We just released our
2026 State of Subcontractor Billing report to put some hard numbers behind how subcontractors bill and get paid-something that rarely gets quantified from the sub's perspective. So this spring, we surveyed nearly 500 construction finance and operations pros, and a few findings stood out:
- 92% of subs floated payroll last year while waiting to get paid.
- 43% wait more than 90 days for retainage, compared with 15% of GCs.
- 56% have missed a critical lien deadline in the past two years.
What struck me most is where subs pointed when we asked them to rank the internal drivers behind their payment delays. The ones at the top, such as pay app errors, disputed change orders, and compliance gaps, are all fixable. And with 70% saying their team already has the capacity to keep up, the real constraint looks like visibility rather than headcount.
I wanted to share it here because many of you work right alongside (or inside) the firms living these numbers. There's a lot more in the report, and I hope you find it genuinely useful in the work you're all doing in this space. You can
get a copy .
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Claire Wilson
Construction Solutions
Siteline
San Francisco CA
(650) 360-1267
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