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Learn to run your sites on Buildpal

Walkthroughs, video tutorials and step-by-step guides for contractors and site teams, from your first booking to paying your crew.

Looking for work on site?I'm a worker

Start here

Your first week on Buildpal, step by step. Tick each step off as you go.

  1. Set up your company5 min
  2. Add a site4 min
  3. Book your first crew6 min
  4. Run attendance on day one8 min
  5. Approve days and pay6 min
0 of 5 done

Video tutorials

Short videos that show each step on screen.

All guides

Pick a topic, or search above.

2 guides

  • Approvals and pay

    Approve days and pay your crew

    Review the attendance, approve the days worked, and pay reaches each worker's mobile money on schedule. Every step is recorded.

    6 min5 steps
  • Approvals and pay

    How rates work

    Worker rates are published, not negotiated. Here is what makes up the rate on a booking, and the one lever you have to raise it.

    4 min5 steps

Troubleshooting

Quick answers to the problems people run into most.

Check the day's attendance: a worker who hasn't tapped in shows as absent. Workers on the booking's standby list can be offered the place, and a no-show counts against the absent worker's reliability. You can also send a new request for the same day.

Glossary

The words you'll see on Buildpal, in plain language.

Booking
Your request for workers: the trade, how many, the dates, the site and how long. Verified workers are offered the work from it.
Offer
The invitation a matched worker receives for your booking. They accept or decline within a set window.
Standby list
Eligible workers ranked after those already offered your work, ready to take a place if someone declines or doesn't arrive.
Verified worker
A worker whose identity has been checked, with a trade profile built from checkable facts rather than claims.
Tier
A worker's level from 1 to 4, earned on reliability, quality and attendance. It is a record of proven work, not a rank of skill.
Base rate
The day rate Buildpal publishes for each trade. It is the floor for every booking and always sits above the statutory minimum.
Tier premium
An amount on top of the base rate for workers with a higher tier.
Contractor premium
An optional amount you add on top of the rate to make your work more attractive. It is the only rate lever a contractor has.
Completion bonus
An optional bonus you can offer for seeing the booking through to the end.
Site Card
The worker's own card, with a printed serial and registered to them. They tap it at the reader to check in and out.
Reader
The device at the site gate that reads Site Cards and records who came in and out, and when. If it refuses a tap, it shows the worker why.
Approved day
A day of attendance you have confirmed. Approved days become the amounts paid to your workers.

Still stuck?

Tell us what you're trying to do and the Buildpal team will help you set it up.

Contact the team