Petl Pay vs ANNA vs Hudson, for UK contractors.
Three different ways to handle the money side of a construction business. Here's who each one is built for, and why contractors paying a team of subbies choose Petl Pay.
ANNA is a business account and accounting app for small businesses, a good fit for a sole-trader subbie managing their own money. Hudson Contract is a construction payroll bureau that puts your subbies on its contracts and pays them for you. Petl Pay is an AI-native back office built for UK contractors paying subbies: work comes in from wherever it's logged, CIS is worked out on every payment, you approve and pay by bank, and it all lands in Xero.
This comparison is based on what each company publishes about itself as of October 2026. Check their sites for the latest details and pricing.
At a glance
| ANNA | Hudson Contract | Petl Pay | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Business account and accounting app | Construction payroll bureau | AI-native construction back office |
| Built for | Small businesses and sole traders | Firms that engage self-employed trades | UK contractors paying 15 to 100 subbies |
| Paying a team of subbies under CIS | Not the focus | Yes, through its contracts and payroll | Yes, from your own business |
| Your contracts with subbies | Yours | Through Hudson's contracts | Yours |
| How work comes in | You enter it | Pay instructions through its own software | App, WhatsApp, ChatGPT, Claude or your own systems |
| Accounting | Built-in accounting and tax | Check with Hudson | Pushed to Xero, QuickBooks coming soon |
| Done for you option | Accounting with human support | Yes, it's the model | Managed service, pay per outcome |
ANNA: best for one business's own money
ANNA combines a business account with invoicing, receipt scanning, tax estimates and VAT and Self Assessment filing. It's a strong pick for a sole trader or small firm running its own finances.
It isn't built around a contractor paying a team of subbies every week, working out CIS on each payment and keeping a record for the monthly return.
Hudson Contract: best if you want a bureau
Hudson Contract is a construction payroll firm. It says it processed 1.8 million payments for 2,600 clients last year. It reviews each operative, puts them on the right contract, takes pay instructions through its own software and pays them, with extras like audits, right to work checks and HMRC representation.
If you want a bureau in the middle of your labour supply, Hudson is a well-established choice. The trade-off is that your subbies are paid through someone else's contracts and process.
Petl Pay: an AI-native back office, built for construction
- Built for UK construction. CIS on every payment, on labour only, at each subbie's rate of 0%, 20% or 30%.
- AI-native. Work, receipts and invoices come in from the app, WhatsApp, ChatGPT, Claude or your own systems, and Petl pulls it into one record for every job.
- One source of truth. No more copying between WhatsApp, spreadsheets, your bank and Xero.
- You stay in control. Your contracts, your subbies, your approval on every payment.
- Pay by bank through regulated partners, or download a BACS file for your own bank.
- Done for you if you want it. On the managed service you pay for outcomes, like a completed Friday pay run or a CIS return filed by our accountant partner.
Built with builders
Petl Pay is backed by UK construction investors who run general contractors themselves, and by the Visa Accelerator Programme. The product is shaped by firms that pay subbies every Friday, not by people guessing how construction works.
Which should you choose?
| If you... | Look at |
|---|---|
| Are a sole trader managing your own money | ANNA |
| Want a bureau to take over your labour contracts | Hudson Contract |
| Pay a team of subbies and want to keep control, with CIS and Xero done for you | Petl Pay |
Frequently asked
Does Petl Pay replace a payroll bureau?
For many contractors, yes. Petl Pay works out CIS, lines payments up for your approval, pays by bank and keeps the record. On the managed service, we run the pay run for you. If you want a bureau to hold the contracts with your subbies, a bureau like Hudson Contract is built for that.
Can my subbies use ANNA and still be paid through Petl Pay?
Yes. Subbies can bank with whoever they like. You pay them through Petl Pay and they receive it in their own account.
Does Petl Pay file my CIS return?
Petl Pay calculates and tracks CIS. You have the return filed with an accountant, or our accountant partner files it on the managed service.
Run your Friday pay run without the spreadsheet.
Tell us how you pay your subbies today and we'll show you what Petl Pay takes off your plate.
Petl Pay never holds your funds. Payments are carried out by licensed, regulated payment partners. Petl Pay calculates and tracks CIS deductions and doesn't file returns itself; have them filed with an accountant. Tax rules change, so check the latest guidance at gov.uk.