Below we take construction job boards apart: how they make money, what to check before you sign up, and how to write bids that get picked. At the end we explain how HandyMan24 works and where most of the jobs are today.
How job boards make money, and who pays for dead enquiries
A job board is basically a notice board: clients post work, tradespeople respond. The tradesperson nearly always pays. The question is what for.
- Paid leads. You buy a client’s details, or the right to message them. You pay up front, before you know whether there’s any work in it, and the same lead often goes to several people.
- Subscription. A flat monthly fee for access to jobs or a higher spot in the results. It comes out in the months you earn nothing, too.
- Credits or points. Paid leads in different packaging: you top up, and every response burns some credits.
- A fee on the job you win. Bids are free, and you pay only when the client picks you.
In the first three models the platform earns from access alone. In the last one, only from work that actually goes ahead. We worked out what one completed job from paid leads really costs, step by step, in Paying for leads that never pick up?
Fees have a downside too. You give up a cut of every job you win, including ones that might have come your way anyway, and your price sits next to everyone else’s. On the other hand, you know what you’ll pay before you even send the bid.
What to check before you sign up
Before you hand over your details and top up an account, look at the platform twice: once as a client, once as a tradesperson. These questions weed out most of the disappointments:
- What exactly you pay for: a lead, a month, a featured listing or a job you’ve won. Look for the price list for tradespeople, not the ad slogan.
- How many tradespeople see the same job. Does the client get your bid alongside others, or five calls in fifteen minutes?
- Whether a higher spot in the bid list is for sale. If it is, clients see whoever paid extra first, not whoever does good work.
- What jobs are actually posted. Building a house, a turnkey renovation and swapping a tap are three different markets. Scroll through the last few dozen jobs in your category.
- Which cities the jobs come from. A nationwide platform can be busy in one city and nearly empty in yours.
- When your number and the client’s address become visible. After an agreement is better than before, so your details don’t end up in other people’s databases.
- How the client pays: you directly or through the platform, and how long the money takes to reach you.
- Whether you can leave without losing money: the notice period on a subscription, and what happens to unused credit.
And the terms and conditions. Dull, yes. But you read the parts about fees, penalties and account suspension once, and there are no surprises later.
How to write bids that get picked
On a bidding platform the client sees several prices at once. The lowest doesn’t always win. People more often go for the one who clearly understood the job.
- Respond to what’s in the job. One sentence about this particular cabinet or that tap says more than “fast and reliable”.
- Say what the price includes and what it doesn’t: materials, rubbish removal, carrying things up. A client who knows the scope haggles less on site.
- Missing details? Ask before you price: what the walls are made of, which floor, whether there’s a lift, who’s buying materials.
- Fill your profile with photos of your own work. Two good before-and-after shots beat a long description.
- Electrics, gas and water: here a mistake costs more than a bad review. Don’t take jobs you aren’t qualified for; electrical and gas work in Poland needs the right certificates.
- Reply quickly, but properly. A fresh job gets the most of the client’s attention.
Reviews build up slowly, and at first it’s tempting to win on price. Going low is fine. Working at a loss isn’t: travel and time spent quoting are part of your job too.
How HandyMan24 works for tradespeople
HandyMan24 connects clients with tradespeople and doesn’t do any of the work itself. Everyone here works for themselves. Many start out under działalność nierejestrowana (unregistered activity), then open a JDG or a company once the work grows. You choose the setup and the paperwork; there’s nothing to adapt to us.
- Signing up and sending bids are free. The client posts a job with a description and photos, and you reply with your own price, timing and a message. Until you’re picked, you can withdraw the bid.
- The client decides, comparing price, rating and reviews. A job made up of several services can be split between different tradespeople.
- The fee comes off your HandyCoin Account only once the client picks your bid. The rate depends on the job value.
- The client pays you directly, in cash or by card, bypassing the platform. You issue the receipt or invoice, and you answer for your own work.
- Before the choice, you talk in the platform chat. Both sides see the number and exact address only after the choice.
- You mark the start with a before photo and close the job with a before-and-after pair. The client confirms completion and leaves a review, which stays on your account.
Without identity verification you can hold at most two active contracts at a time and don’t see urgent jobs. Once verified, those limits go and you get a bonus towards fees. The full rules are on the Jobs for professionals page.
We don’t promise a number of jobs or any level of earnings. The client always makes the call.
Jobs across Poland: where most of the work is
You choose your city when you sign up and then see jobs from there. Most jobs right now are in Warsaw and the surrounding area. But we take client jobs across Poland. Living in Kraków, Wrocław, Łódź, Poznań, Gdańsk or Katowice? Set up a profile and bid on jobs where you live, just bear in mind there are fewer of them outside Warsaw for now.
It also helps to know what kind of work comes through: fitting, repairs and finishing in flats and houses. Furniture, doors, electrics, plumbing, kitchens, bathrooms, tiling, floors, painting, appliance repair. Building sites with a foreman and one estimate, turnkey renovations, screeds, machine plastering and running pipes inside walls aren’t on the platform. If that’s the scale of construction job board you’re after, look at other platforms as well.
Moved and starting without a single client? We covered building a client base from scratch in New city, zero clients.
Common questions
Is a fee per job always cheaper than paid leads?
Not always. With a fee you pay on every job you win, with leads on every attempt. Work out what one completed job costs you under each model and compare it with what you keep from the work.
Do I pay anything to send a bid on HandyMan24?
No. Signing up and bidding are free. The fee comes off your HandyCoin Account only when a client picks your bid.
How many jobs will I get a month?
We don’t promise any number. Clients choose from the bids. We take jobs across Poland, and most of them right now are in Warsaw and the surrounding area.
Do I need a registered business to start?
Everyone works for themselves. Many start under działalność nierejestrowana, then open a JDG or a company as work grows. You choose the setup; if in doubt, ask an accountant.
Are there large construction jobs on HandyMan24?
No. Jobs cover fitting, repairs and finishing in flats and houses. Turnkey renovations with a foreman, screeds and machine plastering aren’t offered here.
Rather pay on jobs you win than on leads that go nowhere? Create a tradesperson profile. Signing up is free, and you pick your city straight away.
The rules and identity verification are explained on the Jobs for professionals page.
