How to approve a milestone
When your builder marks a milestone complete, you'll get a notification. From that moment, you have a seven-day window to approve, ask a question, or decline. Once you approve, the milestone payment is released to your builder.
Step 1: Open your dashboard
The milestone in question will be flagged for review.
Step 2: Look at the evidence
Your builder uploads photos, certificates, and any documentation tied to the milestone — for example, electrical certificates, gas certificates, building control sign-off where relevant. Have a proper look.
Step 3: Visit the site if you'd like
Some milestones — practical completion in particular — are easier to approve from the property than from your dashboard. If you're not sure, go and look.
Step 4: Make a call
Three options:
- Approve. The platform releases the milestone payment to your builder. From here, your builder is paid the Friday after approval, in line with the weekly payment cycle.
- Ask a question. If something isn't clear, send a message through the platform. Your builder gets it; the payment is held while you talk it through.
- Decline the approval. If something isn't right, you can decline. Share a reason — what you think hasn't been done, or what needs to change — so your builder can fix it. The article What to do if you disagree with a milestone covers the path. (Note that we use "snagging" specifically for the last round of small fixes between practical completion and sign-off — declining a milestone earlier in the build isn't snagging, it's pausing the payment while a specific issue gets sorted.)
If you don't act
If the seven-day window passes without you approving, asking a question, or declining, the platform releases the payment automatically. This avoids holding up builders over an unread inbox.
What the milestone evidence should show
Different milestones need different evidence. As a rough guide:
- Break ground: site set-up photos, demolition complete (where relevant).
- First fix: structure complete, electrical and plumbing first fix in place, photos of work that will be hidden by plasterboard or finishes.
- Second fix / practical completion: the space is usable, all fixtures installed, finishes complete, snags listed (where any).
- Sign off: snags cleared, final certificates in place.
What this means for you
Approve promptly when work has been done. Builders rely on these payments to keep the project moving, and a delay at your end can compound into a delay at theirs. If you can't get to the dashboard or the site, tell your build advisor — they can keep things moving while you sort yourself out.