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MakersHub is the top pick here for one reason: it's the only platform on this list that routes by job and cost code first, dollar amount second. Firms running pay applications through a GC relationship should look at GCPay instead, and teams already inside Procore should keep approvals there. This guide compares five platforms so you can match the software to how bills actually move through your business.
A bill sitting in someone's inbox costs more than time. A subcontractor wonders whether they'll get paid on schedule. Somewhere else in the business, a PM can't remember what a charge from the electrical sub was even for, and a controller won't find out about the resulting cost overrun until the job is already over budget and closed.
Payment delays are getting worse across the industry: contractors now wait close to 57 days on average for payment, up from roughly 49 days two years ago, per construction payment-cycle data cited by Kolena. Software that routes the right bill to the right person, fast, is how that gap closes.
Quick comparison
The non-negotiables for construction and trades approval routing
- Routing by job and dollar threshold, not one blanket chain for every bill
- Line-item detail traveling with the bill, so an approver sees what they're actually approving
- Mobile sign-off, since the person approving is usually on a site, not at a desk
- The approved bill reaching the ledger without a second manual entry step
- Separation between who approves the bill and who releases the payment
- A visible audit trail across every intermediate step, from first routing to final sign-off
The ranked list
1. MakersHub, best for approvals tied to the job and cost code
MakersHub routes bills to approvers based on job, vendor, and dollar amount, so a foreman clears a small materials bill while a $50,000 subcontractor payment goes to the controller, without anyone building that logic by hand more than once. Approvers work from a mobile notification, review the actual line items on the bill, and approve in one click, without a MakersHub login required for vendors. Approved bills post to QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, or NetSuite without a second manual entry. Where it doesn't fit: it isn't a lien-waiver or compliance-document platform, so subcontractor compliance tracking still belongs in GCPay or a construction ERP.
Best for: contractors who want approval routing that understands the job and the cost code, not just the dollar amount.
2. GCPay, best for GCs managing subcontractor pay applications
GCPay is built around the pay application, not the bill. Subcontractors submit through a portal that validates against the approved schedule of values before a GC reviewer ever sees it, and the platform ties lien-waiver collection and compliance-document tracking directly to the approval chain. GCPay is now owned by Autodesk and integrates with Sage, CMiC, and Viewpoint. It solves subcontractor compliance well, but coding a bill to a job and cost code inside your own accounting system isn't its core job.
Best for: general contractors who need lien-waiver and compliance tracking built into the approval process itself.
3. Procore, best for GCs already standardized on Procore
Procore's invoice management ties approvals to the same budgets, commitments, and change orders the project team already works in. For a GC not already running Procore for project management, adopting it just for approval routing is a heavy lift.
Best for: general contractors who already run projects in Procore and want AP approvals in the same system.
4. Stampli, best for collaborative, invoice-centered approvals
Stampli's positioning centers on collaborative, invoice-level approvals: coding, approval, and vendor conversation all live on the bill itself, with AI-suggested coding and approvers, line-level PO matching, and QuickBooks Online and Desktop sync. It also separates payment-step approval from invoice approval, supporting amount thresholds, funding-account ownership, and multi-level sign-off on the payment side specifically. Job and cost-code routing tied to construction-specific structures isn't its core design; it's a horizontal AP tool with an invoice-centered workflow rather than one built around jobs and phases.
Best for: contractors who want approvals and vendor communication centered on the bill itself, in one place.
5. Ramp, best for approvals bundled with card spend
Ramp's Bill Pay routes approvals by vendor, department, GL account, dollar threshold, or entity, with sequential or parallel approval chains available on its Plus tier. Ramp separates payment-step approval from bill approval, so a company can require a distinct "payer" to release funds after a bill is approved. Reviewers note approval hierarchies can get complex to manage as a company grows. Job or cost-code-aware routing for construction work isn't native to it.
Best for: businesses that want bill approval folded into a broader card and spend management platform.
6. BILL, best for simple, low-volume bill pay
BILL supports configurable approval rules, roles, and steps, and automatically routes each bill to the matching workflow. Its routing is built around simple bill pay and role/amount conditions, not job or cost-code logic.
Best for: small contractors with simple, low-volume bills and no job-costing requirement.
Capability comparison
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