Author
Founder & CEO, Build Paperless
Harry is the founder and CEO of Build Paperless. With a background in technology and a deep understanding of the Australian residential construction industry, he built Paperless to solve the admin problems that keep builders at their desks instead of on site. He writes about construction technology, builder workflows, and the Australian regulatory landscape.
Bathla Group has gone into administration owing billions, with thousands of homes half built and thousands of trades exposed. The industry is already lumping it in with Dyldam. It should not, because one was a solvency failure and the other was a conduct failure, and treating them as the same story hurts every honest builder.
A full working drawing set asks more of an AI than a single floor plan. What a drawing set does to the AI, what tender-grade platforms do about it, and the four changes we made to get takeoffs right.
The gap between a customer saying yes and the deposit landing is where jobs quietly die. Why that gap exists, what it costs you, and how to close it by collecting the deposit at the moment of acceptance rather than a week later.
Builders are vibe coding their own apps and asking what they need a software company for. The demo is the easy 10%. The other 90% is where all the risk lives, and it is the same lesson the industry already learned from the calculator, prefabricated wall systems and modular.
Most builders treat a name change as a logo job. Then the email stops arriving, or the first enquiry goes missing. A Fraser Coast builder's rebrand, and the list of things underneath it that have to move in the right order.
The industry is drowning in AI announcements. Big launches, glossy videos, a chat window in the corner of the screen. Then you use it on a real job and nothing about your week changes. Here is why the bolt-on chatbot keeps falling flat, and what AI has to do before it earns a place on your site.
The 2022-2025 insolvency wave took out over 2,600 building companies. A new cohort signed fixed-price contracts in 2024 and 2025 with no escalation protection. Diesel is up 41%. PVC pipe is up 36%. Rates have risen three times this year. The mechanism is identical.
Payment disputes grind builds to a halt. The fix isn't better lawyers -- it's better visibility. Here's how transparent builders avoid the courtroom entirely.
We originally chose not to build estimating. Here's what changed our mind, and how AI lets us do it properly.
Defects happen on every build. What separates good builders from bad ones is how they're identified, documented, and fixed.
Your site photos aren't just for Instagram. They're evidence, client communication, and dispute protection rolled into one.
Queensland has some of the strictest builder licensing requirements in Australia. Here's what residential builders need to know about QBCC compliance, insurance, and progress payments.
All-in-one builder software sounds great until your estimates are wrong and your project admin is a mess. Here's how the best Australian builders handle both.
Every spot in the Paperless Founding Builder Program has been claimed. What that means, and what comes next.
From sole traders to volume builders, who's using Paperless to run their construction business, and why they made the switch.
Everything NSW builders need to know about progress payment stages, claiming, and staying compliant with the Home Building Act.
Good subs don't grow on trees. Here's how to keep them compliant, scheduled, paid on time, and coming back to your jobs.
Every platform says they're built for builders. Most aren't. Here's how to evaluate construction management software for Australian residential builds.
You didn't become a builder to spend your nights doing paperwork. These are the five admin jobs that steal the most time, and how to get them off your plate.
Everything you need to know about managing HIA contracts digitally, from creation to completion.
Late selections delay trades, blow timelines, and frustrate everyone. Here's how builders manage the selection process without losing control.
Forget the hype about robots laying bricks. These are the AI tools residential builders in Australia are using today to cut admin time and run better projects.