How It Works
Designers, general contractors, subcontractors and material suppliers on a project receive an online “lock box” based on their contract amount. When, for example, a subcontractor wants to be paid on a project, there are three steps that need to be completed:
- The subcontractor logs in online and selects “apply” against its lock box.
- The general contractor receives notification and reviews and approves the subcontractor’s application.
- The owner then reviews the application and selects the “disburse” command on the online account.
With all three “keys” inserted and turned, the lockbox “opens” and Three Lock Box pays the funds electronically into the subcontractor’s bank account.
The Three Lock Box Origin Story
Three Lock Box LLC is an innovative construction control and disbursement company that uses proprietary “collaborative escrow” software to solve many of the payment challenges that arise on construction projects. The company’s name derives from the Spanish three-lock box which was used during the 1500s to protect treasure shipped from the New World. The box required three keys to open it—one was held by the Spanish monarch while the governor of the colony kept the second key and the third key belonged to the ship’s captain. All three had a stake in the treasure and only the three keys used together could open the box—a 500-year old illustration of modern escrow.
Construction attorney Noah Allison created Three Lock Box in 2014. Allison has handled some of the largest construction payment disputes in Las Vegas over the past 25 years, and he designed Three Lock Box in response to his experiences litigating these disputes. With more than 400 online users and companies from every level of construction—and growing—Three Lock Box leads the field of construction control and disbursement in the 21st century.
