Before you pay a sub

Before you pay a sub: a checklist for construction controllers

Three questions a controller or AP manager answers before a subcontractor gets paid, which product answers each one, and when you can skip a step.

How Denize works

Published October 15, 2026 · Reviewed October 15, 2026

What should you check before paying a subcontractor?

Before a subcontractor gets paid, three things should be true. The invoice is coded to the right job and cost code, and approved. If the sub entered it in Procore, what they entered matches the PDF they attached. And the sub is compliant: W-9 on file, certificate of insurance current, lien waiver received. The first two depend on who entered the invoice; the third applies to every sub.

Is the invoice coded and approved?

Step 1 · Denize AP. For the invoices you receive. Denize reads each invoice, codes every line to the right job and cost code, matches the PO, and AP reviews it beside the original. On QuickBooks Online and Intuit Enterprise Suite, the project’s PM approves in Denize without a QuickBooks login, and the approved Bill posts with the original attached. On Procore, Denize prepares the Direct Cost or commitment invoice for you to review and submit, and approvals stay in your Procore workflow.

Every line on the right job and cost code, not one account for the whole invoice.
Matched by the PO number printed on the invoice; a PO number that belongs to another vendor is flagged, not linked.
Approved by the person who knows what was ordered and delivered.

See Denize for QuickBooks Online or Denize for Procore.

Does the pay app match what the sub entered in Procore?

Step 2 · Denize Invoice Check. For the pay apps and bills your vendors and subs enter themselves in Procore. Nobody on your team typed those numbers, so compare them with the PDF the sub attached before approval. Invoice Check does this each time the invoice is created or updated in Procore, and marks it Clear, Not clear or Needs review for an accountant.

Invoice number, date, vendor and PO.
SOV amounts billed this period, the arithmetic and the total.
The billing period, and whether it repeats an earlier invoice.

Read how to verify the pay apps subs enter in Procore, or see Denize Invoice Check.

Is the sub compliant?

Step 3 · SubLien. For every sub, whoever entered the invoice. Before you release a payment, confirm you have the sub’s W-9 on file, a current certificate of insurance and the lien waiver for this payment. Your Procore setup may also require subs to attach a lien waiver to the invoice itself (Procore’s steps for invoice contacts, as of October 2026).

Our sister product SubLien keeps W-9s, certificates of insurance and lien waivers with each vendor, and shows what’s missing or expiring before you pay. It is a separate product with its own account and pricing. Visit sublien.com ↗

SubLien’s guides cover these documents in depth:

Who owns each step?

Usually the same person: the controller or AP manager who decides whether a sub gets paid. AP codes and reviews, the PM approves the job cost, and the controller confirms the sub is compliant before the payment goes out.

Do you need all three checks?

Steps 1 and 2 depend on who entered the invoice; step 3 applies to every sub.

Not on Procore? Skip step 2. Invoice Check is only for invoices vendors enter themselves in Procore.
On Procore, with subs entering their own pay apps? Step 2 covers those; step 1 covers the supplier invoices you receive by email.
Your team enters every invoice? Step 1 covers it.
No QuickBooks or Procore integration? SubLien also works on its own, over email.

SubLien describes itself as working standalone over email, with integrations optional (sublien.com, as of October 2026).

What does the complete checklist look like?

Print it, or keep it next to your payment run.

Answered byWhat to confirm

CodedDenize AP, for invoices you receiveEvery line on the right job and cost code, not one account for the whole invoice.

Matched to the PODenize APThe PO number printed on the invoice, on the same project. A PO number that belongs to another vendor is flagged, not linked.

ApprovedDenize AP on QuickBooks; your Procore workflow on ProcoreThe person who knows the job has approved the cost.

Matches what the sub enteredDenize Invoice Check, for pay apps vendors enter in ProcoreInvoice number, date, vendor, PO, billing period, SOV amounts billed this period, totals and duplicates agree with the attached PDF.

RetainageYour team, by handRetainage withheld or released matches the subcontract.

W-9 on fileSubLienThe sub’s current W-9 is on file.

COI currentSubLienThe certificate of insurance is current, not expired.

Lien waiver inSubLienThe waiver for this payment is received, conditional or unconditional as your process requires.

Where do these facts come from?

Facts about third-party products on this page come from this page, as of October 2026. Menus and plans change, so check them against your own company’s setup.

Procore: Submit a new invoice as an invoice contact

Related guides and pages

How to verify the pay apps subs enter in Procore How to job cost supplier bills in QuickBooks Online Denize for QuickBooks Online Denize for Procore Denize Invoice Check All construction AP guides

Start with the invoices you receive.

Bring a few real sub and supplier invoices from QuickBooks or Procore jobs. We’ll show you how Denize codes, matches and routes them.

Contact Denize

What should you check before paying a subcontractor?

Is the invoice coded and approved?

Every line on the right job and cost code, not one account for the whole invoice.

Matched by the PO number printed on the invoice; a PO number that belongs to another vendor is flagged, not linked.

Approved by the person who knows what was ordered and delivered.

Does the pay app match what the sub entered in Procore?

Invoice number, date, vendor and PO.

SOV amounts billed this period, the arithmetic and the total.

The billing period, and whether it repeats an earlier invoice.