Where your money sits at each stage
Your build deposit, construction fund, change-order funds, materials payments, and design fees each sit in different places. Here's a plain map of where each pound sits, and when it moves.
A common question, especially for customers who haven't renovated before: where does my money actually sit? Here's a plain map of each part of the financial flow.
The build deposit (£1,000)
You pay the build deposit to Beams once you've accepted a quote. It sits with us. It's refundable if you change your mind before the Home Improvement Contract (HIC) is signed; it nets off against your construction fee when you fund that.
The construction fund
About two weeks before break ground, you fund the construction fee into the Beams Account. The Beams Account is the customer-facing name for the platform's payment-provider holding facility — money sits there, ring-fenced for your project, until you release it milestone by milestone.
Each milestone payment moves out of the Beams Account to your builder when you approve the milestone. Up until that point, the money is held in the platform. The article How construction payments work describes the milestone flow.
Change-order funds
Each change order is pre-paid into the Beams Account. Like the construction fund, it's held in the platform until the change-order work is complete and you've approved it.
Materials payments
You pay materials suppliers directly for the items you order — they don't go through Beams or your builder. The supplier you bought from receives the payment under their own terms. The article How materials payments work covers the path.
Design and Beams services
If you use our designers, you pay Beams by the hour for their time. Design fees are invoiced and paid directly to Beams. The article Design pricing — what's free, what's paid covers the rate.
Why this structure
Holding the construction fund in the Beams Account is the customer-protection mechanic at the heart of every Beams project. It means money only moves when work has been done and you've signed it off. Most of the worst stories in renovation come from money that left a customer's hands before the work it was meant to pay for was complete; this structure exists to prevent that.
What this means for you
You can think of the financial flow as five streams: the build deposit (with Beams), the construction fund (in the Beams Account, releasing as you approve milestones), change-order funds (same), materials payments (paid directly to suppliers), and Beams design or service fees (paid to Beams). Your dashboard shows what's been paid, what's held, and what's been released. Your build advisor can walk you through any number you don't recognise.
Related articles
- What is the refundable build deposit?
- How construction payments work
- How materials payments work