Late payments are plaguing contractors

It’s Election Day! There’s still time to cast your ballot. In this issue, we share two legal issues to keep an eye on, quantify the impact slow-paying customers have on your business, deliver a pro tip for better sales and estimating, and preview a new building practice out of MIT.

But first, here’s one last spooky season meme. 

» Cracking up. See how expert craftsman James Jisa repaired and replastered an 1817 home in North Carolina.

» ⚙️Calling all gearheads! Equipment World shows off this year’s top-selling construction rigs.

» D’Oh! TFW everyone says the plans are good to go, but you know different.

» 🖼️ Art and architecture. Sneak a peek at the imagined interiors of some of painter Edward Hopper’s iconic works.

Strong demand is great news, until the paperwork piles up behind it. At 1-800Accountant, we're a virtual accounting firm for small businesses, and we keep the numbers in order while you keep jobs moving:

A dedicated accountant, flat-rate pricing and more time on the job

You’re a builder, not a lawyer. That’s why law firm Ward & Smith recently hosted a webinar flagging crucial legal topics for contractors to stay on top of. Two of the most pressing are immigration and cybersecurity.

Immigration: While you’re not required to keep I-9 records for independent contractors, you do want to make sure you’re correctly classifying them. “The misclassification of workers as independent contractors is going to be an ongoing focus for the Department of Labor,” says Will Oden, a labor and employment attorney with the firm. Learn more about dealing with ICE.

Cybersecurity: You may not think cyber thugs would target your business, but many do because small- and medium-sized enterprises lack sufficient (or any) security infrastructure. And if you get phished or otherwise scammed, that could limit your options for reimbursement. When considering cases, judges are increasingly evaluating which party had the best chance to prevent the fraud. “If you didn’t do cybersecurity training, for example, they may decide you are more at fault than the other party,” explains Mayukh Sircar, one of the firm’s cybersecurity, data privacy and technology attorneys. 

Why it matters: It may not be fun to contemplate legal issues, but not being prepared for them is even less enjoyable. (Ward & Smith)

Bonus: See how updated contracts reduce risk.

MIT researchers developed an origami-based approach to fabricate steel and other metal components that are 3.5 times stronger and use around 66% as much material as traditional ones. The rigid items ship flat and go together fast to form a structure that’s stiff, stable and lightweight. They’re ideal for emergency and recovery housing, façades and sound-dampening.

Why it matters: “This work shows that folding metal is a method that is ready to be used,” says Neil Gershenfeld, MIT professor and director of the Center for Bits and Atoms. “We can do it big enough and strong enough now that we can bring it out of the lab and to the construction site.” (MIT)

It comes as no surprise that tardy payments are contractors’ most frequent complaint, but now there’s data to prove it. In the 2026 Vendor Payment and Portal Report, 51.6% of construction and related vendors peg it as their most pressing issue, with 17% noting that they wait 31 to 90 days for bills to be settled. Other challenges cited were processing fees (22.1%), scope and pricing disputes (18.9%) and rejected invoices (18.5%).

Why it matters: Payment delays can produce serious cash flow issues, especially when more than one customer procrastinates. Consider asking for an upfront deposit to give you some cover in case subsequent payments are slow, and send reminders the day after a bill goes past due. (ForConstructionPros)

» Slow season: Why now is the time for hurricane resilience planning

» Hurting homebuilding: Builders continue to struggle

» Tool time: New tech aims to automate building design and engineering

» Invisible innovation: Hidden infrastructure takes off

Showing prospects the kind of projects you’ve done and what they cost is a smart move, according to construction business consultant Derek Isaac of Rapid Result Creators in a LinkedIn article. This single practice “can help set realistic expectations and streamline the estimating process…also reduce the number of unnecessary estimates by filtering out clients with budgets that don’t align with your services.”

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The Level is curated and written by Margot Lester and edited by Bianca Prieto