Category: Case Studies UK

Customer Stories

OCU Group: Scaling with confidence – enhancing governance and strengthening the supply chain | UK

Utilities and digital infrastructure specialist, OCU Group, uses Payapps to strengthen its operations and ensure a competitive supply chain. For OCU Group, a utilities and digital infrastructure specialist delivering work across electricity, gas, water, rail, telecoms and directional drilling, growth became the catalyst for fundamental change. Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Stockport, Greater Manchester, […]

Digitising for Efficiency and Transparency: How Vaughan Engineering Services Transformed Subcontractor Payment Processes | UK

Vaughan Group - Website Blog Header

Established in 1955, Vaughan Engineering Services Ltd is a leading mechanical and electrical building services engineering contractor operating throughout the UK and Ireland. The company offers a comprehensive range of services – design, manufacture, installation, and maintenance of complex engineering systems – across a variety of both public and private development projects. https://youtu.be/3Y9HZ_6hgfU From offices […]

Phoenix ME: A Smart Approach to Supply Chain Applications for Payment | UK

Established in 1931, 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.  With a turnover exceeding £350 million Phoenix ME operates from locations in London, Cambridge, and across Europe, in sectors including commercial offices, banking establishments, data centres, education, government […]

T4 Mechanical & Electrical choose Payapps to improve application for payment standardisation and process compliance | UK

T4 Mechanical and Electrical - Payapps Customer

T4 Mechanical & Electrical is another M&E business to choose Payapps for managing their supply chain’s applications for payment. T4 was established in 2007 and offers quality mechanical and electrical services covering London and the South of England. Working directly for clients and main contractors – HG Construction, Bellway Homes, Keady Construction, O’Shea, Higgins and […]

William Birch & Sons Ltd choose Payapps to streamline construction applications for payment | UK

William Birch & Sons - Payapps Customer

We are delighted to welcome William Birch & Sons Limited as a new customer, the latest contractor to choose Payapps to streamline the processing of received applications for payment. ‍As one of the region’s longest established family-owned construction companies, William Birch have a reputation for quality construction and heritage skills. The business was founded in York in […]

Bouygues UK part 2 – subcontractor adoption of Payapps for easy creation and tracking of payment applications | UK

Working with a large number of subcontractors across multiple projects, and with labour shortages affecting the UK construction industry, Bouygues UK are using Payapps to further strengthen their collaborative relationships with their supply chain. Specialising in the residential and education sectors and operating in the UK for over 20 years, Bouygues UK run a large number of […]

Gtek: Streamlining Applications for Payment with Payapps to Gain a Competitive Edge | UK

Gtek - Submitting applications for payment through Payapps for a competitive advantage

Unlike other industries, where repeatable processes are established to deliver a consistent result, each construction project has its own nuances, making the automation of otherwise repeatable processes particularly challenging.  One such process is the payment process.  It is no secret that when it comes to dealing with payments, the construction industry, on the whole, faces […]

Payapps – making the lives of quantity surveyors easier | UK

Payapps - making the lives of quantity surveyors easier

We sat down with Mobarak Ali, a Graduate Quantity Surveyor at Bouygues UK to get an insight into how digital payment processes are seen by newcomers to the construction industry.  Mobarak is on working on The Riverside, a £115 million mixed-use development in the city of Canterbury, and is one of Bouygues UK’s larger projects. The scheme […]

Bouygues UK part 1 – how slick applications for payment processing has improved efficiency, visibility and risk management | UK

Bouygues

We talked to Bouygues UK’s Deputy Commercial Directors to understand how they transformed their subcontractor payment processes by implementing Payapps. Bouygues UK is part of a diversified services group operating in over 80 countries with 129,000 employees. Operating in the UK for over 20 years, Bouygues UK designs and builds sustainable developments that enhance and transform communities, […]

How Cilantro are reducing payment-related risk with Payapps | UK

How Cilantro are reducing payment-related risk with Payapps

Cilantro Engineering automated their subcontractor payment process with Payapps, ensuring consistent application formats, reducing human error, and saving time, thereby significantly minimising risks and enhancing efficiency. Cilantro Engineering are a leading London Building Services Contractor delivering large scale residential projects. Over the last 18 years, Cilantro have grown to over 500 staff and a turnover […]

Why Payapps? An interview with Stepnell’s Chief Accountant | UK

An interview with Stepnell's Chief Accountant

In this interview, David Crombie, Group Chief Accountant at Stepnell, discusses how the company modernised its construction payment processes with Payapps.  He explains the benefits of improved visibility of payments and cashflow and shares valuable insights into the impact this transformation has had on operations. He shares:  What processing supply chain payment applications was like […]

