Sage Intacct Expands Construction Billing and Retainage Management Capabilities

Sage is expanding the construction-focused capabilities of its cloud financial management platform, Sage Intacct, with new billing and retainage management features designed to help construction companies simplify complex financial operations. Announced as part of its August 2026 product update, the enhancements aim to reduce manual calculations, improve invoice accuracy, and provide better control over project-related cash flow.

Construction businesses frequently manage multiple contracts, subcontractors, project expenses, payment schedules, and customer invoices. Tracking withheld payments and calculating retainage across different project stages can create additional administrative work for finance teams. Sage Intacct’s latest improvements address these challenges through automated retainage calculations and more flexible contract billing workflows.

More Flexible Construction Billing Workflows

One of the key areas of improvement is construction contract billing. Sage Intacct is introducing enhanced capabilities to help businesses manage different billing arrangements and project-specific financial requirements.

Construction contracts often include milestone-based payments, progress billing, changing project expenses, and different invoicing schedules. Managing these requirements through manual processes can increase the risk of errors and delay payment cycles.

The enhanced billing capabilities are designed to provide finance teams with greater flexibility and control when generating and reviewing project invoices.

Key improvements include:

Flexible Contract Billing: Supports more complex billing requirements across construction projects.
On-Demand Invoice Generation: Allows finance teams to generate invoices when required.
Draft Invoice Reviews: Helps users review billing information before finalising invoices.
Improved Billing Accuracy: Supports more consistent invoice preparation and reduces avoidable corrections.
Better Financial Oversight: Helps businesses maintain visibility into project billing activities and outstanding amounts.

The construction billing enhancements were introduced through an Early Adopter programme in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.

Automated Retainage Management Reduces Manual Work

A major part of the update is the enhancement of retainage management. In construction projects, retainage refers to a portion of the contract payment withheld until specific contractual conditions are fulfilled, such as project completion, inspection approval, or correction of outstanding issues.

Managing retainage manually can create challenges for finance teams, particularly when dealing with multiple contractors, invoices, and project milestones.

Sage Intacct introduces automated retainage calculations and greater flexibility across contract billing workflows.

Important capabilities include:

Automated Retainage Calculations: Calculates withheld amounts based on configured contract requirements.
Flexible Retainage Rules: Supports different retainage arrangements across project billing workflows.
Improved Payment Tracking: Helps finance teams monitor withheld amounts and outstanding balances.
Greater Calculation Accuracy: Reduces manual calculations and the risk of financial reporting errors.
Better Cash Flow Visibility: Helps businesses understand how much money is being withheld and when it may become eligible for release.

These improvements are intended to simplify retainage administration while providing construction companies with more consistent financial records.

Better Financial Visibility Across Construction Projects

Construction companies need accurate financial information to monitor project profitability, manage expenses, and maintain healthy cash flow. Delayed invoices, incorrect retainage calculations, and incomplete payment records can affect project financial performance.

Sage Intacct’s enhanced billing and retainage capabilities help finance teams gain better visibility into project-level financial activities.

With improved billing workflows, organisations can review invoices before finalisation, monitor withheld payments, and manage contractual financial obligations more efficiently.

The platform’s construction accounting capabilities also support:

Project cost tracking throughout the project lifecycle.
Work-in-progress (WIP) reporting.
Contract and subcontract management.
Project billing and invoicing.
Retainage tracking and payment management.
Project profitability and financial reporting.

By connecting these activities within a financial management platform, Sage Intacct aims to help businesses reduce administrative complexity and improve financial control.

Availability of New Sage Intacct Construction Features

Sage announced the construction billing and retainage enhancements as part of its August 2026 product update.

The availability differs depending on the functionality:

Construction Retainage Enhancements: Generally available.
Construction Billing Enhancements: Available through an Early Adopter programme in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.

Sage has also documented additional advanced retainage capabilities in its 2026 R3 release. These include configurable retainage rules, multiple calculation methods, and calculation previews before invoices are posted. Regional availability and subscription requirements apply.

What the Enhancements Mean for Construction Businesses

Sage Intacct’s latest construction-focused improvements highlight the growing importance of industry-specific financial management solutions. Construction companies need more than basic accounting software to manage complex contracts, project expenses, subcontractor payments, and retainage requirements.

By automating calculations and providing more flexible billing workflows, Sage Intacct aims to help finance teams reduce repetitive administrative tasks and improve financial accuracy.

The enhancements can also support better communication between project managers, contractors, and finance departments by providing more consistent information about invoices, payments, and outstanding contractual amounts.

Overall, Sage Intacct’s expanded construction billing and retainage management capabilities represent another step towards more automated construction financial management. As project complexity increases, these tools can help businesses improve billing efficiency, strengthen financial oversight, and maintain better control over project cash flow.