How to pay subcontractors on a construction project
Split one client payment across trades and suppliers, approve work by stage, and keep a clean project ledger of who's owed what, when, and for which stage. For UK teams, CIS is calculated and tracked on every subcontractor payment.
- Multi-party invoicing tied to the project record
- Subcontractor payouts with allocations per trade
- CIS calculated and tracked for UK subcontractor payments
- Domestic and cross-border settlement options
- Audit-friendly approval and payment trails
Run a UK construction firm that pays CIS subcontractors every week? See Petl Pay for construction, our dedicated UK CIS pay run.
Who this is for
This page is for construction teams that run projects with multiple subcontractors and want cleaner visibility on who's owed what, when, and for which stage of work.
- General contractors managing multiple trades and staged payments
- Residential developers coordinating build teams across sites
- Specialist subcontractors working across multiple contractors and projects
- Collaborative contractor teams delivering a project together with shared margins
Common situations
- Staged work and progress claims. Approve work by milestone or inspection, then generate the right invoices and payouts without manual chasing.
- Many trades, one budget. Track allocations across plumbers, electricians, tilers, and suppliers in one place, tied to the project.
- Cross-border supplier payments. Pay imported materials or remote specialists with clearer fees and settlement status where supported.
Why legacy systems don't fit residential construction
Residential construction is project-based and multi-party. Traditional payroll and finance tools assume one business paying one worker on a fixed schedule. That creates friction when you need to manage subcontractors, suppliers, and staged approvals.
| Dimension | Legacy approach | Modern residential reality | What Petl Pay enables |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment structure | One payer to one payee transfers, repeated manually | One project budget funding many trades and suppliers | One client payment can be allocated across many contributors, with records tied to the project |
| Approvals | Approvals via email or chat, hard to audit | Progress sign-off per milestone, inspection, or deliverable | Approval steps that generate clean invoicing and payment instructions from the same data |
| Reconciliation | Bank statements and spreadsheets stitched together by hand | Multiple payouts per project week, plus retentions and variations | A project ledger that links invoices, approvals, allocations, and settlement status |
| Cross-border | Slow international transfers with unclear FX and fees | Imported materials, remote specialists, and distributed teams | Where supported, faster and more transparent settlement options, including stablecoin settlement flows |
// Petl Pay is a software platform that helps teams manage approvals, invoicing, and payment instructions. Payment execution and custody, where applicable, are handled by integrated providers and user-connected payment methods. Available routes depend on corridor, user profile, and configuration.
How Petl Pay works for a residential build
Petl Pay connects project structure to invoicing and payout allocations. The goal is simple, reduce admin and reduce errors by keeping project, approval, invoice, and payment data in one flow.
| Step | What happens | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 1Set up the project | Add the client, site, budget structure, and subcontractors or suppliers. | Clear roles, allocations, and who can approve what. |
| 2Approve progress | Capture milestone completion, variations, or progress claims for sign-off. | An auditable record of what was approved and when. |
| 3Generate invoices | Create subcontractor invoices and optionally one consolidated client invoice, with CIS calculated and tracked for UK subbies. | Clean billing with the right backup and allocation logic. |
| 4Pay out and reconcile | Use in-platform payment routes where enabled, or export instructions to pay from your bank. | Settlement status and a ledger entry linked to the project and invoice. |
Payment options, your bank or faster routes
Teams use Petl Pay in different ways. Some want a better workflow for approvals and invoicing but keep payment execution inside their existing bank setup. Others want faster and more transparent cross-border settlement options where supported.
| Option | Best for | What Petl Pay does | What you control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use your existing bank | Teams that already have bank processes and want better project-level allocation and records | Generates payment instructions per project, per subcontractor, and per invoice. Supports exports for bank payment runs where enabled. | You execute payments from your own bank and keep your existing approvals. |
| In-platform settlement routes | Teams that want faster settlement, clearer fees, and less admin on repetitive payouts | Surfaces available payout options by corridor and recipient, and records settlement status against the project ledger. | You choose which routes are enabled for your organisation and recipients. |
| Stablecoin settlement flows | Cross-border payouts where speed and fee transparency matter, and where recipients prefer wallets | Supports stablecoin-based settlement options where enabled, while keeping invoice and project context attached to each payment record. | You choose whether to use stablecoin settlement, and which corridors are enabled. |
// Availability of payment routes, currencies, settlement times, and fees depends on corridor and partner coverage. Petl Pay doesn't ask you to change your bank. You can adopt Petl Pay purely as workflow and payment-instruction software if you prefer.
