For Finance leaders in construction, invoice management and trying to manage costs is an everyday challenge. Invoices ping around from paper to emails, site teams are chasing approvals over group chats, and admin costs spirals. The result? Lost invoices, late payments, frustrated suppliers and project margins.
Industry Reality: Cost Overruns Are the Norm
- Globally, 9 out of 10 construction projects finish over budget, with average overruns of around 28 %
- A survey covering UK and international projects found that 65 % are delayed or over budget, with delays averaging 70 day
- A systematic review of transport and large infrastructure projects found average overruns between 16.5 % and 28 %, with financial mis‑forecasting and design changes leading causes.
WhatsApp Isn’t a Finance System
If your team or sub-contractors are still using WhatsApp or groups chats for invoice management, sharing sheets, dockets or track site requests, you’re not alone. It’s a fast and familiar application, but it’s also messy, insecure, and impossible to control.
The result?
Invoices get missed, mislaid or deleted, Payments are delayed and supplier disputes drag on resulting in your margins taking a hit.
For construction finance teams trying to manage costs across multiple sites, this isn’t just a nuisance, it’s a real risk. The LiveCosts mobile app enables you to take a photo of an invoice and our AI will parse the line items and sync it to your accounting software, all within a few clicks.
The Industry Is Already Over Budget
- 90% of construction projects go over budget
- Average overruns are between 16–28%
- Construction projects are delayed by more than 70 days on average
- That means real money is lost. And a major cause? Poor visibility on project spend.
What’s Slowing Finance Teams Down?
Most of the issues start with old, manual systems. Finance teams deal with:
- Invoices without matching POs
- Dockets shared via text message or paper
- Retentions tracked on spreadsheets (or worse — in someone’s head)
- No live view of site spend
It becomes a constant scramble at month-end to get figures straight. These aren’t small problems relating to invoice management. They create serious cash flow pressure, delay payments, damage supplier relationships and eat into already tight margins.
What Construction Cost Tracking Software Fixes
LiveCosts replaces disconnected tools with one clear, digital process. It’s not just about speed it’s about accuracy and control.
Here’s what finance teams get with LiveCosts:
- Scan invoices on-site using your phone
- Auto-match to POs and delivery dockets
- Spot duplicate lines or incorrect pricing instantly
- See live site spend, as it happens
- Approve costs digitally with clear, timestamped records
- Track retention release dates and payment flows
- Generate accurate job-level P&L reports in minutes
Why Finance Teams Are Switching to LiveCosts
- Cut the admin load: Spend less time chasing files and more time analysing real data
- Protect profit margins: Catch invoice errors and stop budget drift early
- Improve supplier relationships: Faster, more accurate payments build trust
- Gain control over cash flow: See what’s owed, what’s retained, and what’s coming
- Be audit-ready: Everything is logged, traceable and exportable
LiveCosts is a simpler way to do what you’re already doing, without the chaos.
Why Now?
The construction industry has moved fast over the past decade, but too many teams are still stuck in old habits and processes. With overruns averaging 16–28 %, general contractors cannot afford processing inefficiencies or invisibility in invoice management.
Building a structured, automated invoice workflow like LiveCosts gives construction finance professionals the control over their invoice management, visibility and accuracy. That’s not just admin efficiency, it’s margin protection, cash flow clarity and better forecasting. It’s time construction finance had a rethink
With LiveCosts, your finance team will see the benefits of our Construction Cost Tracking Software in real-time, and built for how construction really works.
