How Full-Service Commercial Construction Firm Massaro Construction Group Uses AvidPay Purchase-to-Pay AP Solution for Invoice Processing
Founded in 1967, Massaro Construction Group (MCG) is a privately held commercial construction company that offers a complete spectrum of construction services, including general contracting, construction management and 24/7 emergency response services.
Based in Pittsburgh, it operates out of three offices in Pennsylvania with approximately 70 employees and 100 contracted staff in the field.
Customer Profile
- Customer: Matt Belsterling, MCG
- Products Used: TimberScan, AvidPay
- Customer Since: 2010
- Industry: Construction
- Accounting System: Sage 300 CRE
How TimberScan and AvidPay for Sage 300 CRE Enable Efficiency
Matt Belsterling has worked in IT for MCG for nine years, currently serving as IT manager. He and his three-person department are responsible for setting IT goals for the organization and implementing systems and practices. They also manage technical equipment— from computers and servers to software and services— to ensure it operates securely and efficiently.
Belsterling’s work includes overseeing the administration of TimberScan and AvidPay for Sage 300 CRE, the construction firm’s comprehensive accounting and construction management software solution. He works closely with MCG’s accounting team, reviewing and approving invoices and providing ongoing support to ensure the automated solution runs smoothly and payments to suppliers are made accurately and without delay.
The Challenge: Inefficient, Time-Consuming Paper AP Processes
Regularly working on massive commercial construction projects like schools, medical complexes and high-rise apartment buildings, MCG manually processed more than 600 invoices and cut paper checks for hundreds of payments each month.
The arduous paper processes required the team to collect invoices from staff that were scattered across the field, and then print, reconcile and circulate for approvals before cutting checks for payments. Checks often sat for hours awaiting a signature before they could be stuffed in an envelope, stamped and sent on a long journey through the U.S. mail system.
The process wasn’t just long and tedious. It was prone to human errors and susceptible to fraud. It was also costly, requiring manpower, reams of paper, postage and mailing supplies.
“Today’s construction business is all about getting lean and there’s a lot of pressure to operate as efficiently as possible. Chasing paper and approving invoices to be paid with paper checks wasted a lot of valuable time and money. We needed to speed up the process and allow the company to operate more efficiently.”
The need accelerated when the pandemic hit and MCG’s accounting team was forced to work from home, separated from the files and printers it relied upon to pay the bills. The company needed a way to process payments remotely in order to ensure its suppliers were paid on time.
The Solution: Integrated AP Solution Saves Time and Money and Enables Remote Work
In 2010, MCG adopted TimberScan, an automated invoice processing product that enables staff to electronically submit and get approvals on invoices. In 2021, they automated payments with AvidPay so the team could pay MCG’s bills electronically instead of having to rely on paper checks. TimberScan seamlessly integrates with the company’s existing Sage 300 CRE construction management software.
Automating the tedious, error-prone manual tasks the team once relied upon for their accounts payable (AP) work eliminates the paper chase so staff is no longer chasing down invoices or approvals. The comprehensive solution also saves them the time and hassle of writing and mailing fraud-prone paper checks, offering more secure, faster e-payment methods, including ACH and credit cards as alternatives.
The AvidXchange solution saves MCG money by reducing its need for AP manpower and eliminating the costs it once incurred for paper and postage. And, it allows Belsterling and the accounting team to remotely process and oversee invoices and payments with a few clicks from one centralized platform, no printer needed. “If you are a general contractor using TimberScan, it’s a no-brainer to switch to AvidPay,” said Belsterling.
“Automating the payment process was an easy rollout and it was quick to get suppliers onboard. AvidXchange notified them and we were up and running as soon as the system was turned on.”
The Results: A Leaner, More Efficient Back Office
Implementing a fully automated AP solution from AvidXchange that seamlessly integrates with Sage 300 CRE allows Belsterling to run a leaner, more efficient back office.
He estimates that streamlining AP and going paperless saves the team about 14 hours per month in AP processing time and more than $4,200 per year in paper and supplies.
“Seeing the time and cost savings we’ve experienced from this comprehensive solution makes us wonder why every TimberScan user isn’t using AvidPay,” said Belsterling. “We save time and money and increase our accounting efficiency.”
What’s more, automation allows MCG to more effectively use the hybrid work arrangement it implemented during the pandemic, providing employees with flexibility all while ensuring that their suppliers are promptly and securely paid.
“Adding AvidPay made perfect sense since we were already using TimberScan and we needed a solution that could handle multiple payment sources. AvidXchange gives us that, holding the liability and keeping everything up to date and secure, while allowing us to manage it all in one place.”
