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Construction Collection Agency

CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTORS

Construction Collection Agency

Construction debt is its own animal. Retainage held for 18 months. Pay-when-paid clauses that let owners and general contractors delay indefinitely. Mechanics lien deadlines that expire if you miss them by a week. Disputes over change orders and punch-list items that stall payment for months.

Standard commercial collection agencies aren’t built for this. Southwest Recovery Services is. We recover unpaid construction invoices for general contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers. Contingency basis, no recovery no fee.

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CONSTRUCTION DEBT WE COLLECT

What We Collect

Construction debt takes several forms. We handle all of them:

  • Unpaid progress billing and final invoices Milestone payments the owner or GC hasn’t released
  • Retainage Withheld percentages (typically 5–10%) that should have been released at substantial completion or project closeout
  • Subcontractor invoices Amounts owed by GCs or upper-tier subs to lower-tier subs and specialty contractors
  • Material supplier invoices Unpaid accounts from lumber yards, concrete suppliers, equipment vendors, and other material providers
  • Change order balances Approved or disputed change order amounts that haven’t been paid
  • Equipment rental and mobilization fees Unpaid invoices from equipment companies and rental yards

If a business owes you money for work performed or materials supplied on a construction project, that is a commercial debt we can pursue.

CONTRACTORS WE SERVE

Who We Serve

General Contractors

You won the project. You managed the work. Now the owner is holding final payment while raising issues that weren’t in the contract. Or they’ve stopped responding entirely. We pursue unpaid balances owed to GCs by project owners, developers, and public entities. Professionally and persistently.

Subcontractors and Specialty Contractors

You completed your scope. The GC got paid. You didn’t. Subcontractors are often the last in line and the first to absorb delay. We work unpaid subcontractor accounts against general contractors and upper-tier subs, including accounts complicated by pay-when-paid or pay-if-paid language.

Material Suppliers and Vendors

You delivered on time. The project moved forward. Now the account is 90 days past due and the contractor isn’t returning calls. Material supplier receivables are a core part of our construction portfolio. We understand credit terms, delivery documentation, and the leverage points that move supplier accounts.

Equipment Rental Companies

Short-cycle invoices, frequent disputes over damage and utilization. Equipment rental receivables have their own challenges. We recover those accounts too.

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OUR SIX-STEP COLLECTION PROCESS

Our Collection Process

  1. Submit the account. Provide the debtor name, project address, balance owed, invoice documentation, and any payment demands you’ve already sent. We can start outreach within 24 hours of placement.
  2. Account review and skip trace. We confirm current contact information for the decision-maker: owner, controller, project manager, or AP department. We also review any documentation you have, including contracts, lien waivers, and prior correspondence.
  3. Demand and negotiation. Our agents contact the debtor directly. We present the balance, the documentation, and a clear expectation of resolution. Many construction accounts settle at this stage once a professional collection agency enters the picture.
  4. Escalated outreach. If initial demand doesn’t move the account, we escalate. That means more frequent contact, senior-level outreach, and direct communication with ownership or finance.
  5. Pre-legal review. For accounts that resist standard collection, we review the legal options with you. That includes mechanics lien enforcement, litigation referral, and judgment recovery. We walk you through the path before any escalation that carries cost.
  6. Resolution and reporting. When funds are collected, you receive your share minus our contingency fee. You can monitor account activity throughout the process through our client portal.
Talk to a Specialist
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WHY CONSTRUCTION NEEDS A SPECIALIST

Why Construction Debt Needs a Specialist

Construction receivables aren’t just old invoices. Several factors make them different from standard commercial collections. Most collection agencies don’t have that experience.

Retainage. Withheld retainage is often 5–10% of a contract value. On a $2M subcontract, that’s $100,000 to $200,000 sitting unreleased. Some owners and GCs use retainage as leverage long after punch-list items are resolved. Recovering it requires understanding project closeout documentation, substantial completion standards, and the contractual triggers that obligate release.

