Commercial Builders Back-Office Services
Back-office services for commercial builders. Building Award payroll, industry-specific bookkeeping, BAS and compliance.
Applicable Award
Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020
For Commercial Builders, the entire back-office — Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020-compliant payroll, BAS, bookkeeping, managed IT and Essential Eight cybersecurity — can run through one accountable Valont team, from $3,500–$7,000/month fixed-fee. You need back-office support from people who know your industry — the revenue models, the compliance landscape, the operational realities. Valont provides integrated finance, people, and technology operations built for construction businesses like yours.
The Applicable Modern Award
Commercial Builders employees are typically covered by the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020.
Classification structure: Building Worker Level 1–8, Site Supervisor, OH&S representative. EBA rates may supersede award.
Ordinary hours: 36 hours/week. Site-specific arrangements may apply under enterprise agreements.
Penalty rates: Building Award penalties plus any EBA-specific provisions. Many commercial sites operate under enterprise agreements with different rates.
Key allowances: Tool allowance, industry allowance, travel, site allowances specific to project, multi-storey allowance, tower allowance, underground allowance.
Getting award interpretation wrong creates systematic underpayment that compounds with every pay period. Our payroll specialists configure award-specific software to calculate every classification, penalty, and allowance correctly — and conduct quarterly audits to ensure ongoing compliance.
Sources: pay and award rules — Fair Work Ombudsman and the Fair Work Commission; superannuation, BAS and tax — the Australian Taxation Office.
Back-Office Challenges for Commercial Builders
For Commercial Builders, the back-office complexity a generic provider isn't built for begins with enterprise agreement (EBA) payroll — then runs through the operational realities below:
- Enterprise agreement (EBA) payroll — many commercial sites require EBA rates which differ from award rates and vary by project
- Multi-project financial management — tracking costs, revenue, and profitability across concurrent projects of different scale
- Head contractor vs subcontractor arrangements with complex contractual payment terms (45–60 day payment cycles)
- Security of Payment legislation — managing adjudication processes and payment schedules under state security of payment acts
- Bank guarantee and bond management for contract security
- Contractual claims management — delay damages, liquidated damages, and extension of time financial impact
- WHS compliance documentation at scale across multiple active sites
- Real-time cost-to-complete reporting for project stakeholders
Industry Compliance
State building authority licensing, security of payment legislation compliance, construction industry redundancy fund (CIRT/Incolink), WHS principal contractor obligations, and environmental management plan compliance.
We maintain a compliance calendar that covers both your general business obligations (BAS, STP, super, payroll tax, workers compensation) and your industry-specific requirements, ensuring nothing falls through the gap between your financial compliance and your operational compliance.
How Valont Supports Commercial Builders
Finance Hub
Multi-project financial reporting with cost-to-complete forecasting. EBA payroll processing. Security of payment compliance management. Bond and guarantee tracking. CIRT/Incolink fund management. Real-time project reporting for stakeholders.
People Hub
Building Award-compliant payroll processing through KeyPay or Employment Hero with automated award interpretation. STP reporting with every pay run. Superannuation calculation and initiation on schedule. Ongoing payroll compliance audits. HR advisory covering employment contracts, workplace policies, onboarding, and termination processes specific to the construction sector.
Operations Hub
Managed IT support with proactive monitoring and helpdesk. Essential Eight cybersecurity implementation. Cloud platform management (Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace). Integration management between your industry-specific systems and accounting/payroll platforms.
Pricing
For a commercial builder with 20–50 employees: Finance + People Hub $3,500–$7,000/month. This replaces the combined cost of a separate bookkeeper, payroll provider, and the owner's time spent on admin — typically 10 to 15 hours per week for a business of this size.
Fixed-fee, month-to-month, no lock-in. We retain clients through service quality, not contractual obligation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you specialise in commercial builders?
Yes. Our team has direct experience with the Building Award and the specific operational, financial, and compliance requirements of commercial builders. We configure our services around your industry's reality rather than forcing you into a generic template.
Which award applies to Commercial Builders?
Most commercial builders employees are covered by the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020. Building Worker Level 1–8, Site Supervisor, OH&S representative. EBA rates may supersede award. We determine the correct award and classification for each employee during onboarding and configure payroll accordingly.
Can you integrate with our existing systems?
Yes. We integrate with the industry-specific platforms that commercial builders use. The Operations Hub manages all integrations — configuration during onboarding, continuous monitoring, and issue resolution.
What if our current books are a mess?
Most commercial builders come to us with some level of backlog or disorganisation. We bring your books current during onboarding at no additional cost and establish the systems and processes that keep them current going forward.
Built for Commercial Builders, Not Adapted From Generic Templates
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Integrated back-office for Commercial Builders businesses.
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