Ask most Accounts Payable (AP) or Accounts Receivable (AR) teams if they've invested in digital tools, and the answer is typically yes. Finance systems, e-Invoicing platforms, cash management software, procurement tools. They're all there.
But ask if those tools actually talk to each other, and things get trickier. Invoice data sits in one place, payment status sits in another. Supplier records, compliance rules, GRN data, they're all scattered across different formats, and it's finance teams who end up bridging those gaps, manually, every single day.
That's the real story behind AI in construction finance right now. It's not about a lack of technology. It's about connection.
How bad are payment delays for construction finance teams?
According to a recent report published by accountants Menzies, late payments are now almost universal across the construction sector - 93% of firms report facing payment delays, with invoices now 53 days overdue on average. That's not a future risk. That's today.
And it's easy to see why. Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable are two ends of the same trading process. Together, they decide whether margin gets protected, whether cash flows predictably, whether compliance holds up, and whether trading relationships get stronger or weaker over time. When the data behind that process is fragmented, all of it suffers.
Why does construction finance need to change now?
This moment feels different because three significant shifts are landing on construction finance together.
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The UK's 2029 e-Invoicing mandate will require every VAT-registered business to exchange invoices electronically.
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Invoice fraud is rising fast, hitting £3.9 million in a single month across just 83 UK cases.
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The Fair Payment Code is tightening, putting real pressure on payment timelines and governance.
Any one of these would be worth addressing on its own. Together, they mean finance teams need to change how they work, and what tools they work with.
Why can't construction teams just use generic AI tools?
So, what changes when AI is embedded the right way? According to Matt Keen, Senior VP of Construction at Causeway, the shift goes deeper than compliance.
"The real issue here isn't just compliance, it's that people don't get paid on time. The whole finance process needs to be digitised, and the opportunity with AI is to rethink how that work gets done."
That's the key distinction. AI isn't just automating the same old process a little faster. It's giving finance teams the chance to rethink the process altogether.
When AI is embedded in connected trading workflows spanning thousands of companies, it can draw on a contractor's own trading history, supplier and customer records, payment patterns and compliance rules. That produces outputs that are grounded, auditable and commercially relevant, which is a very different proposition to using generic AI tools in isolation.
How much time can AI save construction AP and AR teams?
The value AI unlocks comes down to three things: time, risk and decision making.
Finance teams can save real hours by cutting out repetitive admin. They can reduce risk by catching anomalies and fraud signals before they cause damage. And they can make better decisions, earlier and at lower cost, because they finally have the visibility to act with confidence rather than guesswork.
Across the industry, AI is already delivering up to 70% efficiency gains for AP teams and up to 50% efficiency gains across AR processes. That's time that should be spent on the things that actually protect cash flow and margin such as reviewing exceptions, resolving disputes, strengthening supplier relationships and staying ahead of compliance risk.
Does AI help buyers or suppliers more in finance?
Whether you're raising invoices or receiving them, this shift matters just as much to you.
Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable are two sides of the same trade, and both benefit from the same thing: connected, trusted data flowing through the process.
For buyers, that means faster processing, stronger fraud controls and clearer visibility over what's coming due. For suppliers, it means invoices that go through cleanly the first time, faster payment, and fewer of those frustrating payment status queries.
Which construction firms are already ahead on finance AI?
Construction has always run on relationships and trust, but for a long time, the tools supporting those relationships haven't kept pace. Paper, manual keying and disconnected spreadsheets have slowly been giving way to something more joined up. AI is the next stage in that shift, and for finance teams, it's a big one.
The organisations getting ahead already have connected data, joined-up workflows and the right digital foundations in place. The rest are still catching up, often without realising how much of a gap has opened.
In the next post in this series, we'll look at where AI adds the most immediate value: tackling risk, fraud and compliance, and why visibility, not automation, is often the benefit finance teams notice first.
How does CausewayOne apply AI to finance workflows?
CausewayOne e-Invoicing is Causeway's AP and AR platform for construction, with AI built into the workflow rather than bolted on top. Matt Keen (Senior VP, Construction) and Tim Cole (Industry Director, Trading) show it running in real workflows - spotting payment risks and cash flow problems early enough to act.
Watch the full OnDemand webinar here and see CausewayOne in action..
At Causeway, we help construction finance teams turn connected data into real commercial advantage. Get in touch to find out how CausewayOne can support your finance transformation.
