For Quantity Surveyors (QS) and Contract Administrators (CAs), managing progress claims is a high-stakes process that often leads to subcontractor disputes. According to the Payapps’ Building the Future report, 53% of QS/CAs encounter 1–5 payment disputes each week, while 38% face 6–10 disputes — leading to lost time, strained relationships, and project delays.
These disputes don’t just disrupt workflows — they erode trust and slow down entire projects.
In an industry striving to build better together, manual processes and disconnected systems continue to hold commercial teams back. The good news? Integrating specialised tools like Payapps with your construction ERP can standardise progress claims, reduce costly errors, and improve transparency. Here’s how it helps Quantity Surveyors and Contract Administrators prevent and resolve disputes more effectively.
Why Progress Claim Disputes Happen
The Payapps report highlights three core drivers of disputes in commercial teams:
1. Incomplete or Inaccurate Documentation
- 54% of respondents say disputes over incomplete progress claim details directly impact project timelines.
- 66% regularly encounter overbilling or miscalculations due to manual processes
2. Compliance Chasing
- 24% of commercial team members spend over 6 hours per week chasing subcontractors for compliance documents—taking time away from managing contract variations and contract risk
3. Experience Matters: How Tenure Impacts Dispute Frequency
- QS/CAs with 4–7 years’ experience face the highest dispute rates
- Senior professionals reduce disputes by implementing proactive processes—processes that technology can help automate and scale
How integrating your construction ERP with Payapps helps make progress claims easier:
1. Real-Time Documentation & Automation
- Construction ERP integration ensures claims, approvals, and contract variations are logged and accessible in one system
- Payapps users are 54% less likely to face frequent disputes than non-users
2. Transparent Subcontractor Collaboration
- Centralised dashboards give subcontractors real-time visibility into claim statuses, cutting follow-up emails and calls
- In the survey, 87.69% of tech adopters found managing contract variations easier — a major dispute trigger
3. Built-In SOPA/CCA Compliance Audits
- Integrated tools like Payapps embed SOPA/CCA compliance checks into workflows
- This reduces the 47.75% of QS/CAs who spend 3–5 hours weekly on compliance tasks
Case in Point: The Payapps Advantage
The data from the Building the Future report speaks for itself. Payapps users report measurable operational improvements such as:
- 3x less manual admin compared to non-users
- 31% fewer documentation issues
- Faster progress claim approvals and stronger subcontractor relationships
For mid-career QS/CAs, who experience the highest volume of disputes, integration with a construction ERP can unlock time for higher-value tasks — especially for the 44% who want to focus more on pricing and contract variations.
How to start your construction ERP integration journey with Payapps:
- Audit Your Dispute Hotspots – Identify where issues arise — subcontractor onboarding, variation approvals, document tracking?
- Choose a Purpose-Built Tool – Use a construction-specific solution like Payapps that integrates with Jobpac, Viewpoint, Cheops and other leading construction ERPs.
- Support Adoption with Training – 69% of QS/CAs are open to adopting new technology — reinforce this with team champions, demos, and process alignment.
Reduce Disputes. Reclaim Time. Build Better.
In conclusion, subcontractor disputes aren’t inevitable, however, integrating a progress claims solution such as Payapps with your construction ERP, commercial teams can significantly reduce errors, strengthen compliance, and free up time for the work that really drives project success.
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