Homeowner guide
Create your homeowner account
Fort starts with a short signup so we know who you are and where your project is. You pick Homeowner, enter your details, set a password, confirm terms, say where you are based, then verify with a one-time code. Your account is only created once the code is verified, so it is ready for secure payments later.
- Choose Homeowner on the Select Fort Account screen
- Enter First Name, Last Name, Your email, and Phone Number - then tap Next
- Set Password, confirm it, and accept Fort and Stripe terms - Next
- On Where are you based?, enter your UK postcode, Town/City and County - Next
- Enter the one-time code sent by SMS (or WhatsApp) and tap Submit
Already have an account? Use Sign In on the welcome screen instead. If you are outside Fort’s live service area, the app will say so after the code - you can still contact us for updates.
Create and share a project
A project is how work and money stay organised on Fort. You can invite a builder you already trust with a share link, or post on Job Listings so vetted Contractors can find you. Either way you describe the job once - Job Title, Job Details, location, and photos - then choose how it goes live.
- Open New Project and fill Job Title, job types, Job Details, Location, and media
- Tap Next > to open Share Project
- Use Invite with a link - tap the copy icon (Copy to Clipboard) or Share to send it to a contractor you already know
- Or tap Post on Job Listings so Contractors can discover the job
- Use Save as a Draft if you are not ready to publish
- After posting, Fort takes you to Home with Upcoming Projects selected
Posted jobs sit in Upcoming Projects until you hire. Invite links are ideal when you already have a Contractor.
Review proposals in Chat
Hiring happens in Chat, not on a separate bid board. After you post or share, Contractors register interest and message you. When they send a proposal you open it from the thread, review the staged payment plan (including any substages), then Confirm & Start Job - or Deny if it is not right.
- Open Chat when a Contractor messages or sends a proposal card
- Tap Review the Proposal to see Stages Summary, substages, and totals
- Confirm & Start Job to hire and move the project to Active
- Or Deny if you do not want to proceed
- Use Approved - Go To Project Dashboard to open the live job
You are accepting a milestone plan, not a single lump-sum quote. Stages are how Fort secures and releases money later.
Your project dashboard
Once a job is active, the project dashboard is your hub. Project Summary shows progress, team, and files. Finances lists each stage so you can Secure Payment when work is ready to start and Approve Payout when a stage is done. Upload documents to Project Files, assign them to a stage, and open invoices or receipts from Finances or from Stage Documents.
- Switch between Project Summary and Finances
- Tap Upload on Project Files, then Assign when asked to link a file to a stage
- Open Stage Documents for files tied to a milestone
- On Finances, tap Secure Payment when the Contractor requests start
- Tap Approve Payout when they request release
- View Invoice, View Secured Receipt, or View Released Receipt from the stage row or from documents for that stage
Secure Payment and Approve Payout ask you to confirm with biometrics or your password. A stage can also show Retry Payment or Retry Payout if a payment fails.
Approve or deny a variation
If the scope or cost changes mid-project, your Contractor sends a variation order instead of agreeing it verbally. It arrives as a card in Chat. Open it, compare the current plan with the proposed one, then Approve (or Approve and pay if extra funds are due now) or Deny. Nothing changes on your Works Contract until you approve.
- Open Chat when a Variation order card shows Awaiting confirmation
- Tap Review Variation to see Current vs Variation, changed stages, and the new total
- Tap Approve, or Approve and pay £X when extra money is due now
- Or tap Deny to reject the change
- Not sure? Tap Have a problem? Speak to Fort instead of agreeing
Approving adds the changes to your Works Contract. Once approved, the card shows Accepted and you can reopen it with View Variation.
Complete the project
When every stage is paid and work is finished, Fort asks you to complete the project. You can leave a private star rating and optional comment, or finish without a review. Completing closes the job cleanly for both you and the Contractor.
- Open the completion banner when it appears
- Tap Complete Project
- Add 1–5 stars and an optional comment, or skip the review
- Submit & complete (or Complete without review)
After completing, the app offers Leave a review. If you tap Dismiss, the prompt is hidden on that device and will not come back.
What if a project goes wrong?
At launch Fort does not offer a self-serve dispute button in the app. If something goes wrong - quality, delays, or disagreement - contact Fort and our team will help manually with you and the Contractor. Use Help in the menu, Contact support in Settings, or the website contact form.
- Open Help (or Help from the menu) to reach Fort support chat
- Or use Settings → Contact support
- Or contact us on the website - we handle issues with both parties
- On a variation review, Have a problem? Speak to Fort also reaches the team
There is no live “Raise a Dispute” screen in the shipping app yet - always use Contact / Help.
More of the app
Beyond the project loop, Fort keeps people and alerts in easy reach. Contacts stores who you work with, Notifications deep-link into chat or payments, and Settings covers account, security, legal, and support.
- Contacts - people and Contractors on your jobs
- Notification - tap through to chat, proposals, or payments
- Menu - Dashboard, Create Project, Messages, Switch Account Type, and Help
- Settings - Notifications, Sound & Haptics, Fort PIN, legal documents, Contact support, Log Out
You can switch account type from the menu if you also need a Contractor profile - ask support if you are unsure.
Contractors guide
Create your Contractor account
Contractors join as a Contractor, then choose Limited Company or Sole Trader - Unincorporated. You complete business details, a password, your company (Companies House) or trading-start details and an address, verify with a one-time code, pick your trades, and set a public profile so homeowners know who you are.
- Select Contractor, then Limited Company or Sole Trader - Unincorporated on Are you a...
- Enter your details and tap Next, then set a password and accept terms
- Add Companies House details (Limited Company) or trading start date (Sole Trader), then your address
- Verify the one-time code
- Choose the trades you offer and tap Continue
- Add photo, name, and bio, then Confirm & Find Work
Limited Company flows search Companies House; Sole Traders confirm a trading start date instead. Already registered? Use Sign In on the welcome screen.
