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How long will it setup take? How difficult is it? What are setup requirements?

Last Updated: 20 February 2024
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How long will Construction Application for Payment Solution setup take?  How difficult is it?  What are setup requirements?  How difficult is Construction Application for Payment Solution to use?

These are difficult questions to answer without "knowing" exactly how well you are currently utilizing QuickBooks®, how many jobs you are currently working on, how familiar you are with QuickBooks®, how familiar you are with AIA-style Billing, etc.

Most of our customers find themselves using Construction Application for Payment Solution by their next billing cycle; some can even use it the first day they receive it.

After installing construction Application for Payment Solution, you will have perhaps 30 minutes of initial setup.  This initial setup involves setting up your company's AIA Billing requirements and/or preferences - things which QuickBooks doesn't have the ability to track.

The bulk of the setup requirements are in QuickBooks®, and a brief overview is provided below:

  • In the QuickBooks® Jobs & Estimates Preference, Company Preferences tab, the "Do you create estimates" option, must be set to Yes; the "Do You Do Progress Invoicing" option, must be set to Yes; and the "Don't print items that have zero amounts", must be unchecked.
  • Estimates must be entered into QuickBooks® in the order and detail needed to appear on the G-703 Continuation Sheet.
  • Progress Invoices must be created from the Estimate.

Job records for Jobs that require AIA Billing must be edited; adding the following information:

  1. The "Ship To" Address block holds the Project Name & Location - this automatically transfers to the Project information on the G-702 Application for Payment.
  2. A Customer type of AIA Format must be created and chosen on the Additional Info tab - this acts as a filter for only those jobs requiring AIA Billings
  3. On the Job Info tab, the Status must be set to "In Progress" - this indicates that you are working on the job.
  4. On the Job Info tab, enter the "Contract For" information, which appears on the AIA G-702, in the Job Description box.

The time that you run Construction Application for Payment Solution, you should figure that it will take approximately 5 minutes to complete the setup for each job.  This final setup is a one-time process, and includes entering missing information about your Jobs - Original Contract Dates, Project Numbers, Architect, Retainage methods, form to print, etc. - that QuickBooks® has no means of tracking into 'linked records" that the program automatically creates and walks you through.

After that, it will take 5-60 minutes to generate ALL of your billings (not just a single draw like when you do them manually) - again, this time frame will depend upon the number of jobs, QuickBooks® file size, computer and printer speeds, etc.

Honestly, it also depends on whether or not you take the time to go through the  folder Construction Application for Payment Solution Audio/Video Training that we provide (free of charge) - which walks you through setup and use of the program.