What is a project management consultant (PMC), and what does a PMC do with contractor bills?
A project management consultant (PMC) is a firm a client appoints to manage a project on its behalf, and where the client gives it that role, the PMC checks the contractor's RA bills and recommends or certifies them before the client pays.
Also called PMC, project management consultancy.
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Project management consultant in plain words
A PMC's billing work can cover checking measurements against drawings and the measurement book, rates against the contract, and deductions and statutory compliance, such as labour dues, before recommending a bill. What the PMC may certify, and what still needs the client's own sign-off, is set by the PMC's appointment and the contractor's contract.
Why does project management consultant matter?
A bill waiting with the PMC is a wait before the invoice, so a DSO measured from the invoice date does not show it. Where the PMC is a step in the approval chain, its queue is part of the certification lag.
Where does project management consultant mislead?
The PMC acts for the client, not for the contractor, and its powers differ by appointment. A PMC recommendation is not always the client's certification, so check your contract for which signature releases payment.
What do people get wrong about project management consultant?
- Counting the PMC and the client as one step
- Where a bill passes the PMC and then the client's own engineer, measuring both as one wait hides which desk is holding it.