The investigation of the interface between metal substrate and adsorbed organic molecules is of primary interest in organic and molecular electronics research. The electronic properties of the devices are affected by the interface interaction, thus determining the efficiency and functionality of the device. This work consists of the study of metal phthalocyanines, respectively CoPc, ZnPc, and MgPc, deposited through thermal evaporation PVD on a polycrystalline gold substrate, following a step-wise method to investigate both monolayer and thin films. The samples are analyzed by photoemission spectroscopy (XPS and UPS). Where available, the experimental results are compared to ab initio simulations in the density functional theory framework of idealized systems, that consider an Au(111) surface.