Construction payment platform
A construction payment platform built for Australian residential building
BuildFair holds project funds in regulated custody, releases them against the agreed rules, and pays subcontractors and suppliers from the project account. Builders stop bankrolling jobs out of pocket, and everyone can see where the money is.
What it does
One payment flow for the whole project
Most residential builds run payments through the builder's general operating account, bank transfers, and email. The owner pays in stages, the builder funds trades and materials from the same pool, and the people at the end of the chain wait when the timing breaks.
BuildFair changes the path. Owner funds land in a regulated project account with our banking partner Kobble. Subcontractors and suppliers are paid out of project funds on a fixed clock. Every release carries an audit trail.
Project funds held outside the operating account
Owner deposits and progress payments sit with our banking partner Kobble, separate from the builder's operating cash, and are released against the agreed project rules. The float stops being the builder's personal problem.
Subcontractors and suppliers paid from project funds
Approved invoices are paid from the project account on a fixed clock, so payment timing is tied to the project rather than to the builder's cashflow that week. The people at the end of the chain stop carrying the delay.
Owner visibility and approval
Owners see what has been claimed, approved, and paid, and approve each progress claim and variation before money moves. The conversation becomes about facts instead of trust.
A payment record everyone can point to
Every transaction sits in a double-entry, hash-chained ledger, so a dispute is about what actually happened rather than whose bank statement says what.
Identity verified for every party
Builders, owners, subcontractors, and suppliers are identity-verified through Sumsub before they can receive a payment, so phantom invoicing and payee fraud stop being possible by construction.
Card payments and tax-ready exports
Pay suppliers and subcontractors by card (powered by ZenPay) and export bookkeeper-ready records from the same ledger that tracks every payment.
The comparison
The manual way vs BuildFair
| Dimension | The manual way | BuildFair |
|---|---|---|
| Where project money sits | In the builder's general operating account, mixed with other jobs and overheads. | Outside the operating account, with our banking partner Kobble, released on the project rules. |
| Who funds the work in progress | The builder, out of personal savings, overdraft, or credit, until the next progress claim clears. A slipped claim becomes a personal cashflow problem. | The project account. Overheads, materials, subcontractors, and suppliers are all paid from project funds, so the builder never pays out of their own pocket. |
| How subcontractors get paid | When the builder has cash that week, often behind suppliers in the queue. | From the project account on a fixed clock once the invoice is approved. |
| Owner visibility | Limited. Owners rely on the builder's word about where their money went. | A live view of what has been claimed, approved, and paid on the project. |
| Payment record | Spread across bank statements, emails, and text threads. | One double-entry, hash-chained ledger with an audit trail per release. |
| If the builder becomes insolvent | Owners and subcontractors line up as creditors over money already mixed away. | Unreleased project funds sit with Kobble, not on the builder's balance sheet. |
BuildFair does not replace Security of Payment rights. It changes how money moves on the project.
Card payments
Pay every invoice by card. Earn the points.
As a builder you can pay all of your invoices through BuildFair by credit card, suppliers and subcontractors alike, and earn points on top of whatever your existing card already pays. Same spend, more reward, on money that already moves through every job.
Card payments are powered by ZenPay, with the processing fee passed through at cost and no markup from BuildFair. The points you earn are yours to keep.
FAQ
Common questions, answered.
Is BuildFair a trust account?
No. BuildFair is not marketed as a statutory trust account. It is a project payment and release platform, with funds held externally by our banking partner Kobble. It does not replace your statutory rights or obligations.
Are there per-transaction fees?
There is one flat subscription per role and no per-payout cap. The only pass-through cost is the standard card processing fee when you choose to pay by card, charged at cost via ZenPay. See the pricing page for current figures.
Who is BuildFair for?
Australian residential construction: builders, owners, subcontractors, and suppliers working on the same projects. Owners are invited to a project at no cost.
One plan per role. No per-payout cap.
Builders and subcontractors pay one flat subscription, owners are invited to a project for free, and there is no per-payout cap on the large progress payments that are normal in construction. The pricing page has the current figures and the founding 100 offer.
BuildFair also helps owners protect deposits and subcontractors get paid on time.