Example, a residential build with multiple trades
Scenario
- A general contractor manages a kitchen renovation with a plumber, electrician, tiler, and joiner
- The client pays staged amounts: deposit, mid-stage, and final sign-off
- Each trade has a portion of the overall budget and submits progress claims at different times
How Petl Pay helps
- Approvals are captured per stage, so it's always clear what's billable
- Invoices are generated from the approved work and tied to the project record
- Allocations show what each trade is owed from the client payment
- For UK teams, CIS is calculated and tracked on each subcontractor payment
- Payouts can be executed via your bank, or through supported in-platform routes, while keeping a single project ledger
Feature checklist for construction teams
| Area | What you can do in Petl Pay | Why it matters in construction |
|---|---|---|
| Projects | Set up clients, sites, roles, and allocations per project | Prevents cost drift and makes margin visible per site |
| Approvals | Run milestone and progress approvals with audit logs | Reduces disputes and delays from missing sign-off |
| Invoicing | Create subcontractor invoices and consolidated client invoices tied to the same project | Clients get clean billing while subcontractors remain payable |
| CIS, for UK teams | Calculate and track the CIS deduction per subcontractor payment at 20%, 30%, or 0%, with labour split from materials | Keeps UK contractors on top of CIS on every pay run without manual tax maths |
| Multi-party payouts | Allocate one incoming payment across multiple payees with records per invoice | Stops spreadsheet splits and reduces payment errors |
| Records and reporting | Export project ledgers, invoices, approvals, and payout records | Makes audit and client queries faster to resolve |
// CIS is calculated and tracked, not filed. UK contractors should check their position at hmrc.gov.uk. On mobile, scroll horizontally to view the full table.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Petl Pay with my existing bank accounts?
Yes. Many teams use Petl Pay for approvals, invoicing, and payment instructions, and then execute payments from their existing bank accounts. Available export formats and bank payment run support depend on your configuration.
Does Petl Pay handle CIS for UK construction?
For UK teams, Petl calculates and tracks the CIS deduction on each subcontractor payment at the right rate, 20%, 30%, or 0%, keeps labour separate from materials, and produces payment and deduction statements. Petl calculates and tracks CIS; it doesn't file it, so you or your accountant submit the return. Always check your position at hmrc.gov.uk.
Can Petl Pay generate files for bank payment runs, like BACS files?
Petl Pay can support payment instruction exports for bank-based payment runs where enabled. If you need a specific format such as BACS-compatible files, this depends on your bank, corridor, and how your organisation is configured.
Does Petl Pay support cross-border payments?
Petl Pay supports cross-border payment workflows and, where available, can surface faster settlement routes including stablecoin-based settlement options. Availability depends on corridor coverage, recipient profile, and local requirements.
Do subcontractors need to use Petl Pay?
Not always. Some teams onboard subcontractors into Petl Pay to streamline approvals and payout records. Other teams keep subcontractors on existing processes and use Petl Pay mainly for invoicing, allocation, and payment instructions.
Does Petl Pay hold custody of funds?
Petl Pay is designed as a software platform that helps teams manage invoicing, approvals, and payment workflows. Payment execution and custody, where applicable, are handled by integrated providers and user-connected payment methods, depending on configuration.
Automating finance for contractor-heavy businesses
Petl Pay is the middleware that connects your project finance, internal tools, and the AI your team and clients already use, so one client payment flows out to every contributor.
