Every Feature, Explained
EVERYTHING BUILDHUB DOES.
One mobile-first platform. Every tool a UK builder needs to run a better business. No filler features, no bloat — just what you actually use.
PROJECTS & TASKS
Every BuildHub project is a complete operating system for a build. From first enquiry to final sign-off, every phase, every package and every individual activity is structured, assignable and trackable.
The Work Breakdown Structure mirrors how UK builders actually run a site — phases (groundworks, structural, first fix, second fix, finishing), work packages within each phase, and individual activities within each package. Each activity has an assignee, duration, completion status and notes.
- Hierarchical task management — phases, packages, activities
- Assign to team members, subcontractors or clients
- Mark complete with timestamp and user record
- Client visibility toggle per activity — show or hide from homeowner
- Internal notes per activity
- Calendar view of all milestones and site activities
- Builder-defined blackout periods (holidays, shutdowns)
Why it matters
Most jobs lose money because nobody really knew where the work was up to. BuildHub gives you — and only you — total visibility, with the ability to share exactly what you want clients to see.
COMMUNICATION
Two separate chat channels per project: one for your client, one for your team. Both fully logged, fully searchable, fully linked to the project.
AI turns rough site notes ("poured slab, windows delivered tomorrow, awaiting electrician") into a polished, reassuring update in your voice. Homeowners can ask questions about their project and get instant answers from live project data — variations, payments, progress — without bothering you.
- Separate Client and Team channels per project
- Rich media: images, documents, video
- Threaded message replies
- Read receipts
- Email and push notifications
- AI-drafted client updates from bullet notes
- AI homeowner Q&A using live project data
- Configurable tone of voice per builder
Why it matters
Builders lose more evenings to client communication than to actual building. BuildHub does the chasing, the explaining and the reassuring for you — in your voice.
VARIATIONS & THE 3-STAGE HANDSHAKE
Every scope change goes through a structured three-stage process — designed to make sure nothing is misunderstood, misremembered or disputed.
Stage 1 — Discuss. The change is raised in conversation between builder and homeowner, with the context and reasoning logged.
Stage 2 — Propose. The builder formally submits the variation in BuildHub, with the cost impact (increase or decrease) clearly itemised and the reason recorded.
Stage 3 — Approve. The homeowner reviews the proposal and digitally approves or rejects it. Their decision is permanently recorded with the date, time and exact figures.
No more "I never agreed to that". No more arguments at the end of the job about what was supposed to be included. Just a clean, ordered record of every change.
- Three-stage process: discuss, propose, approve
- Cost impact clearly itemised before approval
- One-tap digital approval or rejection by the homeowner
- Approved variations automatically update contract value
- Absorb into final milestone or add as new payment stage
- Rejected variations logged with reason
- Full audit trail with timestamps
Why it matters
Disputes over variations are the single biggest cause of builders losing money on otherwise profitable jobs. The 3-Stage Handshake makes them effectively impossible — every change is talked through, costed out and signed off before any work happens.
The 3-Stage Handshake
Discuss. Propose. Approve. Every change signed off before work begins.
THE VAULT
A structured, secure archive of every document on every project — planning drawings, structural calculations, contracts, certificates, warranties, site photos, communications.
Documents have a 10-minute deletion window after upload. After that, they can only be formally voided — and the voiding itself is permanently recorded. Nothing can be silently removed. The Vault is your project's paper trail, automatically.
- Structured document categories — planning, structural, legal, photos, other
- 10-minute deletion window, then voiding-only
- Permanent record of all sign-offs and decisions
- Builder Credential Vault — upload insurance, FMB, NHBC certificates once, visible across all client projects
- Searchable across project history
- Secure cloud storage
Why it matters
If something ever goes wrong on a project — a dispute, an insurance claim, a customer complaint — The Vault is the evidence trail that protects you. Not a legal guarantee, but a comprehensive record that makes disputes much harder to fabricate.
Nothing disappears.
10-minute deletion window. Then voiding-only. Permanent record. Always.
FINANCIAL LEDGER
Every stage payment, every variation, every cost — in one connected view. The Payment Schedule Architect auto-generates a payment schedule from the contract sum based on your preferred strategy. Builders trigger payment requests; homeowners confirm; everyone sees the same numbers.
- Auto-generated payment schedules (weekly, phased, or manual)
- Payment status: Pending → Requested → Paid
- Live financial health indicator (paid / requested / remaining)
- Variation impact automatically reflected in contract value
- Bank details pre-populated from your business profile
- Outstanding balance always visible to both sides
Why it matters
Cash flow is what kills small builders. BuildHub makes payment status crystal clear to everyone — and clients pay faster when they can see exactly what they're paying for.
Cash flow, under control.
Pending. Requested. Paid. Crystal clear. To everyone. Always.
AI BUILT IN, NOT BOLTED ON
BuildHub has AI embedded throughout the platform — turning the chore parts of running a building business into seconds, not hours. Every AI feature works to your configured tone of voice and your professional guardrails.
- AI-drafted client updates from rough notes
- Homeowner Q&A from live project data
- AI quote generation from drawings or specifications (in active development)
- AI proposal writing in your voice
- AI-powered Excel/CSV price list import — upload messy supplier price lists, AI structures them
- Configurable per-builder persona, tone and guardrails
Why it matters
AI in BuildHub doesn't replace the builder — it removes the admin that gets between the builder and the build. Every output is reviewed by you before it goes out.
AI that works for you.
Rough notes in. Professional update out. Reviewed by you before it leaves.
MOOD BOARD
A visual collaboration space per project. Homeowners and builders upload inspiration images grouped by area — kitchen, lounge, bathroom, exterior. Before/after sliders show transformations. Comment threads keep design decisions attached to the reference images.
- Inspiration gallery by area
- Before/after image sliders
- Comment threads on individual images
- Image upload from phone or desktop
- Visible to both builder and homeowner
Why it matters
Design decisions made in the kitchen at 9pm don't get lost in WhatsApp. They live with the project, with the conversation, with everyone aligned.
Design decisions, in one place.
Attached to the project. Not buried in a WhatsApp thread.
MOBILE FIRST
BuildHub is a Progressive Web App. Install it on your iOS or Android home screen — it works just like a native app. Update checklists from site, respond to clients in seconds, approve variations from the van. The office is wherever you are.
- Installable on iOS and Android home screens
- Works offline; syncs when reconnected
- Push notifications for key events (new messages, payment requests, variation approvals)
- Camera and photo upload native to the device
- No App Store fees, no native app updates, always current
Why it matters
A builder's office is a van, a site, a kitchen, a Costa. BuildHub is built for that reality — not for a desk.
No App Store. No updates. Always current.
Install from your browser. Works on iOS and Android. On site, in the van, anywhere.
YOUR BRAND, NOT OURS
Every BuildHub homeowner sees a fully branded portal — your logo, your strapline, your colours. They never see "Powered by BuildHub" front and centre on their experience. To them, the platform is yours.
- Upload your logo, strapline, brand colours
- Branded across every client-facing page and email
- Custom domain for client portal (Bespoke tier)
- Configurable per builder
- Embeddable enquiry form for your existing website
Why it matters
Clients judge professionalism on first impression. A branded BuildHub portal makes a one-person operation look like a 50-person firm.
Your brand. Their experience.
A one-person operation that looks like a 50-person firm.
SEE IT FOR YOURSELF.
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