Back office help for family-run construction companies
Outrigger Back Office takes over the billing, change orders and paperwork for family-run construction companies, especially when a spouse or family member has been doing the office at night with no training. We do the work remotely, from anywhere in the U.S., and the family still approves everything that goes out.
Why family-run construction companies call us
If you are reading this at the kitchen table after the kids are in bed, with a stack of receipts, a GC email you don't quite understand and a phone full of texts that say "bill them for this," this page is for you. Nobody trained you for this. You said yes because the business needed it, and you have been figuring it out one late night at a time.
We know that seat because we sit in it. Outrigger started in the office of a working civil sitework company in Georgia. Molly Colvin runs that office, and her husband runs the work in the field. Every process we use was built there first, on real jobs with real GCs and real pay apps, usually after long days. We know what a lien waiver is, why a missing COI holds up a check, and how fast a handshake change order turns into a fight. That is why it fits families like yours.
What usually falls behind
Learning on the fly
You were handed contracts, pay apps, W-9s and lien waivers with no one to explain them. Every new form feels like a test you didn't study for.
Office work after dark
The paperwork only happens at night and on weekends, so invoices go out late and family time keeps getting smaller.
Money talk at home
Who paid, who didn't and what got billed come up at dinner, because the only record is in someone's head or phone.
Afraid of missing something
There is a nagging worry that a renewal, a change order or an unpaid bill slipped through, and no easy way to check.
What the office really looks like in a family business
In most family construction companies, the office is not a room. It is a laptop on the kitchen table, a folder in the truck and a shoebox of receipts. The owner is on the job from before sunrise and gets home tired. The spouse, or a parent, sister or grown son or daughter, picks up the paperwork after their own day job or after a full day with the kids. Invoices go out when someone remembers. A COI request from a GC gets answered three days late because nobody knew where the certificate was saved.
The hardest part is not the work itself. It is that business and family are tangled together. The question about an unpaid invoice comes up at dinner. A missing lien waiver turns into a tense conversation in the driveway. Nobody wants to be the one who dropped the ball, and nobody had time to learn what a pay app or a lien waiver was before they had to send one.
How we handle it
- We do the work, you approve it. We write the invoices and change orders, collect the paperwork and send the reminders. You look it over and approve it, usually in a few minutes from your phone.
- Plain English, no judgment. When something is confusing, we explain it the way one office spouse explains it to another. No jargon and no question is too basic.
- One Monday email instead of dinner talk. Every Monday you both get one update: what got paid, what is late, what is coming due and what we need from you. Then the evening can be family time again.
- Checked every weekday morning. Built-in automation checks your invoices, change orders, sub paperwork and renewals each weekday morning, and a person reviews everything before it goes out.
Where we start
Billing & Collections
We set up each job from your contract, send invoices within 1 business day of your request, track what is owed, and send polite reminders from your own billing email.
Learn moreChange Orders
Text or email us 5 details from the field. We write the change order the same day, you reply APPROVED, and it goes to the GC from your billing email.
Learn moreCompliance & Documents
We keep your company's COI, W-9, licenses and registrations on file, remind you before anything lapses, and send your GC packet whenever a GC asks for it.
Learn moreFamily-Run Construction Companies FAQ
My wife does our office work at night. Can you take it over?
Yes, that is exactly who we built Outrigger for. We take over the day-to-day office work: invoices, change orders, payment reminders, sub W-9s and COIs, and renewal reminders. Whoever has been doing the office stays in the loop and approves what goes out, but the late nights of building it from scratch stop. A free office checkup is the easiest way to start.
Do you work with family construction companies outside Georgia?
Yes, we work with family-run construction companies anywhere in the U.S. We are based in Georgia, but everything is done by phone, text, email and shared Google folders. We work inside your own QuickBooks and Gmail, so there are no office visits, and your customers see your family's company name on every email, not ours.
Which plan is right for a small family construction company?
Many small family companies start with Essentials, which is $699 a month and covers up to 8 invoices and 4 change orders a month, plus sub paperwork and reminders. If you bill GCs with pay apps or want payroll handled, Standard usually fits better. Plans are month to month with 30 days' notice to cancel. The Plans page has the full list.
Will we lose control of our own business?
No. You approve every invoice, every change order and every payroll before it goes out, and nothing is signed for you. We do not hold or move your money or ask for bank logins. Emails go out from your own billing email with your company name. You stay in charge; we just do the typing, tracking and follow-up.