The Construction Act changed. Most construction software didn’t.
Holdback release on a schedule, invoices that have to carry specific detail, and clearance certificates moving through the payment chain. Here’s a plain-language summary of what changed, and precisely what Tenvia Build does, and does not do, about it.
Three changes that touch how you invoice.
Summarised in plain language, deliberately without section numbers or field counts, because those are exactly the details that go stale, and your own counsel is who should give them to you.
Holdback release became mandatory
Releasing holdback on schedule is no longer a matter of discretion or habit. It has to happen, and it has to be tracked contract by contract rather than reconstructed at the end of the job.
Invoices carry required detail
A payment claim has to include specified information before the statutory payment clock starts running against it. An invoice missing that detail can leave you waiting without the protection you assumed you had.
Clearances sit in the payment chain
WSIB clearance certificates and statutory declarations sit between the work and the money. A lapsed certificate stops being an administrative annoyance and starts being a payment problem.
This is a plain-language summary of legislation, not a statement of your obligations. The Act and its regulations are the authority, and your own lawyer is who should tell you how they apply to your contracts.
Why your software probably ignores all three.
Nearly every product in this price range is built for the American market, where none of this exists. One long-standing complaint about the biggest residential platform is that it handles Canadian tax badly, and holdback isn’t even on the table. The products that do automate holdback and its release are Canadian ERPs: capable, and priced per user at a level that assumes you have a controller and an implementation budget.
| Where you’d look | Holdback withheld and released | Clearance tracking | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| US-built SMB platforms | A retainage field, at best | None | $100–$900 / mo |
| Canadian construction ERPs | Yes, automated | Partial | ~$249 / user / mo |
| A spreadsheet beside your accounting | Whatever you remember | A folder | n/a |
| Tenvia Build | On the invoice, both kinds | Per vendor, with expiry | from $95 / mo |
Third-party pricing is published or reviewer-reported as of September 2026 and changes without notice, so confirm with each vendor. Categories are described generally; our named comparisons carry their own sourcing per product.
Shipped today, not planned.
Everything below is in the product now. Where something is on the roadmap rather than built, we say so on the features page, and none of it is on this list.
On the billing side
- Both holdback kinds withheld on the invoice itself, not tracked beside it in a spreadsheet
- Closing-documents holdback released on its own trigger, separately from the basic holdback
- Schedule-of-values billing, percent claimed per line
- Branded invoice PDFs carrying the contract and claim detail
- Per-line tax rates, inclusive or exclusive
On the compliance side
- WSIB clearances, insurance certificates, and trade licences held per vendor
- Expiry dates that warn before they lapse, then flag red
- Reminders sent to the vendor as expiry approaches, so chasing isn’t your job
- Accept or reject review on every document submitted
- Every change order signed and dated on the record, individually
What this page is not
This is not legal advice, and using Tenvia Build does not make your business compliant with the Construction Act.
The software helps you withhold and release holdback, produce invoices with the detail on them, and keep clearance documents current. You and your advisers remain responsible for meeting your obligations. We don’t file anything on your behalf, and we don’t replace your lawyer or your accountant.
If the Act applies to your contracts, talk to your own counsel about what it requires of you.
Last reviewed: September 2026. If something here has gone out of date, tell us and we’ll correct it.
See a holdback invoice built in ninety seconds.
Book a demo and we’ll do it on your own numbers: both holdback kinds, on a real schedule of values.