Pay-when-paid and pay-if-paid clauses. These provisions shift payment risk down the chain. A GC who hasn’t been paid by the owner may assert they have no obligation to pay subs yet. Whether these clauses hold up depends on the contract language and state law. We understand how these defenses are used. And how to push through them.

Mechanics lien deadlines. Mechanics liens are one of the most powerful tools a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier has. But lien rights have strict filing deadlines. Often 90 to 120 days from last work or last delivery, sometimes shorter. Miss the window and you lose the leverage. We can work alongside your lien filings and coordinate with your lien counsel on timing before your rights expire. We are not a law firm and do not file liens, but we coordinate with lien counsel where that is part of the recovery strategy.

Multi-party disputes. Construction disputes frequently involve multiple parties: owner, GC, sub, sub-sub, surety, lender. Standard collection agencies see a simple creditor-debtor pair. We see the project structure and understand where the money actually is and who controls it.

B2B scope. All construction debt we pursue is commercial, business-to-business. The FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) governs consumer debt. It does not apply to commercial claims between businesses. We operate under the applicable state and federal commercial law framework on every account we work.

Southwest Recovery Services has been in commercial collections since 2004. We are members of ACA International and maintain the licensing, bonding, and insurance our commercial collections work requires.

WHERE WE COLLECT CONSTRUCTION DEBT

Service Area

We operate from our 12 offices in Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, Ohio, Florida, and Georgia, and we regularly handle multi-state projects where contractor and owner are in different jurisdictions.

Offices: Addison · Austin · Columbus · Dallas · Denver · Houston · Midland · Oklahoma City · San Antonio · Snellville · St. Louis · Tampa

Texas-based clients: Dallas collection agency | Houston collection agency | Addison HQ

GET PAID FOR YOUR WORK

Get Paid for the Work You Did

If a project owner, general contractor, or customer owes you money for completed construction work or delivered materials, talk to us. We’ll tell you straight whether we’re a good fit.

No recovery, no fee. Contact a recovery specialist →

READY TO RECOVER WHAT YOU’RE OWED?

Get paid on your construction and contractor receivables.

Talk to a Recovery Specialist
CONSTRUCTION COLLECTION QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Frequently Asked Questions

Southwest Recovery Services works on a contingency fee model. That means a percentage of the amount actually collected, agreed upon before we begin. You pay nothing upfront and nothing if we do not recover. Contingency rates vary based on account age, balance, and complexity. There are no setup fees or monthly charges.

Yes. Withheld retainage is a recoverable commercial debt once the contractual conditions for release have been met. Typically that means substantial completion or project closeout. We pursue retainage balances as part of our construction collections practice. The process involves reviewing contract language, completion documentation, and the specific obligations that trigger release.

These are not mutually exclusive. A mechanics lien secures your claim against the property and creates leverage. A collection agency pursues the cash directly from the debtor. Many contractors use both: filing a lien to protect their rights while a collection agency works the payment demand. Southwest Recovery Services is not a law firm and does not file liens, but we coordinate with lien counsel when that is part of the strategy.

Accounts placed within 90 days of the due date often see first contact within 24–48 hours and resolution within 30–90 days. Older accounts, disputed invoices, or accounts requiring legal escalation may take longer. Construction accounts involving retainage or multi-party disputes typically take 60–180 days depending on complexity and the debtor’s responsiveness.

We generally work best on commercial claims of $1,000 or more. Smaller invoices can sometimes be bundled if you have multiple claims against the same GC, owner, or project. Contact us with your account details and we will tell you honestly whether it makes sense to place.

No. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act governs consumer debt: amounts owed by individuals for personal, family, or household purposes. Construction debt between businesses (GC to sub, owner to GC, buyer to supplier) is commercial debt and is not subject to FDCPA. Southwest Recovery Services operates under applicable state and federal commercial law.

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We recover debt for businesses from our 12 offices in Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, Ohio, Florida, and Georgia. We manage collections so you can focus on running your business.

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