How general contractors collect lien waivers before paying subcontractors

In California, the licensing board tells owners they are “ultimately responsible for payment — even if they already have paid the direct contractor.” Owners and lenders pass that risk down by requiring waivers from the general contractor, and the GC can only provide them if it has its subs' waivers in hand. The control that works is simple to state: no waiver, no payment.

1. Set the rule: which subcontract payments require a waiver (for example, every payment on jobs above a contract value).
2. When an invoice or pay application is approved for payment, create a waiver requirement for that specific payment: supplier, job, amount and through date.
3. Request the conditional progress waiver from the subcontractor, on the correct state form.
4. Hold the payment until the waiver is received and checked against the payment.
5. Chase overdue waivers on a fixed cadence, and escalate when reminders go unanswered.
6. If a payment must go out without a waiver, require an authorized approver and a written reason, and record both.
7. After payment clears, collect the unconditional waiver for that payment, and final waivers at closeout.

Two details matter most. First, check the waiver against the payment, not just the subcontractor: the amount, the through date and the type must all match. See conditional vs unconditional lien waivers. Second, use the right form for the project's state; see lien waiver forms by state. In Texas, for example, you may not require an unconditional waiver until the sub has actually been paid (Tex. Prop. Code §53.283).

• Your rule, your scope. Turn on “require lien waivers for payment” in settings, and optionally limit it to contracts above a minimum value or to certain project types.
• A requirement per payment. When a payment is started from Aequo, Aequo creates a conditional progress waiver requirement for that job, supplier and invoice, for the net amount payable after retainage, through the invoice date.
• A real hold. The payment is blocked until a verified conditional waiver covering that amount and through date is on file. A received-but-unverified waiver does not release it.
• Verify or reject. A reviewer checks the waiver against a short checklist (right waiver type, amount and through date match, signed) and verifies it, which clears the linked hold. Or they reject it with a reason, and the subcontractor gets that reason by email with a new deadline. Reviewers whose email matches the subcontractor’s contacts cannot verify, and who verified and when is recorded.
• Documented overrides. Only users with approval permission can override a hold, and they must give a written reason. The approver and time are recorded on the requirement.
• Reminders and escalation. Overdue waiver requests get an email reminder at most once a day, with a link to the portal. When a requirement escalates, the subcontractor gets an overdue notice and the requester and workspace owners and admins get an email, plus Slack if you have it connected.
• Unconditional waiver after payment. When an invoice that was paid against a conditional waiver is fully paid, whether marked paid in Aequo Build or paid in QuickBooks Online, Aequo requests the matching unconditional waiver automatically. It is on by default and can be turned off in settings.
• All four waiver types. You can request conditional and unconditional, progress and final waivers from a subcontractor by email, and the subcontractor signs them off or uploads a signed copy in the Aequo Build subcontractor portal. An upload is matched to the open request it answers.
• Visibility. A payment-holds panel lists blocked payments, and the dashboard shows missing waivers and a waiver compliance percentage per job. If enforcement is on, pay application approval also checks waivers for suppliers on the job.

Aequo Build connects to QuickBooks Online. It costs $599/month.

Take the five-question lien-waiver risk assessment to find your weakest control, read the lien waiver guide and the final waiver guide for closeout, or explore the construction AP knowledge centre.