What do your vendors think about your timeliness of payments?

In the age of social media and the seeming need to share everything about anything, including a picture of your lunch, a start-up, Levelset, has launched a platform designed to bring more transparency about how certain owners and general contractors pay their vendors and other subcontractors.  While it is no surprise that many who are involved in the industry would note that payments are less frequent then they would like, will this new platform encourage some to be timelier if this information is now more easily accessible than simply by word of mouth?

In the world of sharing platforms, this is another one monitor the comments section to see what is being said about your company and how it is being perceived by others.  An article from ENR noted that, “The often-stinging, anonymous comments on the company profiles may reverberate as much as the speed ratings.”  Serving this industry for a number of years, I have seen first-hand how obviously minor disputes over payments, change orders and other scope items can be disruptive to job performance, and this could be another tool to help uncover these type of items.  The article goes on to point out that “Of 23 companies and related entities profiled on Levelset that are among the top 20 on ENR's current Top 400 Contractors list, 14 are rated as slow payers, two as fast and seven as medium.”

As this platform grows, it remains to be seen what the impact might on the industry, but it might be wise to spend a few minutes to see what others are posting about your company and how you are being perceived in the marketplace.