SUMMARY 

Utilizing the ePayment functionality within GCPay allows companies to make efficient, secure electronic payments to subcontractors while collecting necessary waivers and other required documents. GCPay protects both parties by brokering the exchange of payment for waiver(s). 

How it Works

GCPay collects and watermarks the unconditional waiver with the subcontractor’s application for payment (AFP). The general contractor reviews and approves the AFP and the unofficial waiver. Approved payment applications can be paid at any time. The watermark is removed automatically when payment is received by the subcontractor. 

Pricing

The fee for using GCPay ePayments & Waiver Exchange is $15 per paid application for payment. Fees are charged and collected with your monthly GCPay invoice for all payments made in the previous calendar month. No additional setup or monthly fees apply. 

SETTINGS 

ePayment Options

Like most options in GCPay, users can configure defaults from the Default Options tab in the company level Settings. These options will be used for any new projects created going forward. Users can manage the same options at the project level by navigating to the Project Settings. 

1. View the options in the ePayment & Waiver Exchange section of the Default Options

1. Enable ePayments & Lien Waiver Exchange will turn on the ePayments function for all new projects by default. 
2. Block release of funds to subcontractors who are non-compliant will prevent you from releasing funds to that subcontractor until all compliance requirements have been met.
3. Pay the ePayments & Lien Waiver Exchange fee for contractors allows you to take on the $15 fee instead of passing it on to the subcontractor.
4. Automatically release payments to subcontractors if Payment Exchange Waivers(s) are accepted  allows you include payments in the batch if Payment Exchange Waivers are accepted. Unchecking this box will block this payment from being included in the batch.

Waiver Options

One of the added benefits of using the GCPay ePayments function is the ability to request an Unconditional waiver prior to the submission of a pay application if an Unconditional waiver is required with each pay application. In most cases, this eliminates the need for Conditional waivers as GCPay ensures the Unconditional waiver is signed and returned.

GCPay will hold a watermarked version of the waiver until payment has been confirmed. GCPay will automatically remove the watermark from the waiver, or the subcontractor can manually release the waiver. 

Before Submission (Payment Exchange Waiver) 

This option allows the general contractor to require a waiver, typically an unconditional or final waiver, with the submission of a payment application. The waiver is watermarked as Unofficial and locked until payment is received in full. Once payment has been received, GCPay unlocks the waiver and removes the watermark. 

GETTING STARTED 

General Contractor

CUSTOMER COMPLIANCE DOCUMENTATION

GCPay’s payment processing partner, FastPay by AvidXchange, is required by state and federal laws (including, but not limited to, the Bank Secrecy Act and the USA PATRIOT Act) to verify certain information about its customers before this feature can be enabled. FastPay is also required to screen customers and certain of their beneficial owners and control persons against the specially designated nationals and blocked persons list maintained by the US Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). Participating general contractors must complete and return the required documents provided by GCPay. 

SELECT A FUNDING METHOD

Clients utilizing the ePayment services in GCPay establish bank accounts within the platform to fund payment applications that have been approved and authorized for payment. The process of adding / managing bank accounts is completed by either a GCPay Administrator or a Treasury Officer. To establish a new bank account: 

1. Click Settings    
2. Click ePayments in the menu on the left 
3. Click + Add Account in the center of the page 

Standard Wire Transfer 

GCPay will provide the general contractor with a funding report detailing how much must be transferred to FastPay. Once funding has been received, payments can be released to subcontractors. 

Demand Drawn Wire Transfer 

Authorize FastPay to initiate a wire transfer debit from the general contractor’s bank account. Once funding has been received, payments can be released to subcontractors.

 ACH (Slower) 

                                                                Authorize FastPay to initiate an ACH debit from the general contractor’s bank                                                                              account. FastPay must wait until the ACH Recension window has been exhausted                                                                      before payments can be released to subcontractors. 

1. Follow the prompts to setup your funding method and digitally sign the agreements provided. 
   1. Documents must be signed by a user listed as an Authorized Signer at the bank. 
2. Once the account is set up, you can associate the account with ANY project using ePayments. To do so: 
   1. Click Projects at the top of the page and select a project.
   2. The message below will be displayed on projects where ePayments are enabled and no bank account has been assigned. Click + Choose Account to select an established account. 
      
