Trimble acquires Flashtract as Speedchain raises $111 million

Trimble acquires Flashtract; all 24 employees to join as platform integrates into Trimble Pay

Trimble has acquired Flashtract. All 24 Flashtract employees will join Trimble as part of the acquisition. Financial terms of the Trimble–Flashtract deal were not disclosed.

Why this matters now

The move folds a focused construction billing automation tool into a larger construction software suite, combining a digital billing and compliance workflow with broader enterprise tools. Flashtract’s platform will integrate into Trimble’s suite of products, including Trimble Pay, bringing automated lien waiver collection, digital signatures, insurance tracking and diversity data into the vendor’s payments stack. The integration aims to reduce routine manual work that project managers and accountants perform each month.

Flashtract at a glance

Flashtract officially launched in 2020. Flashtract raised a $15 million Series A in early 2022. Prior to the acquisition, Flashtract was known for creating a contiguous digital workflow for billing and payment between general contractors and subcontractors.

Flashtract’s platform creates a contiguous digital workflow for billing and payment. Flashtract automates lien waiver collection. Flashtract supports digital signatures. Flashtract provides insurance tracking. Flashtract tracks diversity and inclusion information. Flashtract offers Flash Prime (for general contractors) and Flash Specialty (for subcontractors) products. Flash Prime and Flash Specialty help protect cash flow for users despite payment delays.

How the product works

Flashtract’s solution generates application for payment documents, lien waivers and other compliance documents through configurable approval workflows. Users input percentage complete, work completed this period, or materials stored; Flashtract uses those inputs to generate pay applications and compliance documents. Flashtract validates submitted numbers against the agreed scheduled value and issued change orders to reduce risk of overbilling. Flashtract performs calculations such as retainage and payment due on behalf of subcontractors in real time.

General contractors can flag specific line items for revision; subcontractors can adjust and resubmit with a few clicks. Flashtract imports contract details from contracts to define liquidity events and eliminate manual entry. For a majority of customers, Flashtract pulls data directly from the customer’s ERP or project management software through existing integrations. Where strict control is needed, Flashtract provides easy-to-use templates for batch uploads.

Flashtract integrates with Procore using Procore’s APIs and is available on the Procore marketplace. Flashtract has partnered with Ryvit to provide automated integration experiences for ERPs like Viewpoint Vista and Sage 300 CRE. Flashtract embedded financing options white-labeled from Lendflow starting in November 2021 to give subcontractors and general contractors access to contextual financing.

People and go-to-market

Flashtract’s team will join Trimble to help ensure a seamless integration. Flashtract charges a SaaS fee for ongoing product enhancement and also charges a fee based on annual approved pay applications. Flashtract frequently released features across all customer tiers to optimize processes and reduce cycle time for approving pay applications. Flashtract positions itself as a point solution focused on the billing/payment bridge between project management and accounting systems.

Speedchain’s raise and why it matters

Speedchain raised $111 million in debt and equity. Speedchain is a construction-focused card and spend management platform. Daniel Cage is CEO of Speedchain.

The raise matters because many construction firms’ finance teams struggle to track receipts and reconcile costs in real time across multiple job sites. Platforms that combine card controls, spend visibility and reconciliation aim to reduce administrative delay and improve financial control for complex, distributed construction work.

Market context and consolidation

Application for payment is a challenging business process for both general contractors and subcontractors. Construction ERPs and point solutions also target application-for-payment workflows. Some competitors have embedded financing and marketplace services to provide additional revenue streams beyond subscription fees.

The market for application-for-payment software, construction accounting software and construction ERP is maturing and consolidating. Increased technology adoption is creating benefits but also a proliferation of point solutions, which makes buying and implementing technology more complicated for customers. There is a market push for consolidation of products and services to reduce the number of point solutions contractors must buy and implement.

Southeast funding and regional momentum

Since COVID, the Southeast U.S. construction technology sector has experienced a rush of funding and acquisition activity. Examples include multiple companies across Georgia, North Carolina and Florida closing sizable rounds and a notable acquisition that reshaped a segment of the market. The region has seen both funding inflows and acquisition headlines that signal investor appetite for construction software.

Industry challenges and operational trends

Contractors face a skilled labor shortage, increased costs and supply chain pressures for items with long lead times such as generators, transformers, certain wiring and specialty tubing. Firms are using long-term planning, manufacturer relationships and logistics models like early ordering and flexible storage to mitigate supply disruptions. Prefabrication and digital tools are being used to increase efficiency, improve quality and reduce on-site hazards.

Takeaway

The acquisition of Flashtract by Trimble and the capital raised by spend-management platforms point to two concurrent trends: consolidation of specialized payment and compliance tools into larger suites, and continued investor interest in software that solves finance and payments friction on construction projects. The combined moves aim to reduce manual work, tighten compliance and help firms manage cash flow across complex portfolios of jobs.