Back office help for new construction companies
Outrigger Back Office helps new construction companies set up their office the right way in the first year, with a billing email, job folders, a tracker and a simple system for invoices, change orders and paperwork. Our one-time Office Startup gets you organized, and our monthly plans keep it running.
Why new construction companies call us
Starting a construction company usually starts with the work. You left a crew you ran for someone else, bought a truck or a machine, and the first jobs came from people who already knew you. The office side came second, and that makes sense. But the habits you set in the first year tend to stick, and a messy start is a lot harder to fix in year three.
We help you start clean. We build your job tracker, folders and billing email, show you how contracts, change orders and lien waivers work in plain English, and then do the ongoing office work if you want it. You get a system that already works before the job count grows, and you never have to go back and rebuild a year of missing paperwork. You also get someone to ask when a GC sends a form you have never seen.
What usually falls behind
No system yet
Invoices, contracts and receipts live in a phone, a personal inbox and the truck. There is no single place to see what is owed.
First GC paperwork
The first general contractor asks for a COI, a W-9, a prequalification form and a lien waiver, and you are not sure what any of them are for.
Pricing extra work
Customers ask for more than the original scope, and without a change order habit, extra work gets done for free.
Building it while working
You are bidding, running the crew and doing the work. There is no time left to design an office system from scratch.
What the office looks like in year one
In the first year, the office is mostly a set of questions you have never had to answer. Where do invoices get saved? Which email do they come from? How do you track who owes you? What does a GC mean when they ask for your COI, W-9 and a prequal form before your first payment? What should a change order say? Many new owners use their personal email, keep job notes in their phone and send invoices from a template they found online.
There are also first-time steps that are not office work at all: forming the business, choosing a tax setup, getting insurance and checking licensing for your trade and state. Those decisions belong to your attorney, CPA, insurance agent and state licensing board, and we do not give advice on them. Our job starts once those are in place: organizing what they produce and building the system you will use every day.
How we handle it
- Office Startup, one time. For $497 one time, we set up your folders, tracker, billing email and job list, and give you our Back Office 101 guide. Billing setup is already included free with any monthly plan.
- Plain-English walkthrough. We walk you through how contracts, change orders and lien waivers work in day-to-day office terms, so the first GC packet does not feel like a foreign language.
- Your documents organized. We keep the COI, W-9, licenses and registrations your advisors set up on file, track renewal dates, and send your document packet when a GC asks.
- Room to grow. When the work picks up, we can do the invoicing, change orders, sub paperwork and payroll for you on a monthly plan, using the same system we built at startup.
Where we start
Office Startup
A one-time $497 setup for new construction companies or offices that are behind: folders, tracker, billing email and job list, plus a plain-English walk-through of the paperwork.
Learn moreBilling & 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 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 moreNew Construction Companies FAQ
Can you help me set up the office for my new construction company?
Yes. Our Office Startup is a one-time $497 setup for new companies. We build your job folders, tracker, billing email and job list, walk you through contracts, change orders and lien waivers in plain English, and include our Back Office 101 guide. If you join a monthly plan, billing setup is included at no extra cost, so Startup is optional.
Can you tell me whether to form an LLC or what insurance I need?
No, we do not give business formation, tax, insurance or legal advice. Talk to an attorney about how to set up the business, a CPA about taxes and bookkeeping, and an insurance agent about coverage. Licensing depends on your trade and state, so check with your state licensing board. Once those are decided, we organize the documents and track renewals.
Do you work with new construction companies outside Georgia?
Yes, we work with new construction companies anywhere in the U.S. We are based in Georgia, and everything happens remotely by phone, text, email and shared Google folders. We use your own QuickBooks and Gmail plus free Google Sheets and Drive, so a new company does not have to buy extra software to get started.
Which plan should a first-year contractor start with?
Most first-year companies start with Essentials, which is $699 a month and covers up to 8 invoices and 4 change orders a month, payment reminders, sub W-9s and COIs, and basic renewal reminders. If you are already billing GCs with pay apps or running payroll, Standard may fit better. Plans are month to month, and the Plans page has details.