Suppliers
Project-linked supply. A clearer payment pathway.
PayLocker connects project-specific materials and approved invoices to a structured payment process, rather than to a builder's general cash flow.
Few businesses carry as much of a project's financial risk as its suppliers. You release the materials first. You issue the invoice second. You find out where you stand last of all. And in most cases, the money that should be paying for those materials is sitting in a general account with no structural connection to the job that generated it.
PayLocker is Australia's Construction Payment Integrity Platform. It is designed to keep project funds aligned with approved work, verified participants and approved obligations, so the materials you supply, the invoice you issue and the money the project holds remain visibly connected to one another.
See how a supplier invoice moves from delivery to payment
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Payment integrity, in four words
- Australian construction — built for Australian projects, contracts and payment practice.
- Transparency — submission, approval and payment recorded as visible states.
- Visibility — your position on a project, without chasing it.
- Payment integrity — project money kept connected to approved project obligations.
"Will I be paid for the materials I supply to this project?"
It is the question sitting underneath every credit application, every account limit, every delivery docket and every stop-supply decision your accounts team has ever had to make.
Today, the honest answer usually depends on the financial position of a business rather than the financial position of a project. PayLocker exists to narrow that gap.
The problem
You deliver before you know anything
On a typical Australian project, a supplier is asked to release timber, steel, concrete, windows, doors, roofing, plumbing, electrical or hardware to site well before knowing:
- whether funding for that scope of work is still available;
- whether the invoice has been received, matched or entered;
- whether the invoice has been approved, queried or placed on hold;
- when payment is likely to be made, and from which source;
- whether the amount owed is connected in any structural way to the project it was supplied to.
The delivery is specific. The purchase order is specific. The invoice is specific. The money is not.
Trade credit exposure
Trade credit is a financing decision made with almost no project information
When a supplier extends terms, they are making a short-term funding decision. Yet the information available to support that decision is usually limited to a credit check, a trading history, a guarantee (likely worthless) and/or a working relationship. Notably little of it ever concerns the project the materials are actually going to.
Where supplier exposure builds under traditional construction payment models
Pressure point: Project money becomes disconnected
What it looks like for a supplier: Funds paid for a stage that included your materials enter a general account and lose any structural link to your order.
Pressure point: Limited visibility of obligations
What it looks like for a supplier: You cannot see how many approved obligations sit ahead of yours, or what the project still owes.
Pressure point: Cash-flow timing you cannot observe
What it looks like for a supplier: Payment timing depends on inflows and outflows across an entire business, not on the project you supplied.
Pressure point: Trade credit pressure
What it looks like for a supplier: Account limits are set on business-level information, so well-funded projects and stressed projects are treated identically.
Pressure point: Delayed and part payments
What it looks like for a supplier: Payments arrive without clear allocation, leaving it unclear which invoice should be paid, instead paying the priority to keep other projects going.
Pressure point: Reconciliation effort
What it looks like for a supplier: Accounts teams reconstruct the story afterwards from dockets, statements and phone calls.
Pressure point: Delivery scheduling uncertainty
What it looks like for a supplier: Release and stop-supply decisions are made on incomplete information, disrupting both your run and the builder's programme.
An incoming construction payment is not spare cash. By the time it arrives, most of it is already promised — to the trades who carried out the work, and to the suppliers whose materials made the stage claimable in the first place.
Cash flow describes money moving. Obligation flow describes money already committed to specific, approved obligations. When a payment system tracks only the first, the second becomes invisible, and the businesses carrying the largest unsecured exposure are usually the ones furthest from the information.
The PayLocker solution
Materials, invoices and money, kept connected to the same project
PayLocker is designed to hold five things together across the life of a project: the project's money, the participants entitled to be paid, the approved work and materials, the approved obligations, and the pathway payment travels along.
For a supplier, that connection is practical rather than abstract. Where a project runs on PayLocker, supplier payments can be linked to:
- the project;
- the purchase order;
- delivery evidence;
- the invoice;
- the recorded approval;
- the supplier's verified, nominated payment account.
