Construction payment management system and method with automated electronic document generation features

Abstract

A system and method for managing a construction payment process. One method embodying the invention can include generating a budget for a construction project, receiving an invoice amount from at least one participant in the construction project, generating at least one of an automated invoice and an automated sworn statement based on the invoice amount and the budget, generating at least one automated lien waiver based on at least one of the automated invoice and the automated sworn statement, and electronically executing at least one of the automated invoice, the automated sworn statement, and the at least one automated lien waiver to create at least one of a legally-binding invoice, a legally-binding sworn statement, and a legally-binding lien waiver. Another method embodying the invention can include electronically receiving a lien waiver from a participant in a construction project, electronically transmitting payment to the participant in response to receipt of the lien waiver, and releasing the lien waiver in response to the payment.

1 . A method of managing a construction payment process, the method comprising the acts of:
 generating a budget for a construction project;   receiving an invoice amount from at least one participant in the construction project;   generating at least one of an automated invoice and an automated sworn statement based on the invoice amount and the budget;   generating at least one automated lien waiver based on at least one of the automated invoice and the automated sworn statement; and   electronically executing at least one of the automated invoice, the automated sworn statement, and the at least one automated lien waiver to create at least one of a legally-binding invoice, a legally-binding sworn statement, and a legally-binding lien waiver.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the invoice amount includes at least one of a percentage of work completed and a dollar amount of work completed. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the generated budget includes a plurality of line items and wherein the automated invoice includes at least one of the plurality of line items. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the generated budget includes at least one of costs of an organization not employed by a general contractor of the construction project and costs of an organization employed by the general contractor. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  and further comprising the act of transmitting a notification regarding approval of the automated invoice. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  and further comprising the act of ensuring that the automated sworn statement and the at least one automated lien waiver correspond to the at least one automated invoice. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  and further comprising the act of ensuring that a sum of invoice dollar amounts included in the automated invoice equals a sworn statement dollar amount included in the automated sworn statement. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  and further comprising the act of ensuring that an invoice dollar amount included in the automated invoice equals a lien waiver dollar amount included in the at least one automated lien waiver. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the acts of generating at least one of an automated invoice and an automated sworn statement and generating at least one lien waiver include customizing at least one of the automated invoice, the automated sworn statement, and the at least one lien waiver according to at least one of participant requirements and state legal requirements. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the acts of generating at least one of an automated invoice and an automated sworn statement and generating at least one automated lien waiver include generating the automated invoice, approving the automated invoice, subsequently generating the automated sworn statement, approving the automated sworn statement, and subsequently generating the at least one automated lien waiver. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  and further comprising the act of storing electronic copies of at least one of the legally-binding invoice, the legally-binding sworn statement, and the legally-binding lien waiver. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  and further comprising the act of generating a hard copy of at least one of the legally-binding invoice, the legally-binding sworn statement, and the legally-binding lien waiver. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  and further comprising the acts of receiving the legally-binding lien waiver from a participant in a construction project and transmitting to a payment system an instruction to pay the participant. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  and further comprising the act of releasing the legally-binding lien waiver after the participant receives payment from the payment system. 
     
     
         15 . A construction payment management system comprising:
 an electronic signature service; and   an application server that stores a budget module and a draw module, the budget module generating a budget for a construction project, the draw module receiving an invoice amount from a participant of the construction project, generating at least one of an automated invoice and an automated sworn statement based on the invoice amount and the budget, and generating at least one automated lien waiver based on at least one of the automated invoice and the automated sworn statement,   the electronic signature service electronically executing at least one of the automated invoice, the automated sworn statement, and the at least one automated lien waiver to create at least one of a legally-binding invoice, a legally-binding sworn statement, and a legally-binding lien waiver.   
     
     
         16 . The construction payment management system of  claim 15  wherein the invoice amount includes at least one of a percentage of work completed and a dollar amount of work completed. 
     
     
         17 . The construction payment management system of  claim 15  wherein the budget module generates a budget including a plurality of line items and the draw module generates an automated invoice including at least one of the plurality of line items. 
     
