OWNERSDEEDOn the record.
The owner's guide

How to run your build with OwnersDeed.

Five areas, one job each. Here's what every part of the app is for, exactly how to use it — and the single habit in each that keeps you in control while your home goes up.

01

Dashboard — your morning glance

The one screen you check every day. It shows where the money stands, how far along the build is, and the few things that need you right now. It records nothing itself — every button here is a door into the area where the real work happens.

How to use it
  1. Read the top card: spent so far vs. projected, split into Construction, Other project costs, and your Contingency reserve.
  2. Work the “Needs you” list — it's your setup checklist and your live to-dos (set the draw schedule, add your funding, set your loan start date, decide a selection).
  3. When setup is complete, “Lock your plan.” Locking flips your budget from a preview into a live baseline, so you can see drift the moment it starts.
  4. Skim Recent activity to confirm everything you did actually landed.
What you'll see

A calm summary, not a control panel. The numbers here are the totals of everything you record in the other areas — so if a figure looks wrong, you fix it where it lives, one tap away.

Spent vs projectedNeeds youLoan drawdownRecent activity
The habit

Check it once a day and clear anything red or amber. Lock your plan early — nothing tracks drift until you do.

02

Money — where every dollar is recorded

This is the ledger of your build: your loans and cash, every cost, and the builder's allowances. Record money here as it happens and the Dashboard, the charts, and your history all stay honest automatically.

How to use it
  1. Plan & costs: add your loans, your project costs (land, architect, appliances…), and your contingency reserve — your cushion for surprises.
  2. Loans & draws: record each draw the bank releases and each payment you make. Building on a lot you already own? Add the old mortgage and mark it “not build money” so it's tracked without inflating your funding.
  3. Selections: track each builder allowance (cabinets, flooring, countertops). The allowance is already in your contract — only the overage is new money, and only once you lock the choice.
What it's for

To answer, at any moment, three questions: how much have I really committed, how much is left, and how much of my own cash do I still need to put in. No spreadsheet, no waiting for the builder's version.

Plan & costsLoans & drawsSelections
The habit

Record every draw and payment the day it happens, and log a selection's overage the moment you choose it — surprises only hurt when they pile up unseen.

03

Protect — the side of the build you never see

This is the part a builder's own software would never give you. It watches for the ways owners quietly get hurt: liens on your title, money running ahead of the work, change orders without a paper trail, and defect deadlines slipping by.

How to use it
  1. Lien-waiver tracker: log a waiver for each vendor and draw. Collect a conditional waiver before you pay, then upgrade to unconditional once the check clears — that's the one that actually protects your home.
  2. Draws vs. progress: a single bar showing money released against work actually done. A big lead means pump the brakes.
  3. Change-order log: record every change in writing, with its cost, before the work is done.
  4. Contract review: paste your builder contract before you sign and get the owner-unfriendly clauses flagged.
What it protects you from

Paying twice because your builder didn't pay a sub. Funding a build that's falling behind. Cost surprises with no signed trail. Missing the window to raise a defect. The quiet failures — caught early.

Lien waiversDraws vs workChange ordersDefect clockContract review
The habit

Never release a draw until the previous draw's unconditional waivers are in hand. And put every change in writing before the work starts.

New to lien waivers?

They're the single most important thing to get right — and the easiest to misunderstand. We wrote a full plain-English guide.

Read: Lien waivers, explained →
04

Record — the home's permanent, provable file

Everything worth keeping forever: documents, photos, warranties, the vendors who touched your home, and the full timeline of the build. Each document is fingerprinted so you can later prove it hasn't been changed — a real record, not a folder of loose files.

How to use it
  1. Documents: upload contracts, permits, and receipts as you get them. Ask plain-English questions and get answers pulled from your own files.
  2. Capture: before a wall closes, photograph what's behind it — framing, plumbing, wiring. Each shot is stamped with the stage, time, and place.
  3. Warranties & Maintenance: log warranties so you're warned before they lapse, and follow the seasonal upkeep schedule.
  4. History: your reconcile-and-prove view — every payment and event, by date, marked verified.
Why it matters later

When a defect shows up two years in, or you sell the home, or you file an insurance claim — the person with the dated, tamper-evident record wins. Most owners have a shoebox. You'll have proof.

DocumentsWarrantiesVendorsInventoryMaintenanceHistoryCapture
The habit

Photograph everything before it's covered up. The pictures of what's behind your walls are worth more than any receipt if something goes wrong later.

05

Account — your membership, and the record itself

You pay for the live service; the record is permanent and yours. Take a full copy whenever you like, or generate a polished packet from the same timeline for a closing, a dispute, or a sale.

How to use it
  1. Membership: founding members are free for the first six months — no card required. The prices shown are what it'll cost after that.
  2. Export: download the whole record as a file (JSON), or just the money as a spreadsheet (CSV) your accountant can open. Anytime, no strings.
  3. Packets: generate a closing, dispute, or resale PDF — three framings of the same record.
  4. Feedback: tell us what's missing. Every note is read.
The promise

The record never deletes and is never held hostage. If you ever stop paying, you keep a full export — you walk away with everything, not a locked door.

MembershipExportPacketsFeedback
The habit

Export a copy at each milestone. It's your record — keep a copy where you keep the things that matter.