Back office help for sitework and grading contractors
Outrigger Back Office runs the office side of small sitework and grading companies: pay apps, lien waivers, change orders, sub paperwork and collections, done remotely while you stay on the job. It was built inside the office of a working civil sitework company, so we already know how your paperwork works.
Why sitework & grading contractors call us
Outrigger started in the office of a working civil sitework company in Georgia. Molly Colvin runs that office, and her husband works in the field. Every process we use for clients was set up there first, on real grading jobs, with real GCs, real pay apps and real retainage. When you tell us the GC kicked back your draw, we know what happened.
Sitework owners are usually the last people who should be doing paperwork. You are on a dozer or walking a pad at daylight, and the office happens at night if it happens at all. We take that work off your plate. You text or email us what happened in the field, we prepare the paperwork, and nothing goes out until you approve it.
What usually falls behind
Pay apps that eat a whole weekend
Updating the schedule of values, figuring percent complete on every line, matching the GC's form or portal and getting the math to tie out takes hours you do not have at the end of the month.
Extra dirt work that never gets billed
Undercut, rock, extra stone and plan changes get done on a verbal okay. Weeks later nobody remembers the price, and the GC says it was never approved in writing.
Retainage nobody is tracking
Retainage sits with the GC until closeout. If no one is keeping a running total by job and asking for it when the job wraps up, it can sit there a long time.
Checks held for missing paperwork
A missing lien waiver, an expired COI or a sub's waiver you never collected is enough for a GC to hold your whole draw until the paperwork is right.
What the office side of a sitework company really looks like
A grading job is billed in a way most people outside the trade never see. The GC wants a schedule of values broken into lines like clearing, erosion control, mass grading and stone, and each month you bill the percent complete on each line. Every draw needs a lien waiver, often on the GC's form. Retainage is held until the end, and it is easy to forget because it shows up months after you left the site. Meanwhile you are paying trucking subs, equipment rentals and a stone supplier, and each should have a W-9 and a current certificate of insurance on file before they get paid.
Then there is the dirt nobody planned for. Unsuitable soil that has to be undercut, rock in the cut, extra stone, a pond that moved, a plan revision that changes the pad elevations. On site, the superintendent says go ahead and you go ahead, because the job has to keep moving. That handshake is where sitework companies lose the most money. If the extra work is not written up, approved and billed, it usually does not get paid.
How we handle it
- Pay apps prepared for you to sign. We set up the schedule of values from your contract, prepare each monthly pay app from what you tell us is in place, and send it to you to review and sign before it goes to the GC.
- Change orders written the same day. Text or email us the GC, project, scope, price and payment terms. We write it up the same day if we get it by 2 pm, you reply APPROVED, and it goes to the GC from your billing email.
- Retainage tracked by job. Every pay app updates a running retainage total for each job. Your Monday update shows what is being held, and we remind you when a job is ready to bill for release.
- Waivers and sub paperwork in one place. We prepare your lien waivers for each draw, collect your subs' and suppliers' waivers, and keep trucking and other subs' W-9s and COIs current so nothing holds up a check.
Where we start
Pay Apps & Lien Waivers
We set up your schedule of values, prepare monthly pay applications for you to sign, track retainage, and prepare and collect the lien waivers that go with each payment.
Learn moreChange Orders
Text or email us 5 details from the field. We write the change order the same day, you reply APPROVED, and it goes to the GC from your billing email.
Learn moreSub & Vendor Paperwork
We collect W-9s and certificates of insurance from your subs and vendors before they get paid, track COI expiration dates, request renewals and file everything by sub.
Learn moreSitework & Grading Contractors FAQ
Can someone do pay apps for my grading company?
Yes, we prepare monthly pay apps for sitework and grading contractors. We build the schedule of values from your contract, update percent complete from what you report from the field, track retainage, and prepare the lien waiver the GC needs. You review and sign everything. We use the GC's form or portal format when they have one. Pay apps are included in the Standard and Full Office plans.
Do you work with sitework contractors outside Georgia?
Yes, we work with sitework and grading contractors anywhere in the U.S. We are based in Georgia, but the service is fully remote: phone, text, email and shared Google folders. Lien waiver forms and payment rules vary by state, so we use the forms your GC or your attorney provides and do not give legal advice on which form applies.
Which plan fits a small grading company?
Most grading companies that bill GCs with monthly pay apps fit the Standard plan, at $999 a month, because it includes pay apps, a full compliance calendar and payroll for up to 10 workers. Plans start at $699 a month with Essentials, which suits simpler invoice billing. Larger crews with trucks and prequalification paperwork may want Full Office. See the Plans page for details.
Will you tell me if my contract lets me bill for rock or undercut?
No, we do not review contracts or give legal advice, and we do not set your prices. What we do is get your extra work into a written change order fast, track it by job, and bill it once approved. If you are unsure what your contract says about changed conditions or change order deadlines, check with your attorney.