Subcontractor Payment Pool
A subcontractor payment pool is the total a sub can be paid on a project, set by the accepted quote and moved only by approved variations. Know your ceiling before you start.
Definition
A subcontractor payment pool is the total amount you can be paid on a project. It is set by your accepted quote. You invoice against it until it runs out.
Think of it as a ceiling, not a target. Your contract value plus any approved variations is the most you can draw. Anything you invoice above that is held back, not paid.
Why it matters
Your pool is your money on the job. It tells you exactly how much work you can claim before you ever pick up a tool, with no guessing and no hoping the builder finds extra budget at the end. If a variation gets approved by both the builder and the owner, your ceiling moves up. If it does not, the work above your quote does not get paid, so get it signed off first.
How it works in practice
You quote the job. The builder accepts your quote. That accepted figure becomes your payment pool for the project.
From there you invoice in stages as you complete verified work. Each approved invoice draws down the pool, and the ledger records every draw permanently. Your running total cannot pass the ceiling.
Approved variations move the ceiling. The pool equals your contract value plus approved variations. Both the builder and the owner must sign a variation before it counts. One signature is not enough, and an approved variation lifts your cap only up to the agreed scope. It does not invent budget beyond it.
If you invoice past the pool, the extra is withheld in the regulated project account, not paid out. It is not sitting in a builder operating account where other creditors can reach it. It stays in the project account until the scope and the numbers line up.
Common misconceptions
The pool is a budget I should aim to spend
It is a ceiling, not a goal. It is the most you can be paid for the agreed scope. Invoicing up to it does not earn you extra. It only tracks the work you have actually done.
More work means more money, automatically
Not without an approved variation. Extra work outside your quote sits above the cap and is withheld until both the builder and the owner approve a variation. Get the sign-off before you do the work.
A variation I agreed with the builder lifts my pool
Only once the owner approves it too. Variations need dual approval, builder plus owner, before they change the contract sum and move your ceiling.
Materials the builder buys for me come out of nowhere
They come out of your pool. Materials a builder pays on your behalf are set off against what you are owed, so your payable drops by that amount.
Approved subcontractor invoices release on a fixed 7-day clock from invoice approval. Funds stay in regulated custody with BuildFair banking partner Kobble (Kobble operates under AFSL 545391, Yondr Money Pty Ltd) until they are released. How progress payments work