However, the latest Money Mobility Tracker®, a PYMNTS Intelligence collaboration with Ingo Payments, found that these familiar culprits are no longer the dominant forces behind why projects get behind schedule and over budget. Increasingly, the most disruptive variable in construction is neither physical nor logistical. It is financial.
The construction industry does not lack expertise, effort or ambition. What it lacks is a payment system aligned with the pace and complexity of modern projects.
The report found that nearly half of contractors reported that slow disbursements add one to two weeks to their timelines, and almost 30% of contractors surveyed reported between three and six weeks of delay due to speed, or the lack thereof, at which money moves through the industry and its systems.
As real-time and instant payment systems gain traction across the economy, construction is beginning to confront the uncomfortable truth that many of its delays are self-inflicted. The solution is not better forecasting software or more aggressive schedules. It could be faster and more reliable money movement.
The Hidden Mechanics of Construction Delays
Weather may pause work temporarily, but late payments derail construction at a deeper level. When money does not arrive on time, contractors face immediate liquidity decisions that go beyond rescheduling tasks. Crews may be reassigned to other jobs or have their hours cut, while work slows or stops entirely. In some cases, projects are abandoned midstream, not because the work cannot be completed, but because it cannot be financed in real time.
The financial consequences of slow payments are not marginal. They are systemic. Late disbursements cost the construction industry in the United States an amount equivalent to roughly 14% of total project costs, nearly $300 billion annually. This is not money lost to inefficiency in the abstract; it is capital absorbed by risk premiums, financing costs, legal disputes and idle labor.
General contractors surveyed for the report said they are often stuck spending an average of 65 hours per month managing payment issues. That is nearly two full workweeks consumed by chasing approvals, resolving disputes and coordinating delayed disbursements.
Against this backdrop, the emergence of real-time and instant payment systems offers construction financial immediacy. These systems enable money to move within minutes or hours rather than weeks, fundamentally altering how projects are managed.
Read the report: Instant Payments Take Center Stage as Construction Confronts Its Cash-Flow Crisis
Real-Time Payments Change the Conversation
At its best, construction management is an exercise in orchestration. It requires aligning dozens of trades, each with specialized skills and constraints, into a coherent flow of work. This demands clarity, foresight and constant adjustment.
Late payments disrupt this orchestration by injecting noise into the system. Managers scramble to accommodate financial pressures, often at the expense of technical logic. The result is inefficiency disguised as adaptability.
Instant payments can help remove much of that noise. With cash flow stabilized, sequencing decisions can be made on their merits. Trades can be scheduled based on readiness rather than desperation. Work can proceed in the order that minimizes rework and congestion.
The projects that finish on time in the coming years will not necessarily be the ones with the best weather or the cheapest materials. They will likely be the ones where money moves as predictably as labor and as fast as the work itself.
Faster payments may not make the rain stop. But they will help to ensure that when the skies clear, crews are ready, materials are on site, and projects can move forward as planned.
