Why this exists
I work in the trades.
I also write code.
Five years of handyman work. Background in engineering and software. I built PhaseContract because every tool out there was built for someone else — not for people who work with their hands and run businesses from their trucks.
August 2023. This job is where the idea started. The client moved the next day. He never paid me and I couldn't find him. Two and a half years later, here we are. Still smiling and loving it. But now I'm doing something about it.
Here's what I kept running into
I'd finish a job. Good work. Client was happy. Then the payment conversation starts. "Can you send me an invoice?" Sure. Send it. Wait. Follow up. Wait more. Meanwhile rent is due.
So I looked at what's out there. Invoicing software that assumes you have an accounting department. Project management tools built for tech companies. CRM systems that want you to watch a 45-minute onboarding video.
Every tool I tried was built for someone else. Big companies with big teams and big budgets. Not for someone standing in a kitchen they just demolished, trying to get paid before they start the next phase.
The problem isn't getting paid. It's the structure around it.
Most payment problems between contractors and clients come from the same place: unclear expectations. What's included? When do you pay? What happens if the scope changes?
These aren't hard questions. But nobody writes it down clearly upfront because structuring a job properly takes time — and contractors are busy doing the actual work.
So I built something that handles the structuring for you. Describe the job in your own words. AI breaks it into paid phases. Send it to the client. Their card is charged when you start each phase. Payout releases when the work is approved.
No invoicing. No chasing. The money moves because the structure was right from the start.
What this is built on
Software should work for real people
Not enterprise buyers. Not people with MBAs. Contractors, plumbers, electricians, painters — people who build things. If the tool doesn't make sense in 30 seconds, it's the tool's fault.
Small companies deserve good tools
Most software is built for companies with 50+ employees. That leaves out the people doing the most interesting work — small crews and independent contractors who don't need a "suite of solutions." They need one thing that works.
Fair deals protect both sides
PhaseContract isn't just for contractors. Clients get transparency — clear phases, photo documentation, approval before payment. When both sides feel protected, the work relationship is better. That's the point.
Keep it simple or don't build it
No feature bloat. No dashboards full of charts nobody reads. Describe the job. Send it. Do the work. Get paid. That's the whole product. If it doesn't fit in that flow, it doesn't belong.
My name is Michael Delgado and I built this for the way we actually work.
On site. On the floor. Hands doing the work. The software is only there to make sure you get paid — not to get in the way.
No subscriptions. No monthly fees. Takes about two minutes to set up.
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