A smart approach to supply chain payments

Payapps construction software helps bring contractors and subcontractors together to standardise, streamline and simplify applications for payment. Find out how Phoenix ME used this simpler, faster digital process to ensure greater transparency, increase accuracy and reduce financial risk.

Phoenix Mechanical | Electrical (Phoenix ME) is an established market leader specialising in the design, installation and commissioning of mechanical and electrical systems across various sectors, including commercial offices, banking establishments, data centres, education, government buildings, residential infrastructure, retail and pharmaceutical laboratories. Established in 1931, Phoenix ME operates from locations in London, Cambridge and across Europe, with a turnover exceeding £350 million.

With project experience ranging from £1 million to over £100 million, Phoenix ME offers comprehensive services and distribution systems tailored to diverse building solutions. The company’s core values – innovation, ambition, courage, togetherness and empowerment – are underpinned by a steadfast commitment to health and safety, outstanding performance and high-quality delivery within a collaborative framework, ensuring client focus and satisfaction.

“It’s made the process a lot smoother”

Given Phoenix ME’s focus on collaboration, it is no surprise the team turned to Payapps to manage their supply chain applications for payment. Allowing subcontractors and contractors to come together within a single platform, Payapps provides a simple way for subcontractors to prepare and submit applications so that contractors can receive standardised application formats across all of their projects.

Ben Findlay, Surveying Director at Phoenix ME, said:

“Before Payapps, I imagine the same as any other construction company, we were tracking payment certificates to make sure we completed them on time, and our commercial teams were processing lots of paperwork. By using Payapps, we whittled down all the transfer of documents via emails and hard copy paper between our construction on-site teams and our back-office teams. Payapps now allows us to track payments and we receive notifications when payments are due. It’s made the process a lot smoother.”

Forecast and report on cash flow

Moving forward, the team at Phoenix ME are about to integrate Payapps with Access Coins ERP. This will allow payment notice information to be posted automatically into Access Coins to create certificates, ready for payment approval, further reducing data entry related to subcontractor payments.

Tom Brooks, Head of Finance, explains:

“Integrating Payapps with our Access Coins ERP system will empower our finance team with visibility over the entire subcontractor payment process, from application submission. We’ll have up-to-date information about variations, those applications that have been certified and those due to be paid. Our ability to predict final accounts and to forecast and report on cash flow will be enhanced, with no need to re-key information from one system to the other.”

No time to lose

Payapps is used across 30% of the top 30 mechanical and electrical contractors, including Phoenix ME, TClarke, HE Simm, Gratte Brothers and Price Building Services. It’s a fast-paced sector and these contractors can’t afford their projects to be slowed by arduous administration or payment disputes.

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This article appeared in Electrotechnical News Mar/Apr 2025 edition – read it here