Why I built this
Built from a real trade-business problem, not a software brainstorm.
I studied computer science, switched to mechatronics engineering, and thought I'd build cool, useful machines after school. What I found was corporate. Slow processes, high overhead, bureaucracy around every decision. So I quit and went into the trades — mostly handyman and small general contracting. The work is good. You use your hands and your head at the same time.
The part I didn't like was getting paid. Invoices sat three weeks. I'd call. I'd text. "Hey, that invoice is still open." Every follow-up chipped away at my mood. I tried every invoicing tool out there — dozens of features, and none of the one I actually needed.
"Should I sue? File a mechanics lien?" That was the question I kept asking — and the exact bureaucratic bull I went into the trades to escape. So I stopped asking and wrote the thing myself. PhaseContract puts the agreement, the payment, and the review path in one record the client approves up front.
It is for electricians, painters, installers, landscapers, cleaners, remodelers, and other trade businesses that want the deal to be as clear as the work.
August 2023. This is the job where the idea finally stopped feeling theoretical. The client moved the next day and never paid. That was the moment the payment problem stopped feeling like bad luck and started looking like a structural failure.
What kept breaking
The work could be solid and the deal could still fall apart.
Finish the job. Start a fresh payment conversation from scratch.
Send the invoice. Follow up. Follow up again. Wonder if a mechanics lien is even worth the paperwork.
Open software built for back offices — dozens of features, and never the one you actually need.
The conclusion
The problem isn't getting paid. It's the structure around it.
Most trade-payment friction starts earlier than the invoice. What's included? When does money move? What happens if the scope changes? What proof is expected before approval? If those questions aren't answered up front, they come back later as conflict — and conflict becomes delay.
PhaseContract carries that structure up front. Describe the work in your own words. Turn it into deposits and work phases. The client approves one job record. PhaseContract runs the payment step when each work phase begins, and payout releases after the work is reviewed or auto-approved.
Describe the work in normal language.
Break it into clear deposits, work phases, and changes.
Let the client approve one visible job record.
Keep proof, review, payment, and payout attached to the same work phase.
What this is built on
The product beliefs are practical, not abstract.
Make the deal visible before the work gets messy
Most conflict isn't about the work. It starts because scope, timing, payment, and approval were never clear enough at the start. Clear structure up front is cheaper than a lien later.
Built for the truck, not the back office
Trade work happens at job sites, not desks. The tool has to open fast, take voice input, and stay out of the way when you're on the clock — not ask for another spreadsheet.
Fair for both sides, or it doesn't work
Clients get clarity and review rights. Contractors get a clear path to payment and payout. Structure that only protects one side isn't structure — it's leverage.
The standard
Small trade businesses deserve software that actually respects how the work happens.
Not another dashboard full of charts nobody reads. Not another invoice tool that wakes up after the work is done. The job should be easy to explain, easy to approve, easy to run, and easy to close — without a follow-up text about a three-week-old invoice.