Getting Paid ‘Securely’: New App
Tradies not getting paid in Australia is a $20 billion a year issue. Securely is an app that has been developed to protect tradies and their customers through a secure customer payment portal, to help tradies ensure they get paid for the quality work they complete.
“$20 billion is a massive number, and if it were the revenue of an Australian company, the company would be the size of NAB or Telstra, and those companies employ 26,000 and 30,000 people respectively. So, getting this money back into the economy will be of national significance” Securely CEO, Andrew Squires, said.
“Securely, the Tradies app, has been developed by an all-Australian team. We pulled together a passionate and professional group of investors and technical experts to help solve the problem of tradies not getting paid. Our goal is to make sure every tradie gets paid on time, every time.
“We began working on the architecture of the software for this app just over two years ago. We set out to make the app as simple to use as using Airbnb or Uber, but what we found was that whilst those apps are very simple for end users, the level of complexity behind the scenes is something we could never have imagined.
“After two years and significant research and development, we finally have the app ready to use – and completely free for tradies and sub-contractors.”
Securely protects and addresses a $20 billion national problem in Australia alone; tradespeople not being correctly paid for the work that they do. The Securely team set out to create an easy-to-use app that tradies and sub-contractors could use to protect their payments with customers. As a result, Securely the Tradies app, now protects tradies and their customers through a secure payment portal.
“Like Airbnb or Uber, Securely is an easy to use web app where Securely is the trusted middle person. A tradie simply uploads their quote sheet and Securely reaches out to the customer, holds the signed agreement, and the money until the job is completed. Upon completion of the job, the customer then authorises release of the payment to the tradie. Securely is committed to fair play when it comes to helping a job get done properly and making sure that tradies get paid on time, every time,” Squires said.
“The Securely app is committed to ensuring customers can also trust that their job gets done properly and the tradie gets paid fairly on completion. Paying directly to Securely guarantees that money is safe and that your satisfaction with the tradie’s work is confirmed before you pay the tradie. Funds sit in a secure Commonwealth Bank escrow account and can not be released until milestones are met and work is completed.
According to Squires, Securely transforms the way tradies get paid in three easy steps to protect both the tradies and customers:
- Tradie submits quote to customer for approval.
- Customer deposits project funds with Securely.
- Tradie completes job to customer’s satisfaction and gets paid.
“Already, our team at Securely has been approached by other industries that see value in using our app. Other service-based industries, such as interior designers, landscapers, cleaners, and car salespersons, face similar issues every day to tradies, where they’re battling to get their invoices paid in full and on time,” Squires said.
“The business model took a lot of refining, working with focus groups of tradies and separately their customers to find a model that worked for both. The solution we came up with is that tradies get paid their full amount quoted, and the customer pays a very small fee to Securely of less than one percent.
“If the job is deficient in some way, the customer just has to take a photo of their concern, the Securely team contacts the tradie with the rectification required and once rectified to the customer’s satisfaction, payment is released to the tradie.
“Our app protects both the customer and the tradie and makes sure the job gets done right. It is our hope that we will see a large part of the $20 billion that is not paid each year to tradies and sub-contractors get into the hands of those families that have done the work.”