process
Construction buddies - I am looking to accelerate my month end close process down to 6 days as we have grown larger. I would like some insight into how fast you close AP and how do you handle trailing accruals for job cost. Did you get with your vendors to ensure that they submitted invoices sooner? I would like some insight as I build my plan to tighten. Thank you in advance!
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Christopher Johnson
CFO
Nycom Inc.
Midlothian VA
(804) 419-8127
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