Crossland Construction Streamlines Multi-State Lien Waivers with Docusign and Microsoft

The construction industry has traditionally lagged in digitization, but there are signs the tides are changing. A recent benchmark report by Procore and Censuswide reveals that 27% of owners now identify as digital-first businesses, with 44% actively embracing digital workflows.

Many are going digital to improve efficiency and streamline common legal agreements. For example, Crossland Construction designed a cost-effective way to manage lien waiver processes using Docusign Document Generation for Power Automate.

The top 100 contractor faced a significant challenge when Texas, its second-largest market, changed its lien laws. 

Before, the company used a single, blanket form that was legal across all states of operation. The new law required separate unconditional waivers for progress and final subcontractor payments, creating significant administrative challenges.

By automating multi-state lien waiver generation and tracking with Docusign and Microsoft, Crossland improved completion rates and saved $40,000 annually on postage costs in Texas alone.

Here’s a brief rundown of the process:

• First, Power BI performs biweekly scans of every subcontractor payment and determines whether or not it’s a Texas-related project. 

  • If no, a blanket release form is generated. 

  • If yes, the solution distinguishes between partial and final payments based on Crossland’s accounting data. (For example, a zero-dollar balance signifies a final payment).

• From there, Power Automate triggers the right template to be generated (in Docusign) and sent to subcontractors for e-signature.

• Once signed, they’re automatically stored in Crossland’s document management system.

This streamlined approach vastly improved operational efficiency while empowering Crossland to respond to new laws and regulations on the fly. 

“That’s the beauty of this whole thing,” said Collin Crossland, who designed the automated solution. “We can take what we learned and apply it to new ideas, new processes and new problems.”

What advice would Collin give to others considering a similar initiative?

1. Build around people's behavior. Create solutions that seamlessly fit into how people work without forcing them to change their habits.

2. Use existing resources. Often, many of the pieces are already there. You just have to be willing to try new things. We looked at everything Docusign had to offer: every download, every assist, and every integration add-in to see how it could fit into our process. 

3. Map out the process. Begin by identifying the problem and clearly defining your goals. We drew a roadmap outlining every step, including when we need key decisions to happen.

Read Crossland Construction’s full Docusign success story.