How to Evaluate the Right AR/Credit Platform for Your Construction Supply Business
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Tim Hsu
For construction wholesalers, distributors, and suppliers, getting paid on time is not a back-office afterthought — it's the difference between funding the next truckload of inventory and chasing down a customer's accounts payable department for the third time this month. Yet many businesses in this space are still running credit approvals, invoicing, and collections through spreadsheets, paper applications, and manual phone calls.
That's starting to change. Accounts receivable automation can reduce days sales outstanding (DSO) by up to 30% and cut reconciliation work by up to 90%, according to industry research. But not every AR and credit platform is built the same way, and the wrong choice can mean months of implementation delays, a tool your team refuses to use, or a system that simply wasn't built for how construction distribution actually works.
This article covers everything you need to know about evaluating the right AR/credit platform for your business.
Understanding the Importance of an AR/Credit Platform
Construction wholesalers and distributors deal with a version of accounts receivable that most generic finance software was never designed for. A contractor needs materials on a job site today, which means credit decisions can't wait three days for manual reference checks. Payments come in through a mix of checks, ACH, and cards, often against master accounts with multiple job-site deliveries. And on top of all of that, many distributors also have lien rights and preliminary notice deadlines to track, where a missed date can mean losing the right to collect on an unpaid invoice entirely.
An AR/credit platform sits at the center of all of it: onboarding new customers, deciding how much credit to extend, collecting payment, and reconciling it all against your ERP. When it works well, your team spends less time on data entry and collections calls and more time serving customers. When it doesn't fit your business, it becomes one more system people work around.
Choosing the right platform starts with understanding what to actually evaluate.
Factors to Consider When Choosing an AR/Credit Platform
AR/credit platforms offer a number of benefits to your business.
Now, it’s about choosing the right one for your business.
Here are some of the most common and important factors to consider when you’re choosing an AR/credit platform.
Implementation Timeframe
A platform that takes six months to go live is a platform that costs you six months of the manual process you were trying to replace. Ask any vendor directly: what does a typical implementation look like, and how long does it take from a signed contract to your team actually using it and seeing value? Look for platforms that can get you live in weeks, not quarters, and be wary of vague answers or estimates that depend heavily on custom development work. Speaking with a reference customer is the best way to get an accurate feel for how involved implementation will be.
Industry Focus: Specialist or Generalist
Some AR platforms are built to serve every industry from healthcare to retail to professional services. That breadth often comes at a cost: generic tools rarely account for things like lien waiver management, preliminary notice deadlines, job management, or the credit risk profile of contractors and subcontractors. A platform built specifically for construction wholesalers and distributors will already understand your workflows, your compliance requirements, and your customers, which usually means less configuration and fewer workarounds.
User Interface and Ease of Use
Your team needs to be able to look up an invoice, approve a credit application, or take a payment without a lengthy training process. So do your customers, many of whom will be paying through your portal for the first time. An interface with a steep learning curve gets abandoned, whether that means your staff reverting to spreadsheets or customers calling in instead of paying online. Look for a clean, intuitive design that works as well for a field-based contractor as it does for your AR team.
ERP and Accounting Integration
An AR/credit platform that doesn't talk to your ERP just creates a second system of record and more manual reconciliation, not less. Confirm that any platform you're considering integrates directly with your existing ERP or accounting system to automate cash applications and keep your books in sync, rather than requiring your team to re-key data between two places. Integration is a vague term - evaluate whether it’s a true API integration or a report integration.
Credit Risk and Underwriting Tools
Extending credit is one of the riskiest decisions a distributor makes on a daily basis. Look for platforms that speed up and improve that decision: automated credit application intake, fraud checks, and risk scoring that lets routine applications move quickly while flagging the accounts that need a closer look. A solution that’s focused on your industry will have tools that help verify & speed up items like trade references.
Types of AR/Credit Platforms
Once you know what to look for, it helps to understand the different categories of tools on the market.
Generic AR Automation Tools
These are broad invoicing and collections platforms built to serve almost any industry. They can handle basic invoicing and payment collection well, but they typically lack construction-specific features like lien waiver processing, preliminary notice tracking, job management, or credit workflows built around contractor risk.
ERP-Native Add-Ons
Some ERP systems offer their own built-in AR modules. These have the advantage of living inside a system you already use, but they're often more limited in functionality and slower to add new features than a dedicated, purpose-built platform.
Industry-Specific Platforms
These platforms are built from the ground up for a specific industry's workflows, compliance needs, and customer base. For construction wholesalers and distributors, that means credit applications, payment portals, and lien rights management designed around how the industry actually operates, rather than adapted from a one-size-fits-all tool.
Partner vs. a vendor
Not every company behaves the same way once the contract is signed, and it's worth understanding the difference between a vendor and a true partner before you commit.
A vendor sells you software, gets you through onboarding, and moves on to the next deal. Feature requests go into a black hole, and your feedback rarely shapes the roadmap. A partner treats the relationship as ongoing: they ask what's working and what isn't, and you can actually see that feedback show up in the product over time.
The same distinction shows up in support. Generic support means every question goes into a shared ticket queue, gets routed to whoever's available, and starts from zero context each time.
Choosing the Best AR/Credit Platform for Your Business
If you're a construction wholesaler, distributor, or supplier weighing these factors, it's worth taking a look at Dill. Dill is built specifically for construction supply businesses, with a white-labeled payment portal, automated credit applications, collections, AI cash application, ERP integration, and preliminary notice and lien waiver management in one platform. Most customers are up and running within two to four weeks, not months, and Dill's team works with organizations like Affiliated Distributors, IMARK Plumbing, and Blue Hawk, so the platform is shaped by the same industry your business operates in every day.
Choosing an AR/credit platform is ultimately a decision about how your business gets paid, manages risk, and spends its team's time. Take the time to evaluate implementation timeframe, industry fit, and user experience carefully, and you'll end up with a system your team and your customers actually want to use. Curious to learn why AD members Great Western, Auer Steel & Central Pipe choose Dill? We’d love to share more with you!