Payapps strengthens foundations to support booming ANZ construction sector
Payapps, a global leader in cloud-based construction technology software, headquartered in Australia, finds that although COVID-19 uncertainty continues to disrupt the construction supply chain, increased adoption of digital technology is unlocking industry payment blocks.
Tony Simonsen (pictured), COO of Payapps comments, “We’re fortunate to be experiencing significant growth to the extent our Payapps parent company recently reported 40% growth over the past three years. We’re also seeing interesting trends as the sector continues to evolve. For one, more than 40% of our users are female. The next generation of leaders are also coming through, bringing fresh ideas, including a willingness to use digital tools to drive efficiencies.”
Payapps believes material delivery delays, labour shortages and increasing costs are driving the adoption of digital tools and technologies that deliver greater efficiencies, collaboration, and risk mitigation.
“Productivity efficiencies and cash flow management are increasingly critical with costs likely to rise further this year against a backdrop of supply chain challenges. The industry already has razor-thin profit margins, but technology is increasingly offering opportunities to execute projects more efficiently,” comments Simonsen.
A recently released report by Rider Levett Bucknall supports this expectation citing project costs for 2022 will increase by 2.5% in Darwin; 3% in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Townsville; 4.5% in Perth; 5% in Brisbane and Gold Coast; and 5.6% in Sydney.
Simonsen says Payapps is helping an increasing number of companies to improve back-office efficiencies and productivity by making it easier for them to submit and approve traditionally time-consuming and costly progress claim processes.
Among the companies Payapps is enabling are Alder Construction, GCB Construction, Melchor, Kinetic, Versatile, Evolution Precast, BSA and Maxon in Australia while in New Zealand the business is supporting entities including McKee Fehl and Premier Roofing.
Speaking to benefits, Joanne Elzain, Finance Director at Maxcon says, “Payapps is a game changer to our industry; it streamlines all aspects of subcontractor claims saving time each month. Payapps has been the best investment for me to date.”
Simonsen says the wider Payapps Company team were thrilled when Zuuse (officially renamed Payapps Company in December 2021) was listed by the Australian Financial Review (AFR) as one of the country’s ‘must-watch’ businesses on 29 November.
“We made it into the list for the first time, securing 45th place on its Fast 100 List for 2021 which was hugely exciting and a fantastic endorsement of our achievements and our solid foundation for continued success. To that end, we’re also hiring more staff with an 85% rise in total employees this year to further support our customers and moving to a larger head office in Melbourne once COVID restrictions ease,” comments Simonsen.
He adds that Payapps has big revenue and growth aspirations across the numerous geographies it is located within including Australia and New Zealand to build on its 25,000 strong customer base.
“As a team of experts, and construction specialists our focus is very much on forging ahead, creating change, and remaining at the forefront of our industry so our customers can do the same in their sectors. We’re continually looking for software improvements but also focused on broadening our value proposition over the coming year which we will share more details on in due course,” concludes Simonsen.
To support the company name change, Payapps Company has developed a fresh identify with its new website (Payappscompany.com) replacing the former Zuuse corporate website. The company will continue to market its name sake product Payapps which retains its own website (www.payapps.com) as well as its other existing products and services including facilities management software, FMI, GCPay and ProgressPay which helps subcontractors and suppliers in the construction industry unlock cash tied up in approved invoices.
IFM Investors, one of the world’s leading fund managers, agreed to a significant equity stake in the Payapps Company Ltd at the close of 2020 creating an even stronger springboard for further expansion of the global software business.
