You’re a builder.
You shouldn’t need to be a paperwork expert.
It's clear the UK construction industry is changing, are you ready? Builder Standard helps UK builders and contractors get their contracts, paperwork, procedures and project systems in place, and keep them that way as industry standards rise.
Get ready. Stay ready. Work to the standard.
Independent commercial service. Not a government scheme.
Five-pillar dashboard
Builder Readiness Score
72
out of 100
Professional Business
Business identity, insurance, competence, health and safety, and subcontractor management.
Clear Agreements
Quotations, scopes, contracts, exclusions, responsibilities and variations.
Fair Payments
Deposits, stage payments, schedules, variations, payment evidence and milestone verification.
Project Records
Photos, approvals, Building Control, instructions, variations, evidence and completion records.
Customer Protection
Communication, complaints, disputes, defects, handover, guarantees and warranties.
Illustrative example. Your own result is self-assessed until supporting evidence has been independently checked.
Protected milestone payments: what builders should put in place now
Read the update →What's changing
Expectations of professional builders are rising.
As expectations and standards across UK construction continue to rise, clients, insurers and the wider industry are looking for greater professionalism, better documentation, clearer payment procedures, better project records and stronger consumer protection.
Government and industry are considering and introducing measures intended to raise standards. Industry organisations including the Federation of Master Builders have called for mandatory licensing of domestic building companies. Nothing about the final framework is settled.
Whatever form future regulation takes, professional contractors should be ready.
Builder Standard is independent and is not government approved, government endorsed, mandatory or affiliated with any trade body.
What’s changingWhy Builder Standard exists
Most builders don’t have a back-office team.
But increasingly, clients, insurers, regulators and the wider construction industry expect smaller contractors to operate with professional systems and records, much like larger contractors do.
That’s where Builder Standard comes in.
You build. We help with the professional systems and processes behind the build.
You probably don’t employ
- A contracts manager.
- A commercial manager.
- A compliance manager.
- A documentation manager.
- A dedicated administrator.
How Builder Standard works
From getting your business ready to running every project professionally.
Get ready. Stay ready. Work to the standard. Builder Standard helps you get the right paperwork, processes and systems in place, then gives you the tools to use them on every job.
- Stage 1 of 3
Get ready
We find what's missing, and help put it right.
Start with the free Builder Readiness Check. The £295 Professional Standards Audit then reviews what you actually use, and implementation support puts the missing contracts, templates and procedures in place.
- •Free readiness check, about 5 minutes
- •£295 Professional Standards Audit
- •Implementation support from £695
- Stage 2 of 3
Stay ready
Keep your standards current.
Documents expire. Regulations change. Businesses grow. Membership keeps your documents, procedures, insurance records and standards up to date.
- •Professional Standards Score and improvement plan
- •Document and insurance expiry reminders
- •Updated templates and industry alerts
- Stage 3 of 3
Work to the standard
Use it on every live project.
The Builder Standard Project Hub gives members the tools to put those professional processes into practice on every job, with a simple client portal for each project.
- •Contracts, payment plans and variations
- •Client procedures and project documents
- •Digital handover packs and client portal
Another builder app?
No.
Builder Standard isn't trying to run your diary, your workforce, your estimating or your accounting. Keep whatever already works for you.
Builder Standard concentrates on something different: the business standards around the job.
- Contracts
- Payment terms
- Variations
- Evidence
- Customer procedures
- Handover
You build. We'll help get the business behind your building work in order.
Meet the BS Project Hub
Your paperwork. Your projects. Your clients. One place.
Builder Standard membership includes access to the BS Project Hub, a simple back-office system designed around the paperwork and processes that protect professional builders.
Create a project once and use Builder Standard’s systems throughout the job, from contract to completion.
You build the project. Builder Standard helps you run the business around it properly.
- Overview
- Contract
- Payment Schedule
- Variations
- Client Approvals
- Documents
- Project Evidence
- Certificates & Warranties
- Handover
- Project Passport
Rear extension · Mr & Mrs Patel
42 High Street
- ContractSigned
- Payment ScheduleAgreed
- Variation 01, extra socket runApproved
- Variation 02, roof light upgradeAwaiting client
- InsuranceValid
- Building Control documentsUploaded
Illustrative example only.
One project record from contract to handover
- 01
Create the project
Add the customer, project details and scope.
- 02
Get the paperwork right
Generate your branded contract, payment schedule and customer procedures.
- 03
Run the project properly
Issue variations, record approvals and keep important project documents and evidence together.
- 04
Complete professionally
Create the handover documentation, certificates and warranty records.
- 05
Create the Project Passport
Leave the customer with a permanent digital record of their project.
- Builder StandardWhat good looks like.
- BS Project HubHow you put it into practice on every project.
