Create Your Project
Start by setting up your project — everything else flows from here.
Click "New Project" from your dashboard and enter your project details: project name, address, square footage, estimated start date, and project type. This becomes the home base for your entire build — every budget line, bid, payment, schedule phase, and daily log entry lives inside this project.
Give your project a clear name you'll recognize — most owner-builders use the address or a short description like "Main St Custom Home".
You can update project details at any time from Project Settings.
If you're managing more than one build, each project is completely separate — budgets, subs, and schedules don't cross over.
Import or Add Bids
Collect bids from your subs and compare them before you commit.
Upload bid PDFs or enter bids manually. The software extracts contractor details, line items, inclusions, and exclusions automatically from most PDF formats. Once you have multiple bids in the same category, use the Compare view to evaluate them side by side. When you accept a bid, the contracted amount flows directly into your budget — no double entry.
Get at least 3 bids per trade category — more competition almost always means better pricing.
Always review the extracted line items after uploading a PDF bid before saving.
Accepting a bid automatically fills in the contracted amount on the matching budget line item.
Add Your Subcontractors
Build your sub roster with all the contact and credential info you need.
Add every subcontractor and supplier you plan to work with. Include their trade category, contact info, license number, and insurance details. You can add subs manually, or instantly create a sub profile from any accepted bid — the contact info is already there. A complete sub roster makes payment tracking, change orders, and lien management dramatically easier.
Already accepted a bid? Create the sub profile directly from it — contact info is pre-filled, no re-entry needed.
Track license and insurance expiration dates here so you're never caught with an uninsured sub on site.
Building a second home? You can copy your entire sub roster from a previous project.
Set Up Your Budget
Your budget is pre-loaded and ready — built from 15 years of real construction experience.
OwnerBuilt comes pre-loaded with our incredibly comprehensive 85+ line item master budget template — crafted from 15 years of real owner-builder experience across all 10 construction phases. There is nothing to import or set up. Customize amounts for your specific build, add custom line items for anything unique to your project (well drilling, septic, site-specific work), or import your own spreadsheet to map your numbers to the existing line items. Accepted bids automatically fill in contracted amounts, so your budget stays current as you lock in subs.
The template covers 95% of typical line items across all 10 phases — just plug in your numbers.
Add a contingency reserve as a line item — most owner-builders budget 10–15% of total project cost.
Have your own spreadsheet? Use the Import Budget feature to map your line items to the OwnerBuilt template.
Set Up Your Draw Schedule
Structure your lender draws and track what's been requested and paid.
If you're using construction financing, the Draw Schedule is how you request money from your lender at each milestone. Even if you don't have a lender, the draw schedule is an incredibly useful way to track payments to your subcontractors. Set up your draw milestones (foundation complete, framing complete, etc.), attach supporting documents, and track which draws have been submitted and funded. The Lender Draw Report PDF gives you a clean, professional summary to send with each draw request.
Coordinate draw milestones with your lender before you start — they may have specific requirements.
Draws marked as paid automatically update the Payments tab and the "Paid" column in your budget — no double entry.
Attach inspection reports and photos to each draw request directly in the Documents tab.
Track the date each draw was submitted and funded — this is critical for cash flow management.
Log Payments
Record every payment to subs and suppliers as you go.
Log every payment in the Payments tab — it flows directly into your budget and keeps your remaining balance accurate in real time. Payments are linked to your subcontractors and budget line items, so you always know exactly where your money went and what's still owed.
Log payments the same day you make them — it's easy to fall behind and hard to catch up.
Link each payment to a budget line item and a sub — your budget balance updates instantly.
Use the Draw Schedule to group payments by lender draw milestone for clean reporting.
Track Your Schedule
Keep your construction timeline on track with a phase-by-phase build schedule.
Trades are already structured in their correct construction order in the app — all you need to add is start and end dates for each phase. The Schedule tab gives you a visual calendar view in-app, and you can export a Gantt Chart PDF or Calendar PDF for lenders or site reference.
Trades are pre-loaded in the correct build order — just fill in your dates and you're done.
Export the Gantt Chart PDF for your lender — it's the most common format they request.
Use the Calendar PDF for a color-coded site reference you can print and post on-site.
Use the Daily Log
Keep a daily record of everything that happens on site.
Use the Daily Log every day on site to record weather, trades on site, work completed, deliveries, issues, and photos. Log entries and issues can be assigned directly to specific subcontractors, making follow-up and accountability crystal clear. Export a Daily Log Report PDF to share with your subs, lender, or inspector — a clean, professional summary of everything that happened on site. This documentation protects you in disputes, satisfies lender inspection requirements, and creates a permanent record of your build.
The Daily Log is your legal record of what happened on site. Be specific and consistent.
Photos in the Daily Log are timestamped — invaluable for insurance claims or disputes with subs.
Flag issues directly from the Daily Log — they'll appear in your Issues Tracker automatically.
Assign log issues to the responsible sub so there's no confusion about who needs to act.
Export a Daily Log Report PDF to send to your subs or lender — no screenshots or copy-paste needed.
Also included in OwnerBuilt
Change Orders
Document every scope change in writing
Issues Tracker
Track defects, RFIs, and open items
Documents
Central repository for all project docs
Help & Support
Ask questions about any feature, anytime