If your contractor abandons the job
what evidence do you need?

When something actually goes wrong, the first question lawyers and courts ask isn't "how much did you lose" but "what evidence do you have?" — most people can't answer, because they agreed verbally, paid cash and chatted in conversations that have since been deleted

This page says plainly what we keep for you, and what we can't

The most common mistake — paying in advance

Pay in milestones, and pay when that milestone is finished as agreed in the contract. Money paid in advance is often hard to recover, because it went out before the work existed. Stick to the written contract rather than sympathy

Three things you must have

This is the standard evidence set for starting a claim. The system keeps all three for you without any extra work

1

A contract that clearly states the work

It must say what will be done, when it will be finished, how payment is split into milestones and how long the workmanship warranty lasts

The system has a drafting aid that covers every section, and contracts are signed with an electronic signature verified by an SMS code
2

Quality inspection records

You must be able to prove which milestones passed, which failed, and why

The system has inspection forms, snag lists, non-conformance notices and completion certificates — each dated and signed off by the inspector
3

A record of communication

You must be able to show that you warned them, chased the work, and what the other side replied

The system keeps project chats, meeting minutes and daily site reports, with a date and time on every entry

How this differs from keeping records yourself

Evidence that can be edited after the fact carries far less weight than evidence that can't. These three points are what files and chat groups can't do for you

Photos submitted with a milestone can't be edited or deleted When the contractor submits a milestone for review, the system locks that milestone's site photos as a set, with a timestamp — after that neither side can edit or delete them, because they're the photos the homeowner used to decide on payment
Approved milestone figures are locked too After the homeowner approves payment, the expenses linked to that milestone can't be edited or deleted. If an adjustment is needed, a reversing entry must be made, so the amounts once agreed can always be checked later
Every change to money leaves a trail The system records who changed what, from which value to which, and when. The homeowner can review every line. This log can only be appended to, never deleted
Export as documents at any time If you need to send it to a lawyer or file a complaint, print the contract, inspection forms and progress reports as files right away — no digging back through history

What we can't do

Better to say it up front than to be misunderstood when something goes wrong

Platform limits

Start keeping evidence today

Evidence can't be created after the fact — start recording from the first day you talk

Draft a construction contract Open a project to track the work