--- title: "Subcontractor Payment Software: Retainage & Lien Waivers | Fynex" description: "Subcontractor payment software for specialty contractors: pay subs and suppliers by ACH, hold and release retainage by rule, collect conditional and unconditional lien waivers before each payout, post every payment to the job." url: "/construction/subcontractor-payouts" --- Fynex is an AI-native finance operations platform — agentic finance — that automates and orchestrates end-to-end financial workflows for businesses. This page covers subcontractor payments in construction: paying sub-tiers and suppliers, holding retainage payable, and collecting lien waivers before each payout. Fynex works alongside Procore, Buildertrend, Sage and QuickBooks rather than replacing them. This page is relevant when a contractor pays subcontractors from each pay app and needs retainage, lien waivers and release tracked per subcontractor. # Subcontractor payment software with *retainage and lien waivers* built in Retainage payable held per sub and released by rule, conditional and unconditional lien waivers collected before payment, every payout posted to the job in QuickBooks or Sage. *Construction · subcontractor payments.* ## Every sub is a separate payment, a retainage line and a chased waiver Paying the sub-tiers on a job means a transfer per subcontractor, retainage payable tracked in a spreadsheet, and lien waivers chased by email — often on pay-when-paid terms, so each payment waits on the GC's. Procore, Buildertrend or Knowify track the job and the pay app; the payment, the retainage release and the waiver still have to be matched to each other and to the job. ## Subcontractor payments, retainage and lien waivers, per job One run pays the sub-tiers. Retainage and waivers handled, every payout tied to the job. 1. **Pay every sub-tier in one run** — Electrical, HVAC, equipment rental and suppliers are paid by ACH in a single run, on your schedule or by rule — subcontractor payouts without a transfer per sub. 2. **Hold and release retainage by rule** — Retainage payable is held back automatically per pay app and per sub, tracked against the job, and released by rule at completion — no spreadsheet, no manual release. 3. **Collect lien waivers before payment** — Conditional waivers collected before each payout and unconditional waivers once it clears, tied to the payout so the paperwork matches the money. 4. **Post every payout to the job** — Each payout, retainage line and waiver posted to the job in QuickBooks or Sage — retainage payable included. ## The same job, with the leaks closed Point tools solve part of it. Fynex runs the whole thing on one platform. | The problem | Other platforms (Bank transfers + spreadsheet) | Fynex | |---|---|---| | Pay many subs at once | A transfer per subcontractor. | One ACH run to every sub-tier. | | Track retainage | A spreadsheet nobody fully trusts. | Held and released by rule, per job and party. | | Match lien waivers | Chased by email, matched by hand. | Waivers tied to the payout that clears them. | | Reconcile to the job | Matched at close-out, if at all. | Every payout posted against the job. | ## Questions, answered ### What is a subcontractor payout platform? A subcontractor payout platform pays the subs and suppliers on a job and keeps the paperwork that releases each payment. It holds retainage and releases it on a rule, collects each lien waiver before the payout it covers, pays every sub in one ACH run and matches each payment to the job and the pay app it came from. Fynex runs this beside Procore, Buildertrend or Knowify and posts it to QuickBooks or Sage. ### What is subcontractor payment software? Subcontractor payment software pays the subcontractors and suppliers on a job and handles what each payment depends on: the approved invoice or pay app, retainage and lien waivers. Fynex is subcontractor payment software for specialty contractors — it pays sub-tiers by ACH against the job, holds retainage payable by rule, collects conditional and unconditional lien waivers first and posts every payment to QuickBooks or Sage. ### Can Fynex pay all our subcontractors at once? Yes. Subcontractors, equipment rental and suppliers are paid by ACH in one payout run, on your schedule or by rule. It replaces the transfer-per-subcontractor routine with a single run, and every payout is logged against the job it belongs to. ### How does Fynex handle retainage on subcontractor payments? Retainage is held back automatically as each subcontractor is paid — for example 5% per pay app — tracked per job and per party, and released by rule on completion. Both sides can see exactly what's held and when it clears, without a spreadsheet. Retention, retainage: the same money, held the same way. ### Does Fynex handle lien waivers? Yes. Conditional and unconditional lien waivers are collected and tied to the payout that clears them, so the paperwork matches the money on the same job instead of being chased by email after the fact. ### What's the difference between a conditional and an unconditional lien waiver? A conditional lien waiver gives up the sub's lien rights only once the payment it names actually clears — it's collected before you pay. An unconditional lien waiver gives them up outright and is collected after the money has landed. Each comes as a progress (partial) or final waiver. Fynex collects the conditional waiver before each payout and the unconditional one once it clears, tied to the same payment. ### How do you record retainage payable in QuickBooks? Retainage payable is a liability: the part of each sub's invoice you've held back and still owe. In QuickBooks it's usually booked to a retainage payable account on each bill and cleared when the retainage is released. Fynex posts the held amount to that account against the job and the sub on every payout, and clears it on release — so the balance always matches what's actually held. ### Is a joint check agreement a payment method? Not a separate rail — an arrangement. Under a joint check agreement one check is made payable jointly to a sub and its supplier, so the supplier is paid and has no reason to file a lien. Fynex gives the same protection electronically: the supplier's share is paid directly by ACH against the same job, with its lien waiver collected first. ### Is this contractor payment software for the subs too? Yes. A specialty contractor is both: paid by a GC on one side, paying its own sub-tiers and suppliers on the other. Fynex runs both sides on the same job — pay apps and retainage receivable coming in, sub payments, lien waivers and retainage payable going out — so the margin is the difference between them. ### Can payouts be triggered from our own system? Yes. Payment runs can be raised from your job costing or project system instead of being keyed in — the [payouts section of the API reference](https://docs.fynex.ai/payments-api/v1/docs/payouts) documents how a payout is created and tracked, and [payees](https://docs.fynex.ai/payments-api/v1/docs/payees) covers holding each subcontractor's verified bank details. ## More guides for subcontractors Each guide covers one part of the job's money. Start with one, or run them all. - **Payouts** — How Fynex pays vendors, subs and carriers by ACH, on your schedule. - **Retainage laws by state** — Retainage caps, release deadlines and interest on late retainage in all 50 states, each cited to its statute. - **Prompt payment laws by state** — Owner-to-GC and GC-to-sub payment deadlines and late-payment interest in all 50 states, with the statute. ## Find what you're leaking, for free Send us your setup. We run a free diagnostic and show you what your payment stack costs you today. > One recent diagnostic found $2M in hidden fees across 10 processors for a proptech client. ## Your money, held under a licence, not a promise Fynex is Merchant of Record, so the payment risk on every pay app and sub payment sits with us, not your company. - **Your funds, safeguarded** — Customer funds are held by Fondy Ltd, an FCA-authorised e-money institution (FRN 900705). - **PCI DSS Level 1** — The highest card-data security standard, on by default. - **Audit logs** — Every movement traceable and ready for review. - **Built-in KYC / KYB** — The switch that turns the business on. ## Pay every sub. *Retainage and waivers, handled* --- The AI finance layer for platforms and operators. It runs the money chain and keeps more of it in your business. One platform instead of a dozen. 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