Project payments are designed to be received into a project-linked payment environment and to stay connected to that project. Claims and invoices are submitted against approved work. Approvals are recorded as distinct, visible steps. Where funds are available and an obligation has been properly approved, the entitled participant may be paid in the approved sequence.
Stakeholder benefits
What suppliers gain
Greater payment visibility
See whether an invoice has been submitted, is under review, has been approved or has been paid, instead of inferring it from silence.
Project-specific payment pathways
Payments can be tied to project-specific materials, approved procurement and stage obligations rather than to a general business account.
Clearer invoice status
Status becomes a recorded step rather than a phone call. Approval, query and hold are all visible states.
Reduced exposure to general cash-flow timing
Your payment position is connected to a project's approved obligations rather than resting solely on a builder's wider cash position.
Improved documentation
Purchase order, delivery evidence, invoice and approval are held against the same project record, which reduces disputes about whether delivery or payment occurred.
Better reconciliation
Payment information is structured for accounts processes, so allocation is clearer and part payments are traceable.
Less administrative chasing
Fewer status calls, fewer statement queries and fewer reconstructions after the fact. Your credit team spends its time on decisions rather than on discovery.
Stronger information for credit and procurement planning
Better project-level information supports more considered account limits, trading terms and delivery scheduling.
Stronger commercial relationships
Payment discipline is a two-way signal. Builders operating with visible governance become easier to supply, and suppliers who can see the pathway have fewer reasons to hold stock back.
The pathway
How it works for suppliers
The supplier payment pathway, from project invitation to payment records
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Step 1. Join the project
What happens: You are invited to a specific PayLocker project by the builder or principal running it. Participation is project by project.
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Step 2. Verification
What happens: Your business is identified through appropriate KYC and KYB processes: legal and trading name, ABN or ACN, GST registration status, project role, contact details and your nominated bank account. This removes ambiguity over who is entitled to be paid.
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Step 3. Invoice submitted
What happens: Your invoice is submitted against the project and, where applicable, matched to the purchase order and delivery evidence.
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Step 4. Approval workflow
What happens: The invoice moves through a recorded approval process. Approval is a visible step with a status, not an unobserved internal exercise.
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Step 5. Payment pathway
What happens: Where funds are available and the obligation has been approved, payment may be released to your verified account in the approved sequence. Where approved obligations exceed the available balance, payments are processed in the approved order and any remaining balance stays visible.
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Step 6. Records available
What happens: Payment records are designed to support your reconciliation and account management.
Permissioned visibility
Everything about your position. Nothing about anyone else's.
Suppliers see their own commercial position on a project, and only their own. Permissioned visibility is a design principle rather than a limitation: it is what makes the platform workable for every party at once.
What a supplier can expect to see
- The order to supply
- Invoices submitted against the order to the project
- Approval status for each invoice
- Payment status and position in the payment sequence
- Supporting documents and delivery evidence (photographic)
- Payment records relevant to your supply
- Transaction history to support reconciliation
What a supplier does not see
Builder margins, internal budgets, client stage amounts and the pricing of other trades and suppliers remain confidential. Commercial confidentiality is preserved in both directions, which is precisely why your pricing is not visible to anyone else either.
Who we work with
Supply categories we support
The structural difference
Why suppliers choose PayLocker
The structural difference between a traditional payment process and a project-linked payment pathway
| Consideration | Traditional process | With PayLocker |
|---|---|---|
| Where the money sits | A general business account, with no structural link to the project | A project-linked payment environment, connected to the project it was paid for |
| Invoice status | Unknown until someone answers the phone | A recorded, visible status |
| Approval | An internal process you cannot observe | A distinct, recorded step |
| Payment timing | Depends on business-wide cash flow | Connected to available project funds and the approved payment sequence |
| Part payments | Arrive unallocated; you reconcile backwards | Processed in approved order, with the outstanding balance visible |
| Delivery evidence | Held separately by each party | Held against the project record alongside the order and invoice |
| Reconciliation | Reconstructed from dockets and statements | Supported by structured payment records |
| Credit decisions | Made on business-level information | Supported by better project-level information |
| Disputes | Competing recollections | A shared, recorded sequence of events |
Trust
Trust should be checkable
Australian governments are already legislating toward ring-fenced project money, through statutory trust arrangements in Queensland and security of payment regimes in every state and territory. PayLocker is designed to complement these frameworks rather than replace them, and to give every participant clearer evidence of payment discipline.