- Project PassportThe permanent project record it creates.
- Milestone VerificationOptional, independent, when required.
Your dashboard
Your audit doesn’t end as a report.
Your Professional Standards Score sits on your Hub dashboard, with a simple traffic light for every area: contracts, payment terms, variations, insurance, customer procedures, complaints, documentation, handover and project records.
Builder Standard then helps you close the gaps, so the audit becomes an ongoing improvement system.
Good afternoon, James.
ABC Building Ltd
Professional Standards Score
82%
3 areas need attention
- 6
- Active projects
- 6
- Contracts issued
- 2
- Variations awaiting approval
- 1
- Ready for handover
- ContractsComplete
- VariationsComplete
- InsuranceComplete
- Payment TermsNeeds review
- HandoverIn progress
- Complaints ProcedureMissing
Illustrative example only.
Variations
No more “I thought that was included.”
Keep a clear record of what changed, what it cost and when it was approved.
- Builder creates variation
- Description, cost and programme impact
- Customer receives variation
- Customer approves
- Approval recorded against the project
- Project record updated
Roof light upgrade
Awaiting client- Cost
- +£1,240
- Programme
- +2 days
- Issued
- 12 Oct
Replace the specified fixed roof light with an electrically opening unit, including wiring and making good.
Illustrative example only.
Client Project View
Give every customer a professional project experience.
Invite your customer to a clean project view showing only what relates to their job. Where appropriate, they can acknowledge or approve documents. They never see your internal dashboard.
One secure link instead of paperwork scattered across emails, WhatsApp and folders.
Your project
42 High Street
Shared securely by ABC Building Ltd
- Contract
- Payment schedule
- Approved variations1 to approve
- Project documents
- Certificates
- Warranties
- Handover pack
Your customer never sees your internal Builder Standard dashboard.
Not just cloud storage
Your company. Your branding. Professional paperwork.
Create professional documents inside the Hub. Builder Standard templates fill in your company name, logo, details, contact information, project and client information, ready to send to your customer.
- Building contracts
- Payment schedules
- Variation proposals
- Client variation approvals
- Project procedures
- Customer information documents
- Completion documents
- Handover checklists
- Warranty schedules
- Certificate records
Builder Standard provides templates and business administration processes, not regulated legal advice. For project-specific terms, or for larger or higher-risk contracts, take your own legal advice or use a recognised industry contract. Builder Standard is not a solicitor and does not provide legal representation.
Project Passport
Build the record while you build the project.
During construction you use the BS Project Hub. Drawings, approvals, certificates, warranties, product information and handover documentation shouldn’t disappear into folders when you leave site.
At completion, Builder Standard can turn selected project information into a Project Passport for the homeowner.
Less paperwork chasing
Better project records. Fewer disputes. A more professional customer experience.
About Project PassportProfessional standards areas
The business behind your building work.
Builder Standard looks across the areas that matter in a professional building business, and helps you put each one in order. Payment procedures stay at the heart of it: clear terms, written schedules, stage payments, payment requests and records.
- Business information
- Insurance
- Quotations
- Contracts
- Payment procedures
- Variation procedures
- Consumer protection
- Health & Safety
- Complaints procedures
- Project records
- Completion
- Handover
- Aftercare
Professional Standards Score
See how your professional systems measure up.
The Builder Standard Professional Standards Score shows how developed your business systems are across ten defined areas, and what to work on next. Members see it live in their Builder Standard dashboard.
The score is Builder Standard’s own professional standards framework. It is not a statutory, government or trade body rating, and it does not rate the quality of building work.
Example score
78 / 100
- Business & Identity90%
- Insurance & Protection85%
- Quotations & Scope80%
- Contracts & Client Agreements70%
- Payments & Deposits75%
- Variations & Additional Works60%
- Consumer Protection80%
- Health & Safety85%
- Completion & Handover70%
- Complaints & Disputes85%
Illustrative example only.
How we can help
Start where you are. Use only what you need.
Every builder can begin with the free check. The next steps are there when they’re useful. Not every building business needs every service.
- Free
Find out where you stand
Builder Readiness Check
A quick initial assessment of your current systems and paperwork.
Start free check - £295
Understand exactly what needs fixing
Professional Standards Audit
A deeper, human review of your professional systems, paperwork and procedures.
Learn more - From £695
We'll help put it right
Builder Standard Implementation
Practical support putting missing documentation, procedures and systems in place. All put in place for you, with access to your own system platform.
Learn more - £59/month
Stay Builder Standard Ready
Builder Standard Membership
Ongoing platform, monitoring, resources and support to help maintain professional standards.
View membership
Builder Standard Membership
Getting ready is only the start.
Documents expire. Regulations change. Businesses grow. Projects change.