3. Select an account that has previously been established or create a new account by clicking + Create Account. Click OKAY after you select an account. 

Subcontractor Set up & Requirements

Setting up Bank Account

When ePayments are enabled on a project, subcontractors will be prompted to enter a new bank account or select an existing bank account to receive payments. 

1. From the Project Overview screen, click + Choose Account . 
2. Follow the prompts to setup a bank account and digitally sign the agreements provided. 

Submitting an AFP and Payment Exchange Waiver

Subcontractors will submit payment applications as they always have but will be prompted to sign an unconditional payment exchange waiver at the time of pay app submission (if Payment Exchange Waivers are enabled). GCPay will lock the waiver with a watermark until payment is received, at which time the watermark will be removed. 

EPAYMENTS TAB 

Payments are made from the ePayments tab in the project level menu. The ePayments screen contains a submenu with three options: 

Payable 

This table contains all approved and unpaid payment applications for the project. This is where general contractors will create payment batches. 

Queued 

This table contains payment applications that have been queued for disbursement. 

History 

This table contains a history of all payment activity. Including the status of current payments. 

Making Payments

Authorizing Payments

1. Select ePayments from the project level menu. 
2. Select Payable from the submenu on the left. 
3. Select payment applications to be paid. 
4. Determine the amount to be paid. The default amount is 100% of the approved payment application, but adjustments can be made to account for payments made outside of the system: 
   1. PARTIAL PAYMENTS – Manually adjust the value in the Amount or Percent column to change the payment amount. The remaining balance of a partially paid payment application will remain in the Payable table and can be paid at any time.  
   2. JOINT CHECKS – If a joint check must be cut for a portion of an approved payment application, enter the value of the joint check(s) in the Joint Check column to reduce the payment to the subcontractor via ACH. 
   3. MANUAL PAYMENTS – You can account for any payments made outside of the GCPay system by right-clicking the payment application and selecting Manual Payment. Manual payment activity is tracked in the History tab. 
   4. IGNORING PAYMENT APPLICATIONS – If you are not paying a particular invoice via ACH, right click on the invoice and select Ignored. 

1. Once all payment applications have been selected for payment, you can queue the payments to be batched by the Treasury Officer or Submit the Batch for Payment.
   1. Note: Once a batch has been submitted, you have until 11:59pm EST that day to retract any payments from the batch. Once the status of the payment has moved to SUBMITTED, that payment will be authorized and sent to the subcontractor. 
2. The pop-up window will summarize the bank account used for funding, the total amount authorized to be paid, the number of payment applications authorized and the any associated fees. Click Create to confirm and submit the batch for payment. 

Understanding Payment Statuses

Authorized payment batches are aggregated and sent to FastPay overnight and, depending on the funding method utilized, funds are moved from the general contractors account to FastPay which then disperses as individual payments. When a payment application is paid in full, the watermark is removed from the associated waiver. Payments move through some or all of the following statuses, which can be seen in the History table. 

1. PENDING - This item will be sent to FastPay for processing the Next Business Day. 
2. SUBMITTED - This item has been sent to FastPay to be processed. 
3. PAYING - FastPay is releasing payment to the Payee. 
4. PAYMENT_ERROR - FastPay attempted to deposit the funds to the Payee account and 

Credit Failed. 

Understanding Payment Timelines

The timing of when subcontractors receive payment is dependent on which funding option is selected for payment. Holidays and weekends will also need to be considered when determining payment timelines.

First time payments to subcontractors will show a Paying status and the Payment Exchange waiver will remain locked for 4 business days after the funds have been received by the subcontractor. We provide a buffer to unlock waivers on first payment to ensure the payment was deposited into the correct bank account.

ePayment Reporting Options

GCPay offers several reporting options to manage your ePayment transactions.

1. PAYMENT FUNDING REPORT– This Company level report will be emailed to the GCPay Admin and Treasury Officer the morning after a batch is created. This will include a list of all pay applications included in the batch as well as the net payment amount that will be deducted from your bank.
   1. Companies using the Standard Wire funding option will also receive wire instructions and will need to wire the net amount listed on the Payment Funding Report in order to begin the payment process.
2. QUEUED PAYMENTS REPORT – This Company and Project level report will provide details on any outstanding payments in the queue ready to be submitted for payment.