Who is responsible for your payment?

Security of payment acts give you an entitlement to payment, but you must protect your entitlement as contracts move through the construction phase with the inevitable variations and other contractual claims. Notices and time bars must be strictly adhered to and you must record everything that might affect your costs on site.

Getting paid is a team effort. Here is the list of staff who need to be involved in your payment processes:

Site supervisors and site operatives - These are the people "on the ground". They are the most likely to see and experience day-to-day activity that needs recording, including oral instructions for extra work, access issues, delay and disruption, completed work, defects, workplace health & safety, environmental protection and industrial relations. They need to be given the authority and means to collect site intelligence as things happen;

Manufacturing staff are well placed to identify delays and changes to their workflow due to delays and document changes;

Contract managers must be aware of time constraints and other contractual requirements, check incoming documents and instructions for completeness, accuracy and change and convert gathered "intelligence" into contract processes;

Accounts departments must have a clear understanding of contract terminology and procedures and how they interface with corporate accounting and be alert to late payment and the recovery procedures under security of payments acts.

Management must ensure that all relevant information is gathered and available at all times to allow them to quickly negotiate differences and act quickly to collect overdue payments.

thepowertool.com.au facilitates the division of work, the payment process under security of payment legislation and the collection of site data with its unique mobile applications that synchronise site issues, complete with text, photos, drawings and recorded data, direct to the job account.