Membership is an ongoing professional standards service and a practical system for running every job, not a one-off paperwork exercise. Once your business is standards-ready, the Project Hub helps you work that way on every project.
- ✓Annual Business Standards & Readiness Review
- ✓Professional Standards Score & improvement plan
- ✓Builder Standard Project HubProject Hub
- ✓Create & send branded contractsProject Hub
- ✓Create client payment schedulesProject Hub
- ✓Draft, issue & approve variationsProject Hub
- ✓Client procedures & project documentationProject Hub
- ✓Digital client project areaProject Hub
- ✓Digital handover packsProject Hub
- ✓Shareable Builder Standard Profile / QR code
- ✓Document & insurance expiry reminders
- ✓Updated templates and procedures
- ✓Industry & regulatory alerts
- ✓Eligible Builder Standard Member badge
Builder Standard Profile
One link. Everything your client needs to know.
Instead of repeatedly emailing insurance certificates, credentials and company information, share your Builder Standard profile link or QR code on quotes, vans, your website and email signature.
Example profile
Austen Dawson
Builder Standard Member
- ✓Builder Standard membership
- ✓Business details
- ✓Current insurance status
- ✓Relevant credentials and accreditations
- ✓Appropriate policies and documents
- ✓Professional Standards status
- ✓Verification information where applicable
Illustrative example only. Private and internal documents are never shown. A profile is not an approval of the quality of building work.
Independent Milestone Verification
Additional reassurance when an important project payment becomes due.
Builder Standard can independently assess whether an agreed construction milestone appears to have been achieved, based on defined evidence and pre-agreed criteria, providing a documented outcome for the builder and client. Membership is not required.
Verification does not guarantee workmanship or payment, certify statutory compliance, replace Building Control, or determine legal entitlement to payment.
- Verified
- Further Evidence Required
- Not Verified
Remote verification from £99
Site verification from £249
The Founding 100
100 good building businesses helping shape a new independent standard.
Founding Members help shape Builder Standard during its early development, through structured industry feedback. Each accepted member receives a permanent sequential founding number, never recycled.
Founding Member No. 001
£49 / month
No audit purchase is required to join. The Professional Standards Audit is a separate service.
Apply For The Founding 100Straight answers
Frequently asked questions.
What is Builder Standard?
Builder Standard is an independent commercial service that helps UK builders get their contracts, paperwork, payment procedures, compliance records and customer processes in order. Independent Milestone Verification remains available as a specialist payment-stage service.
Is Builder Standard a government scheme?
No. Builder Standard is a private, independent platform. It is not a government body, statutory regulator or government-endorsed scheme, and it cannot register, certify or accredit you for any government scheme.
What is the Builder Readiness Score?
The Builder Readiness Score is a free, proprietary self-assessment out of 100 across the five Builder Standard pillars: Professional Business, Clear Agreements, Fair Payments, Project Records and Customer Protection. It takes about five minutes and gives an instant indicative result. It is not a government or regulatory rating.
How much does Builder Standard cost?
The Builder Readiness Check is free. The Professional Standards Audit is £295, Builder Standard Implementation starts from £695, Builder Standard Member is £59 a month, and Independent Milestone Verification starts from £99 per remote milestone.
Can homeowners check a builder?
Yes. Customers can use Check A Builder to look up a contractor's Builder Standard ID, verification status, score band and Project Passport count before hiring them.
What is changing in the UK building industry?
The direction of travel is clear: expectations of professional builders are increasing. Government and industry are considering and introducing measures intended to raise standards and improve consumer protection. Industry organisations including the Federation of Master Builders have called for mandatory licensing of domestic building companies, but final law and timing are not settled.
Will these changes affect my building business?
Most likely, yes. Contractors working on domestic projects should expect greater emphasis on written contracts, transparent payment terms, insurance evidence, documented project records and proper handover procedures. Builders who already operate professionally should have little to fear, but may still need to organise and evidence what they already do.
How does Builder Standard help me prepare?
Builder Standard gives you a practical bridge between being a good builder and operating a properly documented business. The free readiness check shows where you stand, the £295 audit reviews your real documents, and implementation support helps put missing paperwork and procedures in place.
Do I need to start preparing now?
Whatever comes next, getting contracts, payment schedules, insurance records, project documentation and customer procedures in order makes good business sense. Builders who prepare early are better placed to evidence how they work.
Is Builder Standard part of the government changes?
No. Builder Standard is an independent commercial platform. We are not a government body, statutory regulator or government-approved scheme, and we cannot register, certify or accredit you for any government scheme. We help you organise your evidence, documents and procedures so your business is better prepared for higher expectations, whatever the final regulatory framework looks like.
Builder Standard
Are you ready for higher standards?
Start with the free Builder Readiness Check.