You’ll find the receipts in the glovebox. Or in someone’s jacket pocket. Or nowhere at all. Someone’s trying to buy materials, but the card limit’s hit. A subcontractor paid out of pocket last week and is still waiting on reimbursement. And finance is still piecing together spreadsheets at the end of the month, long after the costs have landed.
That’s the reality we explored in our recent webinar, How Pleo helps construction businesses master spend optimisation, led by Jak Barrow, our Strategic Account Executive & Solutions Consultant.
Missed the live session? No problem. Here are the key takeaways from the conversation:
Too much time is lost to work that should be automatic
Jak started with what he sees daily: finance teams chasing receipts that haven’t been handed in, reviewing spend from jobs that closed two weeks ago, and patching together reports across too many spreadsheets
There’s pressure to track every pound, but very little time to do it properly. By the time costs get reviewed, they’ve already landed, and the budget’s already taken the hit.
“We see this everywhere. Site teams need to move quickly. Finance needs to stay in control. But the processes most companies are using today make both of those things harder.” - Jak Barrow
GG Glass & Glazing cut their review time from a week to 30 minutes
Jak shared the story of GG Glass & Glazing, a commercial glazing company working across the UK.
Like many firms, they were struggling to track spend across sites and teams. Their monthly cost reviews dragged on for days, and approvals were clunky at best. After implementing Pleo, things quickly changed.
With smart cards issued to site leads, instant receipt capture, and live spend tracking across all cost centres, the finance team now spends only half an hour a month on what used to take a full week.
“Pleo has solved a big headache for us,” said Ben Grocutt, Group Finance Manager at GG Glass & Glazing. “It’s not just time saved. It’s better accuracy, cleaner data, and more confidence in our numbers.”
The solution that fits the shape of the work
Here’s how construction teams are using Pleo day to day, and how it helps move construction projects forward without the stress:
1. Individual cards with built-in guardrails
Finance teams can issue cards to site leads or contractors with pre-set spend limits. That means no delays, no surprise purchases, and no need for last-minute workarounds.
2. Reimbursements that don’t create a backlog
If someone has to use their own money, they snap a photo of the receipt and submit it in seconds. Finance can review or automate the approval. Either way, there’s no paperwork, no manual entry, and no hold-ups.
3. Reconciliation that happens during the job, not after it
Every transaction is categorised and matched in the moment. VAT is handled. Job codes and project tags are added. And just like that, it all flows into the accounting software without extra steps.
4. Oversight that holds up, no matter the scale
Pleo gives finance a clear view of spend across all sites, teams, and suppliers. They can track fuel, monitor recurring costs, and review job-level spend without waiting for reports.
See overspend coming and stop it from landing
Jak was clear on this point: Pleo isn’t here to squeeze margins, it’s here to give you the visibility to protect them. With live dashboards and detailed reporting, finance teams can catch issues before they escalate.
Pleo customers in construction are seeing results like:
- Expense processing times cut by up to 90%
- Receipt capture rates as high as 95%
- Reconciliation times under 10 minutes
- Cost savings of up to 2% from early intervention
These numbers reflect a system designed to keep up with operational realities, where accuracy, timing, and access aren’t traded off against one another.
Better systems are already making a difference
Jak wrapped the session with a reminder: these problems are common, but they’re not fixed by working harder. They’re fixed by giving good teams better tools.
If you’re still manually reviewing costs at the end of the month, or if your team is stuck reconciling transactions from two sites ago, you’re not the only one. But there’s a better way to do it.
Watch the webinar on demand
Jak’s full session is now available to watch. It’s a practical walkthrough of how Pleo supports construction firms across Europe—from the tools they use, to the results they’re seeing, to what it means for finance teams day to day.
Watch it here and explore how Pleo can help your construction business spend smarter and with more clarity, too.
