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If you’ve ever worked on publicly funded construction projects, you know the promise of steady work and reliable paychecks comes with a mountain of paperwork, endless compliance requirements, and administrative bottlenecks that directly impact cash flow. As a former subcontractor, I’ve been there—juggling multiple contracts while navigating complex compliance systems that seemed designed to hurt progress more than it helped.
When I first entered the public sector, I thought, “How hard can compliance be?”. After all, we already kept good records and paid our workforce the right wages. I was wrong.
One of the first major obstacles I faced was certified payroll reporting. Every government agency had a different system, and none of them came with proper guidance, training, or customer support. Some required manual uploads into clunky portals, others had automated systems that rejected my reports without explanation, and some still insisted on paper submissions.
No two agencies handled it the same way, and if I got something wrong—no matter how small—our compliance status would be flagged as non-compliant. The worst part? That delayed my monthly payment requisitions, meaning I was chasing down compliance corrections while also managing the office, job sites, crews, and materials. The stress of knowing that a single overlooked payroll entry could hold up six-figure payments kept me up at night.
Every GC and agency wanted the same workforce data formatted differently. Workforce participation, attributes, local metrics, apprenticeships, and hiring stats—the whole nine yards.
One wanted Excel, another needed a portal upload, and it just went on and on. Keeping up with this work was a full-time job itself. Every time I thought I had a process in place, a new requirement would pop up. It felt like I was spending more time filling out forms than actually doing the work I was contracted to manage.
Just when I thought I had a handle on my company’s compliance, I realized another challenge: lower-tier subcontractors. Not only did I have to track and report my own compliance, but I also had to chase my subs and vendors to make sure they submitted their paperwork on time.
I’d spend hours every week reminding, emailing, and even training my lower-tier subs on how to fill out certified payrolls and workforce reports. Some simply didn’t understand the requirements, others just ignored them until their payments were held up; and guess what? If they didn’t submit their reports, my compliance was flagged, and my payment was delayed too.
At one point, I had to manually fill out compliance reports for my subs just to avoid delays. It would drive me nuts.
Beyond certified payroll and workforce reports, there was laundry list of compliance items including, but not limited to, diversity certifications, business licenses, safety documentation, apprenticeship programs, ‘Buy America’ material supply compliance, monthly payment verification to third parties, notarizing lien waivers and ensuring figures matched the prime’s records to the penny. That was just the tip of the iceberg.
All crucial, but without a system to organize and automate the process, it was like fixing a car while driving it at the same time.
Compliance shouldn’t cripple cash flow or pull focus from the work we do best—building.
Imagine a world where subcontractors don’t have to fight through red tape just to get paid on time. That’s where compliance technology is heading, and it’s why platforms like Kaster are being built—to eliminate the manual burden and let subs focus on their trade, not endless paperwork. We are excited for the future of this space and the industry.
If you’re a subcontractor or a prime contractor dealing with similar compliance headaches, let’s talk. We’re building something amazing here to automate these processes. The right tools can mean the difference between spending hours on paperwork or getting paid faster while keeping your projects moving.
