liens

Be Sure to Protect Your Claim Rights

October 31, 2018 TonyB Coachcasts, Project Management 0 Comments

E603: Protect Your Rights to Payment

December 7, 2016 Tony Booth Coachcasts, Project Management 0 Comments

Be sure you project teams follow the rules to protect your rights.

 

  1. Construction project have risk
    1. One area of concern is the risk of non-payment
    2. In most cases, we do have some protection against this
    3. In the US, it’s primarily Mechanics Liens and Performance & Payment Bonds
    4. Our project management teams need to protect our projects
      1. Both for non-payment by our client and false claims by our suppliers and subcontractors
  2. Protecting against non-payment by our clients
    1. In the US we have mechanic’s liens that any company that provides labor or materials for the improvement of a property
    2. We also have performance and payment bonds that protect subcontractors and suppliers
    3. Each of these have specific requirements depending on the state
    4. Your project teams need to know these rules and follow them
  3. Protecting against claims to us for non-payment
    1. Just like us, our suppliers and subcontractors have protection for payment from us
    2. We want to protect ourselves from any errors or false claims
    3. The primary tool for this in the US is lien releases / waivers
      1. Make sure your project teams and accounting understand the requirements and are collecting the proper paperwork before issuing payments

E429: Protecting Your Rights With Liens And Surety Bonds

April 7, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, General Business 0 Comments

Don’t lose your rights to collect on a project because of a technicality.

 

  1. There are some ways that our payments are protected on projects
    1. First, be careful on how you much you let the client get ahead of you
    2. Liens – legal filings against the property for the monies owed
    3. Surety Bonds – payment bonds of our clients that guarantee they pay their bills
  2. Each has different requirements and are typically governed by the state or local jurisdiction
    1. Liens
      1. There are timeframes established for proper filings
      2. Many areas require a Notice of Commencement be sent to the Owner or other notifications
      3. Be sure you know what is required and comply
    2. Surety Bonds
      1. The timeframes are a little different but make sure you check
      2. Usually not a requirement to notify anyone
      3. However, you will have to support your claim with proper documentation so be careful
  3. Many get concerned about what the client will say – remember, this is just business not a reflection of the client
    1. Communicate with you clients about your processes
      1. This actually saves them money (if you have $50,000 per year in unpaid revenue you would have to add that to your costs each year and that would raise your prices.)
    2. Create a checklist for each project (or add to your existing deliverable list)
    3. Stay on top of the proper paperwork

Contractor's Business Evaluation Course

Take this Contractor’s business evaluation course and identify the areas that need improvement most.
SIGN UP FOR THE FREE