The back office is six functions, not one job
Contractors usually try to outsource a task — invoicing, or filing — and then wonder why nothing got easier. The back office is a system, and it only works when all of it moves.
The six
- Money in: invoicing, draws, receivables, retainage.
- Money out: sub invoices, payroll paperwork, vendor terms.
- Compliance: certificates of insurance, licences, W-9s, waivers.
- Documents: contracts, change orders, submittals, closeout.
- Schedule: the look-ahead, the inspections, the trades’ dates.
- The customer: status, questions, the next payment.
Why one task is harder than all six
A single outsourced task still needs someone to feed it, check it and act on it. You have not removed the work, you have added a handover.
When the six sit in one place, the same person sees that the draw is late because a certificate expired, and fixes both. That is the entire argument for the whole function.
The test before you outsource anything
Ask what the vendor is answerable for. If the answer is "tasks completed", the risk stays with you. If the answer is "the draw went out, the certificate was renewed, the customer was told", you have actually moved something.
What it costs to keep it
Not the salary. The cost is the evening hours, the draw that slipped a month, the retainage nobody chased, and the sub whose insurance lapsed on your job. Those are the numbers to compare against, not an hourly rate.
The order to fix it in
If you can only take one of the six at a time, take compliance first. Certificates and waivers gate the money: a draw cannot move without them, and they expire on their own schedule. Fixing compliance makes every later step cheaper.
Money in is second, because it is the one that changes your month. Invoices out within 48 hours and the draw chased weekly converts into cash you were already owed.
Documents and schedule are third and fourth — they matter, but they cost time rather than money. The customer thread is last because it usually improves by itself once the first four are working: the person paying stops asking where things stand, because they already know.
Free: the four templates — take it and use it whether or not you talk to us.
Looking for contractor back office support cost? That is the decision this page answers — the documents, the dates and what it costs to stop covering it yourself.
Nothing goes out without your say-so. Money and commitments stop at you by default. We write it up, you make the call.
Questions
Is this the same as a virtual assistant?
No. A virtual assistant holds tasks. This is answerable for the job — the draw, the certificate, the follow-up. That is a different arrangement, and it is why nothing publishes without your approval.
What do you need from me to start?
The open jobs, the current receivables, and whatever certificates you already have on file. Week one is reading those.