     
         18 . The construction payment management system of  claim 15  wherein the budget module generates a budget including at least one of costs of an organization not employed by a general contractor of the construction project and costs of an organization employed by the general contractor. 
     
     
         19 . The construction payment management system of  claim 15  and further comprising a notifications manager stored in the application server, the notifications manager transmitting a notification regarding approval of the automated invoice. 
     
     
         20 . The construction payment management system of  claim 15  wherein the draw module ensures that at least one of the automated sworn statement and the at least one automated lien waiver correspond to the automated invoice. 
     
     
         21 . The construction payment management system of  claim 15  wherein the draw module ensures that a sum of invoice dollar amounts included in the automated invoice equals a sworn statement dollar amount included in the automated sworn statement. 
     
     
         22 . The construction payment management system of  claim 15  wherein the draw module ensures that an invoice dollar amount included in the automated invoice equals a lien waiver dollar amount included in the at least one automated lien waiver. 
     
     
         23 . The construction payment management system of  claim 15  wherein the draw module customizes at least one of the automated invoice, the automated sworn statement, and the at least one automated lien waiver according to at least one of participant requirements and state legal requirements. 
     
     
         24 . The construction payment management system of  claim 15  wherein the draw module generates the automated invoice, ensures that the at least one automated invoice is approved, subsequently generates the automated sworn statement, ensures that the automated sworn statement is approved, and subsequently generates the at least one automated lien waiver. 
     
     
         25 . The construction payment management system of  claim 15  and further comprising a database management system stored in the application server and a database server connected to the application server, the database server storing electronic copies of at least one of the legally-binding invoice, the legally-binding sworn statement, and the legally-binding lien waiver. 
     
     
         26 . The construction payment management system of  claim 15  wherein the draw module generates a hard copy of at least one of the legally-binding invoice, the legally-binding sworn statement, and the legally-binding lien waiver. 
     
     
         27 . The construction payment management system of  claim 15  wherein the application server stores an electronic holding bin, the electronic holding bin receiving and storing a lien waiver from a participant in a construction project and the draw module generating and transmitting to a payment system an automated instruction to pay the participant. 
     
     
         28 . The construction payment management system of  claim 27  wherein the electronic holding bin releases the lien after the participant receives payment from the payment system. 
     
     
         29 . A method of managing a construction payment process, the method comprising the acts of:
 electronically receiving a lien waiver from a participant in a construction project;   electronically transmitting payment to the participant in response to receipt of the lien waiver; and   releasing the lien waiver in response to the payment.   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29  and further comprising the act of storing the lien waiver. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the act of transmitting includes transmitting to a payment system an instruction to pay the participant. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31  wherein the act of releasing includes receiving from the payment system an acknowledgement that the participant has received funds and substantially simultaneously releasing the lien waiver after receiving the acknowledgement. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 31  wherein the act of releasing includes receiving from the payment system an acknowledgement that the participant has received funds and releasing the lien waiver within thirty-one days after receiving the acknowledgement. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 31  wherein the act of releasing includes receiving from the payment system an acknowledgement that the participant has received funds and releasing the lien waiver at initiation of a subsequent draw. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 31  wherein the act of releasing includes receiving from the payment system an acknowledgement that the participant has received funds and releasing the lien waiver at submittal of a subsequent draw. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 31  wherein the payment system includes at least one of an automated clearing house system, a wire transfer system, a debit card system, a credit card system, and a check generating system. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 29  and further comprising the acts of receiving a plurality of lien waivers from a plurality of participants, storing each one of the plurality of lien waivers until all of the plurality of lien waivers are received, and transmitting an instruction to pay the plurality of participants when all of the plurality of lien waivers are received. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 29  and further comprising the acts of receiving a plurality of lien waivers from a plurality of participants and transmitting an instruction to pay each one of the plurality of participants when each one of the plurality of lien waivers is received. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 29  and further comprising the acts of receiving a plurality of lien waivers from a plurality of participants, storing each one of the plurality of lien waivers, transmitting a first instruction to pay at least one of the plurality of participants when at least one of the plurality of lien waivers is received, and transmitting a second instruction to pay at least one other of the plurality of participants when all of the plurality of lien waivers are received. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the received lien waiver corresponds to work performed for a current draw. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the received lien waiver corresponds to work performed for a prior draw. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 29  and further comprising the act of electronically executing at least one of the plurality of lien waivers. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 29  and further comprising the acts of generating a budget for a construction project and generating at least one automated invoice, an automated sworn statement, and at least one automated lien waiver based on the budget. 
     
