Automate Subcontractor Coordination with Custom AI

Many construction firms use Procore or Autodesk Construction Cloud as a system of record. While excellent for project documentation, these platforms lack intelligent automation for incoming documents. A project manager receiving ten bids for a drywall package must still open each PDF, manually find the line items, and key them into a comparison spreadsheet. The platforms store the final data but do not automate the tedious, error-prone work of getting it there.

On the accounting side, software like QuickBooks can process payments but lacks project context. An invoice from a subcontractor is just another bill. The software cannot automatically verify if the invoiced amount matches the signed contract, if the sub's Certificate of Insurance (COI) is valid, or if the corresponding work milestone was marked complete in Procore. This verification falls to a project manager, who spends hours cross-referencing emails, shared folders, and multiple software systems.

Consider this common scenario: a PM for a 25-person general contractor needs to award a plumbing package. They email five subs for quotes. The replies are PDFs, each with a different layout. The PM spends 90 minutes creating a bid leveling sheet in Excel. They choose a sub, but two weeks later accounting flags an expired COI, halting the first payment. The PM then has to stop their work, chase down the sub for new paperwork, and manually update the records. This is not project management; it is administrative firefighting.

The structural issue is that project management and accounting platforms are built as databases with user interfaces, not as programmable workflow engines. Their architecture is designed for human data entry, not for ingesting unstructured data from documents and executing cross-system business logic. They cannot act as an intelligent agent to automate the critical coordination tasks that consume a project manager's day.

The first step is a process audit. Syntora would map your entire subcontractor lifecycle, from bid invitation to final payment. We review your current tools (Procore, QuickBooks), document storage (SharePoint, Google Drive), and communication channels (email). You would receive a scope document that outlines the exact workflow to be automated, the specific integration points, and a complete data-flow diagram.

The core of the system would be a Python service using the Claude API for document intelligence. When a bid PDF arrives in a designated inbox, an AWS Lambda function triggers the service. The Claude API extracts key data like line items, pricing, and exclusions into a structured JSON format, which is then stored in a Supabase database. This structured data is exposed via a FastAPI endpoint, allowing your project management tool to display a normalized, real-time bid comparison table automatically. Pydantic models enforce data consistency for every document processed.

The delivered system connects your email, document storage, and project management software into a single, automated workflow. A new bid email automatically populates a comparison dashboard. The system flags non-compliant bids or expiring insurance documents 30 days in advance. It can also connect to your accounting system to pre-fill payment runs based on approved invoices and completed work milestones. You receive the full source code, a runbook for maintenance, and a system that runs on your own cloud infrastructure.