How payments work

How a milestone moves from agreed, to funded, to evidenced, to approved, plus a straight account of where your money sits at each step and what protections do and do not apply.

Held until you approve

Nothing reaches your builder before then

Released only on your approval

No timers, no auto-release

One milestone at a time

Agreed and evidenced stage by stage

The flow

From agreed, to funded, to evidenced, to approved

Step 1 · Homeowner
Homeowner funds a milestone
You pay only for the next stage of work, never the whole job up front. Card or bank payment is taken by Stripe, our payment processor.
Step 2 · Homeowner pays, we hold
The milestone is funded
Your card is charged and Track My Build holds the money. Nothing reaches your builder until you approve the work.
Step 3 · Builder
Builder does the work and submits evidence
Your builder marks the milestone complete and uploads photo evidence, certificates and delivery proof to the project's document store.
Step 4 · Homeowner
You approve, or raise a dispute
Nothing is released without your approval. If the work isn't right, you raise a dispute instead and the milestone stays unreleased while it is reviewed.
Step 5 · Transferred to the builder
The milestone is marked released
On approval the money is transferred to your builder and both parties get a receipt. Track My Build takes no percentage of your construction value. The card processing cost is deducted from the builder's payout and shown on their receipt.

Step 1 · Homeowner
Homeowner funds a milestone
You pay only for the next stage of work, never the whole job up front. Card or bank payment is taken by Stripe, our payment processor.
Step 2 · Homeowner pays, we hold
The milestone is funded
Your card is charged and Track My Build holds the money. Nothing reaches your builder until you approve the work.
Step 3 · Builder
Builder does the work and submits evidence
Your builder marks the milestone complete and uploads photo evidence, certificates and delivery proof to the project's document store.
Step 4 · Homeowner
You approve, or raise a dispute
Nothing is released without your approval. If the work isn't right, you raise a dispute instead and the milestone stays unreleased while it is reviewed.
Step 5 · Transferred to the builder
The milestone is marked released
On approval the money is transferred to your builder and both parties get a receipt. Track My Build takes no percentage of your construction value. The card processing cost is deducted from the builder's payout and shown on their receipt.

What each stage means

At every stage, it is clear what has and has not happened

What each milestone stage means, and what happens to money at that stage.
Stage	What it means	Recorded on the project?	Real money moves?
Before you fund	Milestone agreed but not yet funded	Yes	No
Milestone funded	Card charged, money held by Track My Build	Yes	Yes, held
Work in progress	Builder uploads evidence and documents	Yes	No
Awaiting your approval	Evidence submitted, waiting on you	Yes	No
In dispute	Milestone stays unreleased while reviewed	Yes	No
Approved and released	Money transferred to the builder	Yes	Yes, sent

Before you fund
Milestone agreed but not yet funded
No money has moved
Milestone funded
Card charged, money held by Track My Build
Charged and held
Work in progress
Builder uploads evidence and documents
Still held
Awaiting your approval
Evidence submitted, waiting on you
Still held
In dispute
Milestone stays unreleased while reviewed
Still held
Approved and released
Money transferred to the builder
Sent to your builder

Being straight with you

What this mechanism is, and what it is not

What it is

Your money held by us, and only sent to your builder when you approve.
Payment released only when you approve the stage of work, with photo evidence attached.
A full audit trail of funding, evidence, approvals and payouts on every project.

What it is not

Not a bank deposit, and not covered by the FSCS.
Track My Build Ltd is not authorised or regulated by the FCA.
Not insurance, a warranty, or a guarantee of workmanship quality.
Not a substitute for a written building contract between you and your builder.

Read the detail on our Trust & Security page, including our exact FCA position and Stripe's firm reference number.

Straight answers

Money questions

A milestone is only released after you press approve. There is no timer and no automatic release. Until you approve, the money is held by Track My Build and you can ask for it back at any time.

Fund your first milestone in minutes

Set up your project, invite your builder, and fund only the stage of work in front of you.

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