     
         44 . A construction payment management system comprising:
 an application server storing an electronic holding bin and a draw module, the electronic holding bin receiving a lien waiver from a participant in a construction project and the draw module transmitting payment to the participant in response to receipt of the lien waiver and releasing the lien waiver in response to the payment.   
     
     
         45 . The construction payment management system of  claim 44  wherein the electronic holding bin stores the lien waiver. 
     
     
         46 . The construction payment management system of  claim 44  wherein the draw module transmits payment to the participant by transmitting to a payment system an automated instruction to pay the participant. 
     
     
         47 . The construction payment management system of  claim 46  wherein the draw module releases the lien waiver by receiving an acknowledgement from the payment system that the participant has received funds and substantially simultaneously releasing the lien waiver after receiving the acknowledgement. 
     
     
         48 . The construction payment management system of  claim 46  wherein the draw module releases the lien waiver by receiving an acknowledgement from the payment system that the participant has received funds and releasing the lien waiver within thirty-one days after receiving the acknowledgement. 
     
     
         49 . The construction payment management system of  claim 46  wherein the draw module releases the lien waiver by receiving an acknowledgment from the payment system that the participant has received funds and releasing the lien waiver at initiation of a subsequent draw. 
     
     
         50 . The construction payment management system of  claim 46  wherein the draw module releases the lien waiver by receiving an acknowledgment from the payment system that the participant has received funds and releasing the lien waiver at submittal of a subsequent draw. 
     
     
         51 . The construction payment management system of  claim 46  wherein the payment system includes at least one of an automated clearing house system, a wire transfer system, a debit card system, a credit card system, and a check writing system. 
     
     
         52 . The construction payment management system of  claim 44  wherein the electronic holding bin receives a plurality of lien waivers from a plurality of participants and stores each one of the plurality of lien waivers until all of the plurality of lien waivers are received and wherein the draw module transmits an automated instruction to pay the plurality of participants when all of the plurality of lien waivers are received. 
     
     
         53 . The construction payment management system of  claim 44  wherein the electronic holding bin receives a plurality of lien waivers from a plurality of participants and stores each one of the plurality of lien waivers and the draw module transmits an automated instruction to pay each one of the plurality of participants when each one of the plurality of lien waivers is received. 
     
     
         54 . The construction payment management system of  claim 44  wherein the electronic holding bin receives a plurality of lien waivers from a plurality of participants and stores each one of the plurality of lien waivers and the draw module transmits a first instruction to pay at least one of the plurality of participants when at least one of the plurality of lien waivers is received and a second instruction to pay at least one other of the plurality of participants when all of the plurality of lien waivers are received. 
     
     
         55 . The construction payment management system of  claim 44  wherein the electronic holding bin and the draw module receive and release the lien waiver corresponding to work performed for a current draw. 
     
     
         56 . The construction payment management system of  claim 44  wherein the electronic holding bin and the draw module receive and release the lien waiver corresponding to a current month's work for a prior draw. 
     
     
         57 . The construction payment management system of  claim 44  and further comprising an electronic signature service to electronically execute the lien waiver. 
     
     
         58 . The construction payment management system of  claim 44  wherein the application server stores a budget module, the budget module generating a budget for a construction project and the draw module generating at least one automated invoice, an automated sworn statement, and at least one automated lien waiver based on the budget.