Construction
AI for construction contractors' back office
For a general or specialty contractor, the money that slips away usually slips away in the office. A bid never got a follow-up. A subcontractor is working on an expired certificate of insurance. A change order was agreed verbally and never billed. A draw is held up by one missing lien waiver. TeamShift gives contractors a hosted team of AI workers for that paperwork, working in Gmail or Outlook, Google Calendar, QuickBooks, and OneDrive. It chases documents and drafts follow-ups, and you approve what gets sent and paid.
Get started free Or text us what is slippingDirect answer
Construction: the short answers
What can AI do for construction companies?
AI for construction pays off in the back office more than on site. It can track bid due dates and follow up on submitted bids, collect subcontractor certificates of insurance and W-9s, chase conditional and unconditional lien waivers before a draw, log change orders so they get billed, and follow up on unpaid invoices. Estimating judgment, contract terms, safety, and payments stay with the contractor.
Can AI automate lien waiver and insurance certificate collection?
It can do the chasing, which is most of the effort. TeamShift keeps a list of which subcontractors owe a lien waiver for each pay application and whose insurance certificate expires soon, drafts the requests, and tracks replies in your email and OneDrive. You approve the messages and decide whether a document is acceptable. Lien rules vary by state, so the legal review stays with you and your attorney.
How does automation for construction differ from project management software?
Construction project management software is where plans, RFIs, and schedules live. TeamShift's automation for construction covers the follow-up around those records: emails to chase, invoices to collect, change orders to bill, and applicants to interview. It works in the email, calendar, and accounting tools you already use, and you don't have to build workflows.
Who does what
The jobs your team takes
Operations lead
- Logs change orders, verbal and emailed, against each job so they get priced, approved, and billed.
Customer success worker
- Asks customers for reviews when a job wraps up and sends warranty reminders on completed work.
Sales worker
- Follows up on submitted bids and estimates before the owner awards the job, and drafts proposals from your scope notes.
Finance worker
- Chases lien waivers before each draw, drafts follow-ups on unpaid progress invoices and retainage for your OK, and keeps job costs reconciled in QuickBooks.
People worker
- Collects subcontractor certificates of insurance and W-9s and flags any certificate that expires before the work is done.
- Screens applicants for crew and office roles and collects timesheets from foremen every week.
Research worker
- Pulls together background for a bid, such as the owner's past projects and public bid results, with sources.
Stays with you
What never runs without you
- Estimating, pricing, and contract terms
- Safety decisions and anything on the job site
- Approving pay applications and paying subcontractors
- Lien and payment-law decisions, with your attorney
Anything that sends, pays, publishes, or deletes waits for your OK, and every step is recorded. How approval works.
By the numbers
The numbers behind it
- U.S. construction establishments (NAICS 23): 800,651 establishments with 7,361,847 employees
- Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks (43-3031): $50,670 median annual wage
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
FAQ
Questions owners ask
Does it replace our project management software?
No. It handles the follow-up and paperwork in email, calendar, OneDrive, and QuickBooks around the tools you already use.
Can it handle work that takes weeks, like a pay application cycle?
Yes. Jobs that run for days or weeks survive waits, retries, timers, and approvals, so a lien waiver chase keeps going until every document is in.
Will it send anything to an owner or subcontractor on its own?
No. Anything sent to a customer, sub, or owner waits for your approval, and every step is recorded.
Does it answer calls from the field?
It can answer calls to your office line with an AI voice, take the job details, and hand anything that changes a schedule or a quote to you to approve. A super calling about a problem on site still needs a person, so those come to you as a message. Missed calls and texts get a follow-up for you to approve.
Pricing
Pay by usage, not per seat
Creating your workspace is free. The work your team runs is billed at 3x its compute cost, quoted with a maximum before it starts. No subscription, no seats, no per-job products. See pricing.