AI Contract & Payment Intelligence Built for NZ Construction
Every dispute started with a clause someone didn't read.Every late payment started with a deadline someone missed.
ContractGuard is the AI-powered platform built for NZ subcontractors. Upload your subcontract, get a risk report benchmarked against NZS3910 and the CCA 2002 in under 2 minutes — then generate compliant payment claims, track retentions, and manage your contracts through to final account.
Protecting NZ Subcontractors' Margins
Built by NZ construction & legal professionals
NZS3910 · NZS3915 · NZS3916 SA2017 · SA2023 · SA2025 Construction Contracts Act 2002How It Works
The NZ Contract Intelligence System
Other AI reads documents. ContractGuard protects NZ construction projects.
AI Contract Review
Surface the Risk
Generic AI reads your contract as text. ContractGuard reads it as a NZ subcontractor would — checking every clause against NZS3910, SA2017, SA2025, and the CCA 2002. Every risk traced to the exact clause. Every recommendation quantified in dollars.
Explore Contract Review →Payment Claims & Compliance
Act On It
CCA-compliant payment claims generated in clicks. Retention tracked against the NZ sliding scale. Deadlines monitored so you never miss a 20-working-day payment schedule. From upload to payment — one system.
Explore Payment Tools →Lawyer Portal
Get Expert Sign-Off
Share your analysis with your lawyer through a secure portal. Per-clause annotations, structured review notes, and time-limited document access. Professional legal review at a fraction of the traditional cost.
Explore Lawyer Review →Driven by three principles NZ construction can't compromise on:
Cited
Every flagged risk traced to a specific clause, schedule, or CCA provision. If we can't cite it, we don't flag it.
Quantified
Risk isn't just "high" or "low." We calculate the dollar exposure — LD caps, retention held, payment at risk — so you negotiate with numbers, not feelings.
NZ-Native
Not a US tool with NZ bolted on. Built from the ground up for NZS3910, SA2017, SA2025, and the CCA 2002. We speak subbie.
Review
Know What You're Signing
Upload your subcontract and head contract. Get a risk report in under 2 minutes with clause-level citations, dollar-quantified recommendations, and a prioritised action plan.
- 28+ clauses checked against NZ standards
- Risk score with dollar-quantified exposure
- Three report depths: Summary → Full → Lawyer
- Head contract flow-down analysis
- Ready-to-send amendment emails
Claim
Get Paid What You're Owed
Generate CCA-compliant payment claims with proper Form 1 notices. Track retentions against the NZ sliding scale. Never miss a 20-working-day deadline again.
- CCA-compliant progressive payment claims
- Form 1 payment notices generated automatically
- Retention tracked against NZ sliding scale
- 20-working-day deadline monitoring
- Short payment detection with CCA dispute tools
Protect
Build Your Defence Before You Need It
AI negotiation coaching gives you contractor-friendly amendments ready to send. Share reports with your lawyer for expert sign-off. Portfolio-level alerts surface patterns across all your contracts.
- AI negotiation coach with clause-specific strategy
- Lawyer review portal with per-clause annotations
- Cross-contract pattern detection
- Issue tracking through to resolution
- What-If scenario modelling
Recommended Action
Request deletion of clause 14.3 entirely. Pay-when-paid clauses are prohibited under CCA 2002 s.13.
Suggested Wording
"Payment shall be due within 20 working days of a valid payment claim, regardless of whether the Head Contractor has received corresponding payment."
💡 Tip: Frame as CCA compliance, not a negotiation demand. Head contractors can't argue with the law.
Built for Every Stage
From first read-through to final account
Contract Review
Before You Sign
"We built ContractGuard because we were tired of seeing subbies get burned by unfair contracts. A plumber shouldn't need to spend $1,000 on a lawyer to understand what they're signing. Now they don't have to."
The ContractGuard Team
Built by NZ construction and legal professionals
Why ContractGuard
Not just another ChatGPT wrapper
NZ-Specific Standards Library
NZS3910, SA2017, SA2025, CCA 2002 baked into the analysis engine — not a generic AI with a NZ prompt.
Review + Claims in One System
No other tool combines AI contract intelligence with CCA-compliant payment execution. One platform, full lifecycle.
Cross-Contract Pattern Detection
Portfolio-level risk alerts (e.g., "Uncapped LD Exposure" across your contracts) that single-contract tools don't offer.
Lawyer Review Built In
Not a separate tool or a referral — a secure portal where your lawyer annotates the same analysis you see.
Dollar-Quantified Risk
Every risk comes with a number: LD caps, retention held, payment at risk. You negotiate with facts, not adjectives.
Spreadsheets → Single Source
Stop managing contracts, claims, and retentions across 6 spreadsheets. Everything in one place.
Who It's For
Built for the people doing the work
Sole Traders
You sign contracts because you need the work. ContractGuard makes sure the terms won't send you broke.
Plumbers, electricians, painters, roofers
Small Trade Businesses
3-10 staff, juggling multiple contracts, and no QS on the payroll. ContractGuard is your QS.
HVAC firms, concrete crews, steel fabricators
Growing Companies
Team access, lawyer portal, cross-contract intelligence. Built to scale with you.
Multi-trade firms, project management companies
Head Contractors
Retention trust compliance, payment schedule management, and subcontract review from the other side of the table.
Main contractors, developers, principals
Pricing
Less than a plumber's hourly rate
Professional contract review at a fraction of legal fees. No hidden costs.
FAQ
Straight answers
The questions we get from subbies every week.