How It Works

Getting Started With Renovation Trust

Before starting your first project, you will need to create a Renovation Trust account either through our app available for download from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, or sign up right here on our website.

As a contractor, you will be asked to upload two pieces of government-issued ID to verify your identity, as well as proof of your business entity, if applicable. It is important for us to know who you are so we can help protect your money.

Set up a business profile for your customers to view. Additional documents such as insurance and warranties can also be uploaded for client peace of mind.

I Created My Account, Now What?

Now you can create a project and invite your customer or accept a customer's invitation to their project. A customer may also use Renovation Trust to send you an idea of their scope of work along with any inspirational photos, to obtain a quote from you prior to creating a project.

Once you and your customer have agreed to a quote and the scope of work, you can now start the project. Either you or the customer can create a project through your respective Renovation Trust accounts and invite the other party.

In order to create a project, you will need the following:

Customer Information

Your customer's name, email and phone number so you can invite them to your project.

Scope Of Work

In some cases, the scope of work of the project may stay the same as the one sent to you by the customer. In most cases, the scope of work may change in order to meet your customer's vision. Renovation Trust allows you to outline a detailed scope of work to ensure clarity. We recommend writing down as many details as possible to make sure there are no misunderstandings.

Estimated Cost Of The Project

The project you create or accept an invitation to, will ask you to enter the price of the project. We encourage you to take a look at the fees we charge prior to finalizing a price with your customer and see what option works best for you and your business. Once all costs are accounted for, enter the final price of your project. This amount will be what your customer must fund prior to any work being done. You will receive this money in increments upon completion of project milestones.

Milestones And Milestone Payments

Milestones are the stages or steps involved in completing a home renovation or home improvement project. These milestones are mutually agreed upon stages of completion between you and your customer, and will often dictate your payment schedule. You will get paid upon completion of each milestone. For small jobs your project may only contain one milestone but on larger jobs, you may have four or more milestone payments.

Inviting Your Customer

You can invite your customer to join a project by clicking the Invite Your Customer button at the bottom of your project. You have the option to send an invite via SMS text message, email or alternatively, we can reach out to your customer for you. Just fill out your customer's contact information and click the Let Us Reach Out button!

Time To Start Work!

As soon as your customer funds the project, you will be notified and work can begin!

Request Funds And Get Paid

After a milestone has been completed, you can request the release of funds by clicking the Request Homeowner Release Funds button on a milestone. This notifies your customer that you have completed a milestone and are awaiting payment. Your customer then approves the work and releases funds for that completed milestone. You will receive funds based on your preferred payment method: an EFT (electronic funds transfer), e-transfer or cheque by mail.

Misunderstandings arise and for that, Renovation Trust offers dispute resolution services to help you and your customer.