For homeowners
Pay for the work you can see.
A repair, a deep clean, a car service, a garden, a move or an event set-up. You approve a scope in plain words, PayPal holds the money, and each line is paid only after proof taken on site shows it's done.
Approving places a hold on your PayPal account. Nothing is charged until work is proved.
A $420 job isn't all or nothing. Each line is paid on its own, as it passes.
Before and after, side by side, with the reason for every verdict.
Flag a line and it stays held. Drop it by agreement and it's released to you; a refund goes back the same way.
The journey
Your money, step by step.
- You get a linkOpen it signed in with the email the job was sent to, and read every line, its price and what “done” looks like.$0.00 held
- You approvePayPal's own window opens. You approve the total as a hold on your account.$420.00 held
- Work is provedEach finished line is proved on site: a photo, a short video, a meter reading, a receipt, a link, or a signed note from an inspector. Trace checks where and when before the AI compares it with what you agreed. You see it the moment it lands, no refresh.$420.00 held
- Extra work comes upIf more is needed, it arrives as a change order with its own price. You approve it as a separate hold, or decline it; the original hold never grows on its own.+$50.00 held
- You reviewApprove or flag each proved line. A line the AI verified is released when the review window ends if you do nothing; a doubtful one never is.$310.00 paid
- It's finishedThe last line is fixed, proved and paid, or dropped by agreement and its money released back to you.$470.00 paid
The proof
Every verdict shows its working.
You'll never be asked to trust a green tick. Each line carries the photos, the checks that ran and the AI's reason in plain words.
- Photos taken in the app, at the job, within two minutes of opening the camera
- A dashed box on anything the AI flagged
- Needs review lines wait for you, always
- How often the check is right is measured and published on the Accuracy page
- PassTaken here12 m from the job, GPS ±8 m
- PassTaken nowOne-time token, used after 41 s
- PassSame deviceThe phone that started the job
- PassNot the before-photoPerceptual distance 29 of 64
- PassNever used beforeNearest stored photo 31 of 64
- PassNot a screen or printNo moiré, bezel or glare
- PassContinuous grout in every jointAll joints filled, colour even
- PassNo visible cracksNone found at 2× zoom
Attempt 1 · Nov 3, 14:10 · Failed: hairline crack above the soap dish. $110 stayed held.
Questions
Asked often.
No. PayPal authorizes the total and holds it on your account. Money is captured line by line, only after the work is verified and you've had the chance to review it.
PayPal. Payments go straight to the tradesperson's own PayPal business account. Trace never takes custody of funds. (The sandbox demo job, which has no tradesperson, pays Trace's test account.)
Flag the line with a note. It stays held until the tradesperson fixes and re-proves it, or you both agree to drop it.
Yes. Your PayPal buyer rights don't change. Trace keeps the photo record either side can point to.
Anything where the result can be shown: home repairs, cleaning and turnovers, car repair and detailing, garden work, removals and clear-outs, installations, and event set-up. Work hidden inside a wall can be proved by a photo during the job or a signed note from an inspector.
The other side sends a change order: the extra lines and their price. Nothing is added until you approve it in PayPal as its own hold, and it's paid line by line like the rest.
Yes. The tradesperson can refund a payment, in full or in part, from the job. It goes back to your PayPal account.
Let's move some money
See it from your side.
In the demo job you approve the hold, review the proof and release the money yourself. No sign-up.