Pay your builder in Senegal stage by stage

Why paying everything upfront goes wrong

Many families send the building money in one go, or as « advances » whenever the builder asks: for cement, for steel, to pay the workers. Nothing links these sums to what is built. After a few months the money is gone and nobody can say what it paid for.

The problem is not always dishonesty. A builder who has already been paid everything has no reason to finish quickly, and a vague advance is hard to discuss: you cannot claim what was never written down. When the site stops, you have no proof of what is left to do. It is one of the most common signs of a construction scam.

Paying your builder by stages, against work really done

The principle is simple: you split the build into visible stages, and each payment matches a stage reached. The builder finishes the stage, it is checked, then you pay. Here is a common breakdown for a house:

• Setting out and foundations: the layout, the trenches, the footings and the base walls
• Walls: the walls built up to the planned level, with the columns and the ring beams
• Slab: the formwork, the reinforcement and the pouring of the slab
• Roof: the roof covering or the roof slab finished, with its waterproofing
• Doors, windows and services: doors, windows, electrics and plumbing installed
• Finishes: rendering, tiling, painting, sanitary fittings and site cleaning

The amount of each stage is agreed with your builder, from his quote, line by line. What matters is that each payment is linked to a stage that can be seen and checked, never to a date or a promise. Before you sign, have this breakdown checked: it is part of our quote check.

What to write in the contract with your builder

Paying in stages only works if it is written down. Before the first franc, ask for the contract or the signed quote to state:

• The list of stages, each one described by what must be built
• The amount of each stage, tied to a stage and not to a date
• A written payment request for each stage: the builder's payment request (valuation), saying what is done and what is asked for
• Payment due only once the stage is reached and checked
• No extras paid without a written agreement before the work
• A receipt or a record (Wave, Orange Money, bank transfer) for every payment

The builder's payment request (valuation) is the key document: it is the builder's written request for payment. It says which stage is reached and how much he is asking for. That is what we check. To understand this role, read our page on the client-side quantity surveyor.

The SEETLU step: we check before you pay

SEETLU is your quantity surveyor and project manager in Senegal: we represent you and check every franc before you pay your builder. For each stage, it happens in three steps:

• The builder asks for a payment: he sends his payment request (valuation), you forward it to us
• We check on site: a SEETLU technician compares the request with what is really built
• You pay for what is really built: the report says whether the stage is reached and what is missing
• You keep the proof: sealed photos and the report stay in your client area

Every photo is dated, geolocated and sealed in the SEETLU app: it cannot be edited without it showing. The report arrives within 24 hours in your client area. If a disagreement comes up later, you have a record of every stage and every payment checked. See an example report.

Who pays the builder? You do, directly

You pay your builder yourself, directly, by the means you have chosen. SEETLU never receives the building money: we do not hold it, we do not block it and we do not release it. It is not an escrow account. Our job is to tell you what is built, so that you pay knowing the facts.

We do not build and we do not hire the workers. Your builder builds; SEETLU represents you. You pay your builder directly: your money never goes through SEETLU.

When the stage is not reached

Sometimes a payment request arrives before the stage is finished. In that case, you pay for what is built, not for what is announced. The report shows exactly what is missing, with photos, and you can pass it on to your builder as it is.

Example: the builder asks for the « walls » stage. On site, the technician observes that the ground floor walls are up, except two sections on the courtyard side, and that the top ring beams have not been poured. The report shows it, with photos. You pay the stage once these items are finished, or the part of the stage agreed in writing for what is done.

The decision stays yours: SEETLU holds back no payment. We give you the facts; you and your builder decide what happens next.

Our services and prices

Payment checks are part of a simple range. All prices are also on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions