Construction projects fail for a lot of reasons, but one of the most common — and most avoidable — is money changing hands before work is verified. A client pays upfront and the contractor disappears. Or a contractor finishes a milestone and waits weeks to get paid. Escrow exists to remove that risk from both sides.
The flow, step by step
On Build Me, every project follows the same sequence: a project is created, a quotation is accepted, a contract is generated, and the client funds escrow. Only then does the contractor start work. Once a milestone is completed, the client reviews it — and only after approval is payment released. The project closes once all milestones are settled, and ratings are submitted on both sides.
Why this protects everyone
Contractors know the money is real and reserved before they lift a single tool. Clients know they're not paying for work that hasn't happened yet. And because every transaction is ledgered — with a unique ID, timestamp, status, and audit trail — there's a clear, disputable record if anything goes wrong.
What happens in a dispute
If a client and contractor disagree about whether a milestone is genuinely complete, the standard release process pauses and an administrator steps in to review the evidence. This is the one exception to the "client approves, then funds release" rule — and it exists specifically to prevent either side from being stuck.
Escrow isn't a feature bolted onto Build Me — it's the foundation the entire payments system is built around.