The short answer
Most disputes on building jobs are about extras and payments, not workmanship. Before you start, agree the scope, what's excluded, how changes are priced, and when each payment falls due, and get it signed. Then every change gets its own short signed quote.
What to agree before the job
- The drawings, specification or description the price is based on, and who is responsible for planning and building regulations approval
- What the price includes: labour, materials, skips and waste removal, scaffolding, making good
- Provisional sums for anything you can't price yet, and how the final figure is worked out
- Stage payments or a deposit, and what each one is tied to
- How changes and extras are requested, priced and agreed before you do them
- Start date, rough duration, working hours, and what happens if weather or the customer causes delays
- Access, storage of materials, and use of water, power and toilet facilities
- Stage payments: each tied to a clear point in the work, with only a modest deposit
Which AgreeVia documents fit
- Domestic Job Quote: full job terms for work at someone's home: deposit, materials, changes and an optional workmanship guarantee, with the customer's 14-day right to cancel and the cancellation form. Free
- Commercial Job Quote: the same for a business customer such as a shop, office or letting agent, including the payment and adjudication terms the Construction Act 1996 requires for building work. Free
- Quote: price the job up item by item, with VAT worked out. Your customer signs to accept it, and one tap turns it into an invoice later
- Deposit invoice: ask for a percentage up front, and get it confirmed with a signature before you start
- Invoice: bill the finished job, with the VAT worked out to the penny and your bank details on it
- Upload your own PDF: already have terms you like? Upload them, place signature, initials, date and name boxes where each person signs, and send
How it works
- Fill it in on your phoneAnswer a few plain questions, or type the items into a quote. You see a preview before anything is created.
- Add who signsPick them from your contacts, or type their email address and AgreeVia sends them a link.
- They sign without an accountThey open it in their browser, read it and sign with a finger. No app to install.
- Everyone keeps a copyThe signed PDF goes to everyone. Every view and signature is in a tamper-evident audit trail you can check at agreevia.co.uk/verify.
Proof, if there's a dispute
Every view and signature is recorded with a time stamp in a tamper-evident audit trail. If someone remembers the deal differently, you have the signed document, a record of when they opened and signed it, and an evidence package you can generate. AgreeVia doesn't give legal advice, and it doesn't take payments: your bank details go on the invoice and your customer pays you directly.
FAQs for builders
Does the Commercial Job Quote cover the Construction Act?
Yes. For building work for a business customer it includes the payment and adjudication terms the Construction Act 1996 requires.
How should I handle extras?
Don't do them on a nod. Send a short Quote for each change and have it signed before you start it. Your final invoice then matches what the customer agreed.
Does my customer need to download anything?
No. They get a link, open it in their phone or computer's browser, and sign. They don't need an account or the app, and they get the signed PDF by email.
Is an electronic signature legally valid in the UK?
For everyday business documents like quotes, job agreements and invoices, yes, as long as the person meant to sign. Some documents, such as wills and some deeds, have stricter rules. See Are electronic signatures legal in the UK?
Try it on your next job
Free for 3 documents a month, no card needed. Already have an account? Sign in. AgreeVia works in your browser and is live on Google Play. Coming soon to the App Store.
Other trades
Electricians · Plumbers and heating engineers · Painters and decorators