Why subcontracting, fractional teams, and modern agencies need a new financial workflow
Intro
Work has changed faster than finance. Across construction, professional services, agencies, and startups, work is increasingly organised around projects. Teams assemble, deliver, and disband. Contributors include subcontractors, freelancers, fractional specialists, suppliers, vendors, and micro-agencies.
Just over 61% of SMEs in the UK/EU now engage distributed or external project teams.
Agencies in services, design, and marketing report ~60% of delivery now handled by external vendors.
67% of agencies use 3+ platforms to manage international payouts.
80% still use fragmented tools to manage domestic & cross-border payouts for flexible teams.
Evidently and unfortunately, most finance tools were not built for this reality. We’ve specifically built petl pay to solve that gap.
What problem does petl pay solves?
Traditional finance tools assume:
- One company
- One payroll
- One bank account
- One monthly cycle
Project-based work does not look like that. Modern teams need to:
- Log and approve billable work across contributors quickly
- Turn that work into invoices automatically
- Send one clean client invoice
- Allocate payments across multiple contributors, often across currencies or borders
- Settle funds, both locally or across borders, quickly, compliantly, and affordably
- Track everything at the project level
petl pay connects work, invoicing, payments, and payouts into one project-first workflow.
Who petl pay is built for
petl pay is designed for teams that operate through projects, not payroll.
Core users
- Agencies and professional services firms
- Construction and trade-based teams
- Startups working with contractors and fractional specialists
- Freelancers and micro-agencies collaborating on shared projects
Common scenarios
- One client payment funding many contributors
- Cross-border payments from or into the US, South Africa, the UK, Europe, or LATAM
- Fractional teams working across agencies
- Subcontractors paid per milestone or time logged
- Agencies needing a fast, efficient solution to onboard, manage, create and pay contributor invoices across freelancers, other agencies, or clients. Within a matter of seconds, project-managers can bundle time-logged, bills, and pay invoices instantly through various stablecoin and fiat mechanisms directly in-platform.
How petl pay actually works in practice
1. Work logged becomes billable
Contributors are onboarded quickly, and can immediately log time or work against a project. No manual invoice creation required.
2. Invoices are generated automatically
petl drafts contributor invoices and a master client invoice from approved work.
3. Clients pay once
The client pays a single invoice, even when many contributors are involved.
4. Payments are allocated and settled
Funds are allocated per project and contributor. Settlement can use available routes including bank transfers and stablecoin wallets, depending on corridor and configuration.
Everything stays linked to the project for visibility and reconciliation.
How petl pay is different from traditional tools
petl pay vs invoicing software
- Invoicing tools stop at “invoice sent”.
- petl pay continues through payment, allocation, and settlement, with embedded stablecoin and fiat payment links.
petl pay vs banks
- Banks move money from A to B.
- petl pay manages the workflow that determines who should be paid, when, and why. With upcoming integrations, you’ll be able to use petl with whatever existing European, UK, or South African bank account you already use. Should you also wish to leveraging the platform’s built-in stablecoin wallets for instant, free transfers to contributors, you can.
petl pay vs payroll
- Payroll is for employees. petl pay is built for contractors, subcontractors, freelancers, vendors, and fractional teams.
Quick comparison
Traditional tools
- Invoice creation and payments live in separate systems
- One beneficiary per payment
- Manual reconciliation across tools
- Limited visibility at the project level
petl pay
- Work, invoicing, payments, and payouts in one workflow
- One client invoice, many contributors
- Project-level allocation and audit trail
- Designed for subcontracting and fractional delivery
Compliance and control
petl pay is a software platform.
Payment execution and custody are handled via connected banks or regulated partners, depending on corridor and configuration. Identity checks and compliance requirements apply where necessary.
Teams retain control over which routes they use and how funds move.
Frequently asked questions
Is petl pay a bank?
No. petl pay is a workflow, invoicing, and payment orchestration platform.
Can I use petl pay with my existing bank?
Yes. Many teams start by using petl pay for workflow and allocation, then layer in settlement options where it makes sense.
Does everyone on my team need an account?
No. Teams can onboard contributors selectively.
Is this only for cross-border payments?
No. petl pay works for domestic project teams as well as international ones.
Is petl pay replacing Stripe, Wise, or PayPal?
No. petl pay complements payment providers by adding project logic, allocation, and workflow on top. You'll soon be able to use all of the above with petl.
Final note
petl pay is built for teams that already operate in a project-based way.
If you manage subcontractors, contractors, freelancers, or fractional teams and need clearer invoicing, payments, and settlement, petl pay gives you infrastructure that matches how work actually happens today.
🚨 We are currently onboarding early users. If you run project-based teams and this resonates, feel free to get in touch. 🚨
-
Original LinkedIn Article here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/petl-pay-payments-invoicing-built-project-based-teams-petlpay-p64gf
