[US] 92% of subcontractors floated payroll in 2025

In the US, new research has revealed that 92 per cent of subcontractors floated payroll in 2025. The report quantifies the cash flow pressures facing commercial trade contractors and the billing practices that can help them take greater control of getting paid.

Siteline - the first billing and collections software built for commercial trade contractors - released The State of Subcontractor Billing in 2026, an industry report based on a survey of 492 construction finance and operations professionals conducted in May 2026. 

Its findings reportedly show that subcontractors are still financing the jobs they build: floating payroll, waiting the longest on retainage, and running much of the billing and collections process manually through spreadsheets and email.

The survey found that 92 per cent of subcontractors floated payroll from their own pockets over the past year while waiting for payment, while 28 per cent do it “most months”. The company itself becomes the lender without any of the protections a real bank would require, and as the business grows, so does the amount of cash tied up in the work.

The pinch was found to be particularly tight around retainage, where 43 per cent of subcontractors wait more than 90 days to collect final payment and retainage, compared with just 15 per cent of general contractors. Nearly one in five waits six months or more. 

As the amount withheld is often the entire margin on a job, a sub can reportedly finish the work yet still wait half a year to see its profit while fronting the costs of the next one.

"Retainage puts subcontractors in a difficult position. It keeps us from money we've already earned while we still have employees, suppliers, and vendors to pay," Martin Press - founder and president of Press Mechanical Contractors and Secretary/Treasurer of the American Subcontractor Association (ASA) - said. 

"ASA is working to expand options such as retainage bonds that give subcontractors access to those funds sooner, while still providing appropriate protection for the project. At the same time, subcontractors need to manage the parts of the payment process they can control - billing accurately and on time, staying ahead of requisitions and change orders, and knowing exactly where their money stands."

According to Siteline’s report, there is plenty of room for improvement on that front. Subcontractors named pay applications submitted with errors or omissions as the single biggest internal driver of their own late payments. Sixty-seven per cent spend 11 or more hours monthly preparing, submitting, and tracking pay apps: the equivalent of a part-time job. And 56 per cent reported missing a critical mechanic's lien deadline over the past two years, putting one of their strongest payment protections at risk.

"Subcontractors have become the construction industry's bank, and it's a role no one asked for," Claire Wilson - co-founder and CEO of Siteline - said. "We can't control how the industry pays, but our report shows that the better handle subcontractors have on their billing and A/R, the less time and money they lose to delays they can prevent. That's exactly why Siteline exists: to give subs visibility into their cash flow so they can properly plan, get paid faster, and shorten the time they're left financing the work."

There is reportedly a drive to fix this, with 73 per cent of subcontractors expressing optimism about their financial outlook, and a majority ready to invest in the tools to make a change. 

The State of Subcontractor Billing in 2026 breaks down where the delays start, what they cost, and what subcontractors can do to close the gap between the work they perform and the cash they collect. 

Click to download the report.

Source: Access Newswire

(Quotes via original reporting)

In the US, new research has revealed that 92 per cent of subcontractors floated payroll in 2025. The report quantifies the cash flow pressures facing commercial trade contractors and the billing practices that can help them take greater control of getting paid.

Siteline - the first billing and collections software built for commercial trade contractors - released The State of Subcontractor Billing in 2026, an industry report based on a survey of 492 construction finance and operations professionals conducted in May 2026. 

Its findings reportedly show that subcontractors are still financing the jobs they build: floating payroll, waiting the longest on retainage, and running much of the billing and collections process manually through spreadsheets and email.

The survey found that 92 per cent of subcontractors floated payroll from their own pockets over the past year while waiting for payment, while 28 per cent do it “most months”. The company itself becomes the lender without any of the protections a real bank would require, and as the business grows, so does the amount of cash tied up in the work.

The pinch was found to be particularly tight around retainage, where 43 per cent of subcontractors wait more than 90 days to collect final payment and retainage, compared with just 15 per cent of general contractors. Nearly one in five waits six months or more. 

As the amount withheld is often the entire margin on a job, a sub can reportedly finish the work yet still wait half a year to see its profit while fronting the costs of the next one.

"Retainage puts subcontractors in a difficult position. It keeps us from money we've already earned while we still have employees, suppliers, and vendors to pay," Martin Press - founder and president of Press Mechanical Contractors and Secretary/Treasurer of the American Subcontractor Association (ASA) - said. 

"ASA is working to expand options such as retainage bonds that give subcontractors access to those funds sooner, while still providing appropriate protection for the project. At the same time, subcontractors need to manage the parts of the payment process they can control - billing accurately and on time, staying ahead of requisitions and change orders, and knowing exactly where their money stands."

According to Siteline’s report, there is plenty of room for improvement on that front. Subcontractors named pay applications submitted with errors or omissions as the single biggest internal driver of their own late payments. Sixty-seven per cent spend 11 or more hours monthly preparing, submitting, and tracking pay apps: the equivalent of a part-time job. And 56 per cent reported missing a critical mechanic's lien deadline over the past two years, putting one of their strongest payment protections at risk.

"Subcontractors have become the construction industry's bank, and it's a role no one asked for," Claire Wilson - co-founder and CEO of Siteline - said. "We can't control how the industry pays, but our report shows that the better handle subcontractors have on their billing and A/R, the less time and money they lose to delays they can prevent. That's exactly why Siteline exists: to give subs visibility into their cash flow so they can properly plan, get paid faster, and shorten the time they're left financing the work."

There is reportedly a drive to fix this, with 73 per cent of subcontractors expressing optimism about their financial outlook, and a majority ready to invest in the tools to make a change. 

The State of Subcontractor Billing in 2026 breaks down where the delays start, what they cost, and what subcontractors can do to close the gap between the work they perform and the cash they collect. 

Click to download the report.

Source: Access Newswire

(Quotes via original reporting)