Case Study

// Case study · AR & AP automation

An Operating Layer for Construction Accounting

A leading Southwest Florida general contractor had accounting workflows trapped between Procore, Sage Intacct, Miter, and Titanium. Big Robot built the operating layer that eliminated data entry, preserved human approval, routed exceptions, and helped AR and AP move faster with fewer manual checks.

56%Faster owner billingavg 25 -> 11 days
42%Faster sub paymentsavg 41 -> 24 days
ZeroAccounts payable 90+ days13% -> 0%

// The problem

Software silos connected by busy people.

Each system holds a piece of the billing and payment picture, but no cohesive flow connected the data across them. Billing and payments never moved as one continuous process.

Four systems of record · reconciled by hand

ProcoreSubcontractor invoices
Sage IntacctCost reporting
MiterPayroll & receipts
TitaniumOverhead AP

People filled the gaps between them by hand, costing weeks of accounting effort and leaving both sides chronically behind.

AR

Owner invoice proof assembly

Every owner invoice needed a backup package, and assembling it was entirely manual.

  • Every proof had to be pulled from each system and lined up to match the invoice, item by item.
  • Thousands of line items a month, across 50 to 60 invoices and more than 35 clients.
  • Doing it by hand ate up much of a full-time role, month after month.
  • Missing or nonexistent proofs needed to be manually built from scratch.
AP

Owner payment to subs paid

Once owner cash arrived, it was easy to lose track of which subs still needed paying.

  • Payments, invoices, and project status each lived in a different system, and they rarely lined up.
  • Clearing a sub to pay meant checking deposits, invoices, insurance, contracts, lien waivers, and PM sign-off by hand.
  • Manual updates meant no system stayed current enough to trust consistently.
  • Payment reminders came from frustrated subs.
Big Robot · AR & AP Automation02 / 07

// What was built · AR

Proof assembly without the manual work.

Every month, accounting built backup packages for each owner invoice by hand, pulling cost reports from Intacct, then hunting through Miter for payroll receipts, Procore for subcontractor invoices, and Titanium for overhead bills. Every proof had to be found, matched to the right line item, and placed in the correct order.

Big Robot built a system that pulls backup documents from all four source systems automatically.

When accounting requests an invoice backup, the system gathers the matching receipts, invoices, and timesheets from all four source systems, orders them to follow each invoice line, and flags anything missing. Gaps show up by source instead of at random, so the team can see exactly what to chase and close it before the package goes out.

It also handled the billing rules that made the packages hard to standardize: rolling General Conditions in or out, generating proofs for custom line items, applying below-subtotal service fees, and routing packages through PM and Project Executive approval. When the package is ready, the system exports an attractive, highly readable PDF where each line item links directly to its supporting proof, then locks the approved package into cold storage so accounting has a durable archive.

The team still reviews and approves every package. The assembly work that used to take weeks now happens in days.

AR Outcomes

Average · period end -> invoice + backup

25 days
11 days
Big Robot · AR & AP Automation03 / 07

// What was built · AP

Reconciliation without data entry plus compliance that everyone can see.

This work became two new workflows. Reconciliation matches incoming owner payments to the right invoices automatically, ending the manual data entry it used to take. Compliance checks and approvals now live in one view, easy for project managers to clear and fully visible to accounts payable.

Reconciliation

Automatic intake

A bank integration imports deposits automatically, and uploaded paper checks are read by OCR.

Reconciliation approval

Accounting verifies each payment against its owner invoice; approval then pushes it into Intacct and Procore automatically.

Instant notifications

Incoming payments and completed reconciliations trigger immediate notifications to PMs for approval.

Compliance & approvals

PM review

PMs see their subcontractor payment items in one mobile-first view with enough context to approve, hold, or flag.

Compliance checks

Insurance, contract, and requisition issues block payment automatically; lien-waiver gaps stay visible but do not hold up review.

Daily notifications

PMs and AP get daily emails organized by action: ready to approve, blocked, on hold, or approved and waiting.

Accounting keeps full control over every payment. The system handles research and coordination. Manual data entry is gone, and so are the errors it caused. The team is elevated to handling exceptions and paying subs on time.

AP Outcomes

Average · owner pay -> subs paid

41 days
24 days
Big Robot · AR & AP Automation04 / 07

// Combined results

Faster billing, faster payments, and it is measured.

Production data through June 2026, from 1,213 owner invoices and 7,236 pay applications.

11 daysfaster owner billingmedian, period end -> invoice

faster owner billing

21 days
10 days
13 daysfaster subcontractor payment timemedian, sub invoice -> paid

faster subcontractor payment time

56 days
43 days
42%faster sub paymentsaverage, owner pay -> subs paid

faster sub payments

41 days
24 days

Distribution & service levels

p90Std devIQR<= 30d<= 45d<= 60d
Owner billing46 -> 2016.1 -> 715 -> 977% -> 98%90% -> 100%96% -> 100%
Subcontractor payment time98 -> 6829.9 -> 16.430 -> 209% -> 18%30% -> 55%59% -> 83%
Owner pay -> subs paid105 -> 4144.7 -> 14.546 -> 1655% -> 75%69% -> 95%78% -> 98%
AP over 90 days after owner pay13% 0%
AP over 60 days after owner pay22% 2%

Within 30 days of owner cash, 75% of payment cycles now clear, up from 55%, and day-to-day timing variation roughly halved.

Big Robot · AR & AP Automation05 / 07

// What's next · the AI layer

One trusted source your AI can actually answer from.

Every system, from Procore and Intacct to Miter payroll, shows only part of the picture. The Secure Canonical Data Model (CDM) brings them all together into one trusted, secure source, and that is what lets the team's AI tools answer accounting questions reliably.

The Big Robot plugin and a specialized, secure MCP server connect the team's AI tools to the CDM, so answers come straight from source records, read-only and limited to each person's access.

Each system on its own
With the Secure CDM
Coverage
Partial views, never joined
One full picture across every system
Accuracy
Numbers that don't always agree
One agreed set, traceable to source
AI access
No safe way to open it to AI
Read-only, role-scoped, logged

What it unlocks

Accounting Diagnostics

OpenAI CodexClaude Cowork

Ask in plain language, right where the team already works. Because everything sits in one trusted, secure place, every figure traces back to the system it came from.

"Why does Procore say invoice #4471 is only partially paid?"

Payments fall $0.09 short — line 13 (6" Crushed Concrete Base): $0.10 completed, $0.01 held.

"What is our net retainage position on the Westside job?"

Net retainage is $24.6K — $49.3K is withheld from subs versus $24.7K withheld by owner.

"How is our budget tracking against actual costs for the Eastside job?"

$700.2K spent of a $1.91M budget, but Procore and Intacct disagree by $569.50 on cost.

Big Robot · AR & AP Automation06 / 07

// About Big Robot

AI-powered automation for general contractors.

Big Robot builds secure AI operations for private business workflows. We connect the systems a company already runs through a trusted data layer, with human controls, approved agents, and practical delivery.

That work draws on over 20 years of software development experience building products, automation systems, and operational tools for real business workflows.

Strongest today in construction back-office operations.

Security comes first in everything we build. Your data stays protected, and your team always has the final say.

Big Robot LLC

Secure AI operations

Emailhello@bigrobot.net
Phone(941) 207-9581
Webbigrobot.net
LocationLakewood Ranch, FL
Big Robot LLC · Lakewood Ranch, FL · June 2026Client details anonymized.