On-site work · paid on proof · PayPal
Pay for proof,
not promises.
Repairs, cleans, car work, gardens, installs. Trace holds the client's payment with PayPal and releases it line by line, only when AI confirms the work from photos taken on site.
Who it's for
See where you fit.
Two parties share one job link, and PayPal holds the money between them. Pick a side, or let it play.
The homeowner's job
From the quote to the last line, every dollar waits in PayPal until a photo from your home shows the work is done.
Homeowner journey- Approve hold
- Photos in
- Review lines
- Release
How it works
Four steps from drip to paid.
Every job runs the same way. The money is held before work starts and moves only when a line is proved.
The money is held, not paid.
The homeowner approves a scope of priced lines and PayPal authorizes the total. Nothing is charged yet.
- One authorization per job
- Priced line by line
- Held by PayPal, never by Trace
- Visible to the trade before they start
- L1 · Fix dripping tap$120.00
- L2 · Reseal bath edge$90.00
- L3 · Refit towel rail$100.00
- L4 · Regrout shower wall$110.00
A photo from the job, right now.
The tradesperson opens a one-time camera for a line and photographs the finished work on site.
- One-time token, valid 120 s
- Within 150 m of the job
- Same phone that started the job
- Before and after kept together
Checked by code, then by AI.
Location, freshness and reuse are checked on the server first. Then the AI compares the photo against the line's written criterion.
- 0.80 confidence to pass
- A second look on a 2× crop
- Unsure goes to the homeowner
- Reasons in plain words
- Taken here · 12 m
- Taken now · 41 s
- Not reused · 31 of 64
- Tap closed, spout dry
Paid line by line.
Each proved line is captured from the hold. The last capture is final and frees whatever is left.
- Partial captures as lines pass
- Never more than the hold
- Final capture releases the rest
- Recorded before it's sent
- Capture 1 · final: false$310.00
- L4 · crack above soap dishheld
The money is held, not paid.
The homeowner approves a scope of priced lines and PayPal authorizes the total. Nothing is charged yet.
- L1 · Fix dripping tap$120.00
- L2 · Reseal bath edge$90.00
- L3 · Refit towel rail$100.00
- L4 · Regrout shower wall$110.00
A photo from the job, right now.
The tradesperson opens a one-time camera for a line and photographs the finished work on site.
Checked by code, then by AI.
Location, freshness and reuse are checked on the server first. Then the AI compares the photo against the line's written criterion.
- Taken here · 12 m
- Taken now · 41 s
- Not reused · 31 of 64
- Tap closed, spout dry
Paid line by line.
Each proved line is captured from the hold. The last capture is final and frees whatever is left.
- Capture 1 · final: false$310.00
- L4 · crack above soap dishheld
Proof on record
Work that paid itself.
One bathroom, four priced lines, every one proved from the job. Hover a photo to see what it looked like before.
BeforeFix dripping tap
Verified · released
BeforeReseal bath edge
Reviewed · released
BeforeRefit towel rail
Verified · released
BeforeRegrout shower wall
Failed once · re-provedWhy it holds up
Held, proved, then paid.
Trace never touches the money. It decides when PayPal should move it, from evidence both sides can see.
- 01
Held by PayPal
One authorization per job. The client's money waits at PayPal, not in an account Trace controls.
- 02
Proved from the site
Photos come from the job's phone, inside 150 m, through a camera token that works once.
- 03
Paid line by line
Each proved line is captured on its own. Unfinished work is never charged and the rest is released.
Jobs that fit
Any job a photo can prove.
Trace works for on-site work you can see when it's finished, paid in stages. Each job type starts with lines that photograph well; write your own in plain words and the camera does the rest.
Proof checks
Here, now, for this line.
Before any AI looks at a photo, the server checks where and when it was taken and that it hasn't been seen before. A photo from across town is turned away.
The money rules
Every dollar has a reason.
The AI never decides an amount. It reports what it sees; code works out the release from approved lines and checks it against the hold before every capture.
Recorded before it's sent
Each capture is saved with its PayPal-Request-Id first, so a lost response can never charge twice.
Never more than the hold
Captures are capped at what PayPal authorized, line by line.
Final capture, then nothing
The last release tells PayPal to free whatever is left on the hold.
Renewed if the job runs long
After the 3-day honour period, Trace asks PayPal to renew the hold once.
Questions people ask
Straight answers before you start.
Still not sure? Run the demo: it plays both sides of a real job under the same rules.
PayPal. Trace creates an order with intent AUTHORIZE, so the homeowner's payment is authorized and held at PayPal. Trace only tells PayPal when to capture part of it.
It only reports what it sees against the line's written criterion. Below 0.80 confidence, or when two looks disagree, the line goes to the homeowner to decide. The homeowner can also flag any verified line.
The camera needs a one-time token that works for 120 seconds, the photo must be taken within 150 m of the job, and it is compared against every stored photo so an old one can't be reused.
It's never captured. When the job is closed, the final capture releases whatever is left back to the homeowner.
PayPal honours an authorization for 3 days. If lines are still open after that, Trace asks PayPal to renew the hold once.
Let's move some money
Got a job that needs paying fairly?
Run a whole job in your browser: approve the hold, prove the work, release the money. No sign-up, nothing charged.