How funds are held, how payments are released and what protections apply are set out plainly, in writing rather than in marketing.
Supplier questions
Frequently asked questions
Does PayLocker guarantee that I will be paid?
No. PayLocker does not guarantee payment and is not a form of insurance or security. It is designed to improve visibility and structure by connecting your invoice to a project, an approval and a payment pathway. Payment remains subject to project funding, contractual entitlement, approval and platform rules.
Is PayLocker a bank?
No. PayLocker is a payment governance platform, not an authorised deposit-taking institution. Project accounts and payment rails are provided through regulated banking arrangements. PayLocker governs how information and approvals flow; it does not act as a bank, an insurer or a regulator.
Do I have to change how I invoice?
Your invoice remains your invoice. What changes is where it goes and what happens to it afterwards: it is submitted against a specific project, matched where applicable to a purchase order and delivery evidence, and moved through a recorded approval process rather than into an inbox.
Does PayLocker change my supply contract or my trading terms?
No. Your contract, your terms and your entitlements are unchanged. PayLocker governs the payment pathway, not the commercial agreement between you and your customer.
What happens if my invoice is queried or disputed?
A query or hold becomes a visible status rather than an unexplained delay. Because the order, delivery evidence, invoice and approval history sit against the same project record, both parties work from the same sequence of events, which tends to reduce the "did you deliver, did we pay" category of dispute.
What happens if approved obligations exceed the money available?
Payments are processed in the approved order. Where the available balance is insufficient, a partial payment may be applied and the outstanding balance remains visible, able to be cleared from subsequent project inflows. You can see where you sit rather than guessing.
Will I be paid faster?
PayLocker does not promise faster payment, and any supplier-facing claim that it does deserves scepticism. What it is designed to provide is clearer, more structured and more traceable payment: you can see submission, approval and payment status, and you are far less reliant on chasing.
Can I see how much the project still owes overall?
No. Suppliers see their own quotes, invoices and payment status. Builder margins, client stage amounts, internal budgets and other participants' pricing are not visible to you, just as your pricing is not visible to other suppliers. Permissioned visibility applies equally to every party.
What do I need to provide to be verified?
Verification uses appropriate KYC and KYB processes. Depending on your role, this may include legal and trading name, ABN or ACN, GST registration status, relevant licence or registration details, project role, contact details and your nominated bank account. This reduces ambiguity over who is entitled to be paid.
Does this affect the trade credit I offer?
That remains entirely your decision. PayLocker does not set your terms, assess credit or make lending decisions. Some suppliers find that better project-level information supports more considered account limits and delivery scheduling, but the credit decision stays with you.
Does using PayLocker affect my rights under security of payment legislation?
No. PayLocker is designed to complement statutory schemes; it does not replace them and it does not provide legal advice. Your rights under the relevant state or territory security of payment legislation are unaffected. A plain-English overview is available at security of payment in Australia.
What if only some of my customers use PayLocker?
That is the expected position. Participation is project by project, so PayLocker sits alongside your existing accounts and processes rather than replacing them. Where a project runs on PayLocker, you get project-linked visibility for that job.
Do I have to pay to join a project?
No. Payment only occurs at 1% on payment transfer. Suppliers are invited to a project by the builder or principal running it. Verification and participation are handled through that invitation rather than through a separate sales process.
Get started
See where your invoice actually sits
The materials you supply are what make the stage claimable. The money that pays for that stage should stay connected to the project it came from. That is the entire idea behind PayLocker.
See how a supplier invoice moves from delivery to payment Start supplier verification