Stepnell – collaboration and compliance for peace of mind | UK

Complete the form below to download this case study as a PDF. Established in 1867, Stepnell are part of the very fabric of the UK construction industry. Serving a broad spectrum of private and public sector clients, Stepnell ensure their clients realise their vision by providing a more holistic approach to project design, build, management and delivery with the resources and infrastructure to deliver larger, more challenging projects. David Crombie is Stepnell's Group Chief Accountant. With an 18-year long tenure in executive finance roles at some of the UK's largest contractors, David knows the payment notice process extremely well. He and the team at Stepnell chose to roll out Payapps across their projects to help with the management and certification of applications for payment. We asked David to shed some light on Stepnell's processing of applications before and after the introduction of Payapps. Life before Payapps Before adopting a new process, Stepnell's method for managing applications for payment and payment notices was, as it still is in many construction firms, rather laborious. David explains, "Upon receiving the subcontractor's application, the quantity surveyor would make their assessment and provide the payment notice to the contracts manager for approval. The approved application was then returned to our commercial team for final approval. Only when fully signed off could it be passed to our finance department to raise the payment within the ERP system." "This sounds like a relatively neat workflow," says David, "Until you realise that it was largely paper-based, involving much manual effort to pass the paperwork between departments. "Add to that the errors inherent in manual data entry, the need to chase teams to review and approve documents, and the risk of mislaid information, it became clear to us here at Stepnell that there was room for both accuracy and efficiency improvements - we wanted to make the status of each application more visible to all concerned." Siloed information, missed deadlines and payment delays were inevitable given the number of manual steps involved. Stepnell, a forward-thinking contractor, have been quick to realise, however, that there must be a better way; a way that improves communication within their business across the entire process while also enhancing collaboration with their supply chain. Hear more about life before Payapps for Stepnell in an interview with David Crombie. Automated workflow for improved efficiencies Stepnell were keen to modernise their process and unite information within a centralised platform to provide a single version of the truth across their own departments and to their subcontractors. Having explored the online Payapps platform, they knew they had found a solution that would benefit all parties concerned. David tells us, "Now, those involved in the application for payment process are immediately notified following approval at prior stage, and automation of payment notices ensure we no longer miss deadlines - it is a big relief." Streamlining the workflow has significantly improved the speed and accuracy in the way applications for payment are processed at Stepnell, much to the delight of those involved, including David: "The visibility of our cash position on all of our projects and contracts has been a revelation. There have been substantial time savings because of the elimination of manual administration, allowing the team to become increasingly efficient on a day-to-day basis. Payapps has completely resolved the key challenges we faced trying to manually process applications for payment." David goes on to say, "The commercial and account teams can more easily collaborate. We can quickly and easily identify any bottlenecks that might slow the processing of applications, helping us to reduce the number of stalled payments and pay less notices. Ultimately, using Payapps to reduce blind spots across all departments reassures us that we are operating in accordance with the Construction Act and that we are proactively reducing risk of adjudication. At the same time we can use Payapps to verify insurance documents and CIS tax rates." "Now, those involved in the application for payment process are immediately notified following approval at prior stage, and automation of payment notices ensure we no longer miss deadlines - it is a big relief." David Crombie | Group Chief Accountant, Stepnell Why Stepnell wouldn't be without Payapps David seems thrilled to have introduced Payapps, quickly and easily improving the experience of managing applications for payment not only across Stepnell's teams but for their supply chain members too. We knew there were major improvements that could be made across the entire process and so we were overjoyed to discover a solution that effectively removes our worry about getting it right... and that means our subcontractors are also reassured that payments will be made as contractually agreed. Payapps does the hard work by making certain we're on track at every stage, ensuring we're legislatively compliant and reducing financial risk by providing visibility of payment status across all projects. We couldn't do without it now. David Crombie | Group Chief Accountant, Stepnell

Discover how Payapps transformed Stepnell’s application for payment process by streamlining workflows, enhancing accuracy, and reducing risk, ultimately improving efficiency, compliance and collaboration across their construction projects. Established in 1867, Stepnell are part of the very fabric of the UK construction industry. We asked David Crombie, Group Chief Accountant, to shed some light on Stepnell’s […]

Modular Connexions saves significant time submitting payment applications | UK

Modular Connexions are professionals in offsite manufacturing and construction, and support companies with modular fabrication, pre-construction services, install and finishing. The business uses the cloud-based Payapps platform to prepare consistent, contractually compliant applications for payment, submitting these along with any necessary evidence. By using a single platform and removing the need to email anything, Modular […]

Payapps and G F Tomlinson streamlining the payment applications process | UK

Payapps and G F Tomlinson streamlining the payment applications process

One of the largest contractors in the East Midlands, with an annual turnover exceeding £150m, G F Tomlinson receives hundreds of applications for payment from subcontractors each month. Challenge: inefficient methods of managing payment applications Recognising the time and cost in wages that it takes to manage this process manually, the business took steps to […]

BW: Workplace Experts – the evolution of assessment and payment practices | UK

BW: Workplace Experts

The commercial director and financial controller of BW: Workplace Experts discuss the evolution of assessment and payment practices. Boasting a diverse range of projects for the likes of Microsoft, Brookfield and Universal Music Group, BW: Workplace Experts continually strive for innovation and collaboration within the interior fit-out industry. With turnover growing fast over the past […]