Creating invoices, waiting for payments from prime contractors, and covering costs for craftsmen. We will sort out the management troubles in the construction industry one by one #MyFirstNote

I believe that there are people who can break free from the wasteful tasks in the construction industry through this note article.

At the end of the month,the president themselves transfers money to the company to pay the craftsmen.

The accounting staff stays up until late at night to create invoices.

Payments from prime contractors are two months away, and they are getting by by covering material costs in the meantime.

They haven't yet mastered the software they bought to handle invoice requirements.

When I talk to clients in the construction industry, I always hear stories of this kind of "exhaustion that repeats almost every month".

These are not the voices of one specific company, but voices we hear repeatedly as we go about our daily work.

Even if each one seems unavoidable, when you line them up together, there are moments when you want to stop and ask, "Why does such an inefficient system continue?".

Nice to meet you, we are the PayStruct PR team.

Starting today, we are launching the official note for "PayStruct," an integrated DX platform for the construction industry.

What I want to write in this note is not announcements of new features or flashy campaign information.

The purpose is to put into words and organize the troubles occurring in the management and sites of the construction industry that we have seen while interacting with customers every day.

When I talk to clients in the construction industry, I see daily scenes such as estimates managed in Excel, purchase orders coming in on paper, a large number of photos taken with smartphones at the site, invoices created all at once at the end of the month, and money that finally arrives after the month has passed.

In this note, I will explain the direction of solutions while deciphering such "construction industry common occurrences" as a structure.

The 4 themes I will write about in this note

Specifically, I will publish articles based on the following four axes.

1. Structural explanation of industry issues

The severity of cash flow, the burden of administrative work, labor shortages, and the distortions of the subcontracting structure.

We will organize why these things happen from the perspective of the industry structure.

2. Explanation of legal revisions and system compliance

The Invoice System, the Electronic Book Preservation Act, and revisions to the Construction Business Act.

I will write this at a level of detail that makes it clear what administrative staff on-site actually need to do.

3. Introduction to PayStruct features and how to use them

Estimates, order placement and receipt, construction management, billing, advance payment finance, and matching.

As primary information from the service provider, I will share the screen flows and usage methods concretely.

4. Organizing companies that are a good fit and those that are not

I do not intend to say that PayStruct is necessary for every construction company.

I will frankly organize what kind of company situations are likely to see results, and conversely, what kind of companies it does not fit.

What kind of service is PayStruct?

Here, I will briefly introduce PayStruct itself.

PayStruct is a DX platform exclusively for the construction industry that connects everything from estimates, order placement and receipt, construction management, and billing to advance payment finance in a single service.

It can be used by everyone from sole proprietors to large corporations, but our core customers are small and medium-sized construction companies with 40 or fewer employees.

With the slogan "Management and on-site work, all in one place," it is designed to handle the tasks necessary for the construction industry in an integrated manner.

The 5 challenges of the construction industry that PayStruct wants to solve

To convey the overall picture of the service more concretely, I will list the 5 representative challenges that PayStruct aims to address.

Future articles in this note will proceed by delving into the five points listed here.

Challenge 1: Management of estimates, invoices, and construction photos is scattered.

Estimates are in Excel, purchase orders are via fax, construction photos are in the smartphone camera roll, and invoicing is in accounting software.

Information related to a single project is dispersed across multiple tools, and time just melts away simply looking for the necessary documents.

PayStruct consolidates everything from estimates to invoices and site photos on a single screen for each project.

Challenge 2: Payments from prime contractors are slow, making cash flow difficult.

It usually takes 30 to 60 days from invoicing to payment.

For projects with long construction periods, it is not rare for it to take nearly half a year from the start of work to payment.

In the meantime, labor costs for craftsmen and material costs must be paid first, so the reality is that it is not uncommon for the company president to cover these costs personally.

PayStruct has an advance payment feature that allows you to turn payments that would normally arrive in 1 to 2 months into cash sooner.

I will explain this point in detail in a separate article regarding the structure of cash flow.

Challenge 3: Increased effort and costs due to compliance with the Invoice System and Electronic Book Preservation Act.

With the start of the Invoice System in 2023 and the full-scale implementation of the Electronic Book Preservation Act in 2024, the rules for issuing and storing invoices have changed significantly.

More and more companies are buying additional software to comply with new systems or reviewing their operations every time storage rules change.

PayStruct comes with standard support for the Invoice System and the Electronic Book Preservation Act, so there are no additional costs for compliance.

Challenge 4: Relying on personal connections to find new clients and partners.

New orders in the construction industry are still mainly based on personal connections.

However, due to the aging of craftsmen and changes in the management policies of prime contractors, work from existing clients can suddenly dry up.

PayStruct includes a matching feature to connect with new clients and partner companies, as well as introduction support from a concierge.

Challenge 5: Construction delays and information sharing errors prevent the site from running smoothly.

"He said, she said," "I can't find the photos," "I don't know which drawing is the latest."

Many project delays and rework start from gaps in information sharing.

With PayStruct, you can share progress, documents, and photos in real-time, reducing the gap in information between the site and the office.

To those reading this note

Our company helps solve the common management concerns mentioned at the beginning, and we have received many happy testimonials.

This note is intended for construction industry executives, site supervisors, administrative staff, and those who will be involved in the industry in the future as its primary readers.

"I have a negative reaction just hearing the word DX," "The more tools I add, the more complicated it gets" are opinions we often hear.

Therefore, rather than tool promotional copy, I will write articles with a focus on content that is close to the industry structure and the reality of the field.

If you are interested in PayStruct, you can request materials or a free demo from the official website at the end of the article at any time.

Before that, I would be happy if you could join me in organizing the landscape of the construction industry just by reading the articles first.

I will be updating this little by little from now on.

Thank you for your support.

Click here for PayStruct material requests and free demos

PayStruct is a DX platform exclusively for the construction industry that consolidates estimates, ordering, construction management, invoicing, and advance payment finance into one.

The price is also 6,000 yen per month, and we provide value at an overwhelmingly low price in the industry.

If your company is having trouble, please rely on us, and we would be grateful to support your management stability.

If you would like to consult about whether it can be used in your company or want to see the screen first, please apply for a material request or free demo from the official website.

▶ Click here for material requests and free demo applications:

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

PayStruct Inc. Jinbocho HY Building 5F, 1-8-1 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Phone: 03-6811-7929 (11:00–19:00 / Excluding weekends, holidays, and year-end/New Year holidays)

Thank you for reading my first note.
I look forward to your continued support.