What Is a Payment Administration Agent?
An agent that receives your payments on behalf of the business doing the work and passes them on. Here is exactly what that means, and what it doesn't.
The short answer
An agent that receives your payment for the contractor, and passes it on to them.
A payment administration agent is a company that receives payments on behalf of the business carrying out the work, and passes them on to that business. The payment is legally made to the contractor. The agent handles the administration of collecting it and getting it to the contractor, but it is not the builder, it is not a party to the construction contract, and it does not hold your money on your behalf.
Mortaro Group works this way. Our quotation terms put it in one sentence: "Mortaro Group acts solely as a payment administration agent for the appointed independent main contractor." The rest of this page explains what that means in practice.
In practice
The path your payment takes
You accept a quotation
It names the main contractor who will carry out the work. Your construction contract is with them.
You pay the agent
The payment is for the contractor. You make it to the agent, as the quotation sets out.
The agent passes it on
The agent transmits the payment to the contractor. At Mortaro, that happens without unnecessary delay.
The contractor does the work
The contractor carries out the job, holds the insurance and provides the workmanship warranty.
Who does what
The agent's role, and the contractor's
The payment administration agent
- Receives payments on the contractor's behalf
- Passes them on to the contractor
- Administers the payment process
- Is not a party to the construction contract
- Does not hold client funds
The main contractor
- Is the business your payment is legally made to
- Holds the construction contract with you
- Carries out the work
- Holds the insurance
- Provides the workmanship warranty
How it compares
Not the same as paying a main contractor or a holding account
If you hire a builder directly, you pay the builder, and the builder is responsible for the work. That is the familiar arrangement. Paying an agent vs paying the contractor compares the two side by side. The word agent is the key. An agent acts on behalf of another business, and here that business is your contractor. That is why the quotation names the contractor as the party you are contracting with, even though the payment instructions come from the agent.
A payment administration agent does not change who you are contracting with. You are still paying the contractor, through the agent. It does not hold your money, and it does not decide whether the work has been done properly. Its job is to get the payment to the contractor.
Because of that, a payment administration agent is not a form of payment protection, and Mortaro does not describe it as one.
If you are weighing up a coordinated arrangement for the first time, who do I pay if a company coordinates the work? sets out the common set-ups, and building deposits explained covers the deposit itself. The quotes and payments guide brings it together.
Why it exists
What the arrangement is for
The contractor stays on the tools
Collecting and chasing payments takes time a contractor would otherwise spend on site. The agent handles that part.
One place for the paperwork
The same company that prepares the quotation and organises the start handles the payments, so you are not juggling separate contacts. How it works shows each stage.
Payments move on promptly
At Mortaro, deposits and balances are passed to the contractor without unnecessary delay, so the contractor is paid for the job without waiting on anyone.
Questions to ask
What to check with any agent
Whoever you are dealing with, the quotation or contract should answer four questions clearly: who the construction contract is with, who the payment is legally made to, how and when the agent passes it on, and who provides the warranty. If any of those is unclear, ask before you pay anything. Keep your own record of each payment, with the date, the amount and the method, alongside the quotation.
Mortaro's answers are straightforward. The contract is with your named main contractor. Payments are legally made to them. We pass on the 25% deposit and the balance on completion without unnecessary delay. The warranty is your contractor's, a minimum of 12 months across our network. You pay by bank transfer. More on payments explained and who you're dealing with.
This is general information, not legal advice. The terms that apply to your project are the ones in your quotation, so read them before you accept.
Straight answers
Questions about payment agents
Why use an agent rather than paying the contractor directly?
It lets the contractor stay on the tools while someone else handles collecting and passing on payments. With Mortaro it sits alongside the coordination: one point of contact for the quotation, the start date, the updates and the payments.
Is there a separate fee for the payment administration?
Not with Mortaro. There is no separate charge. The price in your quotation is the price of the work, with the coordination included.
Can I pay by credit card?
No. Payments through Mortaro are made by bank transfer only. We do not take card payments of any kind.
Start here
Tell us about the work you have in mind
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