Complete verification setup
Before you can message homeowners or register interest, Fort walks you through setup banners on Home, one at a time: verify your company email, complete owner information, verify each owner’s email, and say whether you are VAT-registered. Once those are done, Fort reviews your documents (next step) and only then asks you to connect Stripe.
- Tap Verify on the company email banner if needed
- Complete owner & executive (or sole trader) information
- Verify owner emails when Limited Company requires it
- Answer Are you VAT-registered? from the banner (you can change it later in Settings)
Messaging, Register Interest, and creating proposals stay locked until Fort has approved you.
Fort Docs (company documents)
Fort reviews company documents as part of certification. You do not upload Fort Docs inside the app - we contact you to collect what we need, then approve your application. Until then you may see an awaiting screen and limited engagement. Once Fort approves you, a Set up Stripe banner appears on Home so you can connect your payout account.
- Open the documents / awaiting approval banner when it appears
- Read We will contact you soon - Fort verifies documents offline
- Use Contact Us if you need to speak to the team
- Use Back to dashboard while review is in progress
- After approval, tap Set up on the Stripe banner to connect payouts
This is certification paperwork - separate from Project Files you upload on a live job later. Stripe is the last setup step, not the first.
Find work or bring a client
You can win work two ways. Browse Job Listings, open a job, Register Interest, and Confirm Interest to open Chat. Or use Create Project to set up a job for a homeowner you already know and share an invite - same idea as a homeowner inviting you.
- Open Job Listings and browse available cards
- Tap View Details, then Register Interest
- Write your intro under Message the Homeowner and tap Confirm Interest
- Or Create Project (New Project) from the menu, tap Next >, and answer whether you know the price yet: Yes – Set Instalments, or Not Yet – Share with Homeowner
- Got an invite code or link from a homeowner? Use Join using Code in the menu
If you already messaged that homeowner, the card may show Go to Chat instead.
Build and send a proposal in Chat
Proposals are built from Chat. Create Proposal opens the stage editor: add stages (payable milestones), optionally break a stage into substages, save, then send. Homeowners see the same structure when they review. You can also attach photos or documents in the thread.
- In a project chat, tap the attachment button and choose Create Proposal
- Add stages in the body with Add Stage; Save Stage while editing, then Next
- Add substages under a stage when you need a cost breakdown
- On Proposal Overview, accept terms and Send Proposal to Homeowner
- The proposal appears in the chat as a card for the homeowner to review
Stages drive milestone payments. Substages are line items inside a stage - costs roll up to the stage total.
Run the job from your dashboard
After the homeowner confirms, open the project dashboard. Project Summary summarises the plan; Finances is where you Request Start and Request Release. Upload Project Files, assign them to stages, and open invoices or receipts from Finances or from Stage Documents for that stage.
- Open Project Summary for status and team
- Switch to Finances for stage money actions
- Request Start so the homeowner can Secure Payment
- Request Release when the stage work is done (you can add a completion photo if the stage has none)
- Upload Project Files, assign to a stage, and use View Invoice, View Secured Receipt, or View Released Receipt from Finances or documents
Do not start unpaid work expecting a handshake - wait until funds are secured for the stage. Request Start and Request Release ask you to confirm with biometrics or your password.
Propose a variation
When scope or cost needs to change mid-project, use a variation order - not a verbal “while we’re here.” From Finances, open Variation, edit stages or substages, review the diff, and Send to homeowner. They approve (or deny) in Chat before the new plan sticks.
- On Finances, tap the Variation chip
- In Propose variation, change costs or Add Stage / adjust substages
- Tap Review variation, then confirm the order
- Send to homeowner and wait - sticky shows Awaiting homeowner
Changed lines show in purple; new stages in teal. Homeowners can Approve (or Approve and pay when extra funds are due now), Deny, or Speak to Fort.
Get paid
When a stage is finished, tap Request Release on Finances. The stage then shows Awaiting Payout until the homeowner approves, Releasing Payment while Stripe sends the money to your connected bank account, and Completed once it lands. Finished stages move under Completed Stages.
- On an In Progress stage, tap Request Release (you can add a photo of the work)
- The stage shows Awaiting Payout until the homeowner taps Approve Payout
- Releasing Payment means the payout is on its way - usually 1-3 business days
- Completed means the money is in your Stripe-connected account
- Invoices and receipts sit in a row under each stage
There is no separate Fort wallet balance for contractors - payouts go to the bank account linked in Stripe.
Complete the project
Once every stage has been released, the same completion banner appears on your project dashboard. Complete Project locks payments and stage changes (chat and documents stay available) and lets you leave an optional, private star rating and comment about the homeowner.
- Look for All payments released. You can complete this project. on the dashboard
- Tap Complete Project
- Add 1–5 stars and an optional comment, or skip the review
- Submit & complete (or Complete without review)
- Afterwards the banner offers Leave a review or Dismiss
Dismiss hides the review prompt on that device for good. Finished jobs then sit under Completed Projects on Home.
Support and the rest of the app
If a job goes wrong, contact Fort - we handle issues manually at launch (there is no live Raise a Dispute screen). Use Help & Feedback or Contact support. The same chapter peeks at Contacts, Notifications, Create Project, and Settings so you know the wider app.
- Open Help & Feedback or Settings → Contact support
- Or contact us on the website for manual help
- Contacts keeps your clients in one place
- Notifications deep-link into chat, proposals, and payments
- Create Project and Settings live in the drawer / menu - use Log Out from Settings
Variation reviews also offer Have a problem? Speak to Fort.
