Construction AP is more than entering bills. One supplier invoice might split across three jobs. A sub's pay app has to match the subcontract, hold the right retainage and come with a lien waiver before anyone cuts a check. And the PMs who need to approve it are usually out on a jobsite.
Much of the work is comparing one list to another and chasing whatever doesn't line up. AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot are good at that kind of comparison, as long as you tell them exactly what to compare and what to flag.
We wrote the 10 prompts below for construction AP teams. Paste one into your company's approved AI tool, fill in the [brackets], and add your data.
A few ground rules:
Compare this invoice to the PO or subcontract terms below. Flag every difference in quantities, unit prices, line totals, tax, retainage, and payment terms. Return a table with: line, invoice value, PO or contract value, and difference. Don't approve anything. If a line on the invoice has no match in the PO, list it separately. Invoice: [paste] PO or subcontract terms: [paste]
Here is a list of invoices with vendor, invoice number, invoice date, and amount: [paste]. Find possible duplicates, including: - Same vendor and same amount within [30] days - Invoice numbers that differ only by a dash, space, leading zero, or one character - Same amount and date from vendor names that look alike Return a table with the invoices in each possible duplicate set and the reason you flagged them.
Here is our payment list for [job] (vendor, pay app number, amount, date paid) and our lien waiver log (vendor, pay app number, waiver type, amount, date received): [paste both]. Match each payment to its waiver. Flag: - Payments with no waiver - Conditional waivers with no unconditional waiver after payment cleared - Waiver amounts that don't match the payment Return a table sorted by vendor.
Write a short, polite email to a subcontractor asking for [missing item: signed conditional lien waiver for pay app #__ / current certificate of insurance / updated W-9] before we can release payment of $[amount] on [job]. Say what we need, why we need it, and the deadline of [date]. Keep it under 120 words.
Suggest a job, cost code, and cost type for each invoice line below. Use only the codes from this list: [paste codes and descriptions]. Invoice lines: [paste descriptions and amounts]. If you're not sure about a line, write "needs review" and say why. Don't make up codes. Return a table.
Reconcile this vendor statement to our AP aging for [vendor]: [paste both]. List: invoices on their statement that aren't in our records, invoices in our records that aren't on their statement, amount differences, and payments they haven't applied. Then draft a short email to the vendor asking about each difference.
Here are our subcontractor pay apps with sub, job, billed to date, retainage percent, retainage held, and retainage released: [paste]. Build a table of retainage held by sub and by job, with totals. Then flag any job where the sub has billed more than [X]% of their contract and retainage hasn't been reduced, if our contracts allow a reduction at that point. If the data doesn't show contract value, ask me for it.
Write a short reminder to project managers who have invoices waiting for their approval. There are [number] invoices totaling $[amount], the oldest is from [date], and the cutoff for this week's check run is [day and time]. Friendly and direct. Under 80 words.
Write a step-by-step AP process for a [size] contractor that uses [ERP]. Start when an invoice or receipt arrives and end when it's paid. Include: PM approval, job and cost code coding, PO or subcontract matching, lien waivers, certificates of insurance, retainage, and entry into the ERP. Use numbered steps and name the role that owns each step. Leave [brackets] for anything specific to our company.
Here is our AP aging and this week's proposed check run: [paste]. Summarize in five bullets: total due this week, total due in the next two weeks, the three jobs with the most due, invoices past terms, and any early-pay discounts we'd miss if we wait. Then add a table of the check run by job.
Every prompt above needs someone to export, clean and paste data. General AI tools can't see your invoices, POs or ERP.
That's where AP software built for construction helps. In AP Payments, invoices are coded to the GL accounts, jobs, cost codes and POs that sync from your ERP. They move through approval paths you set up, and your AP Manager gives the final approval before an invoice goes to accounting.
AI can help you match payments to lien waivers and flag missing or mismatched waivers when you give it both lists. It can't tell you whether a waiver is legally valid in your state. Have your team or counsel review the waiver forms.
With care. Leave out bank account numbers and tax IDs. Use your company's approved tool and business plan, not a personal account. Vendor names, invoice numbers and amounts are usually all the AI needs.
Pick the two or three prompts that match your biggest weekly headaches and save them where your team can find them. For more on the full AP process, get the Contractor's Guide to Accounts Payable and Expense Management.