Work Signals research guide
Win building work directly and keep 100% of your profit
Your skills. Your customer. Your profit. Work Signals helps builders and trades research projects they can pursue directly, so they can win their own work and keep the profit they earn.
Find building work for your own business
Working for a main contractor can be a useful way to fill your diary. But your earnings depend on the subcontract price and terms you agree. The main contractor manages the customer relationship and sets the price for the overall project.
Winning a job directly gives you the opportunity to set your own quote, agree the scope with the customer and manage your own margin. Work Signals helps you research proposed building work so you can develop a pipeline of opportunities for your business alongside your existing referrals and repeat customers.
Whether you build extensions, fit roofs, install windows or deliver specialist trades, the aim is the same: identify relevant projects and decide which are worth your time.
What keeping 100% of your profit means
Profit is what remains after the costs of doing the work. Keeping your profit does not mean that the whole invoice is profit. It means Work Signals does not deduct a percentage of your contract value or require you to split the profit from a job you win.
For a simplified illustration, suppose you agree a direct job price of £20,000 and allocate £16,000 to delivering it and your business overheads, including your research subscription. That leaves £4,000 before tax. Work Signals takes £0 of that £4,000 as job commission. The figures are an example, not a forecast of earnings.
If you choose to subcontract for another contractor, that separate agreement still determines your payment. Using Work Signals does not change its terms. The benefit of direct work is the chance to build your own customer relationships and price your own jobs.
Use planning signals to research local projects
Planning applications can reveal proposed extensions, alterations, new buildings and other projects before you would otherwise hear about them. Work Signals brings collected planning records and available supporting property evidence into one research workspace.
- Focus on your area and trade. Search available council areas, keywords, work types and planning dates to find projects relevant to your business.
- Check the project evidence. Review the proposal, recorded stage and original source. Supporting sale, energy and company evidence is shown where a match is available.
- Build a private shortlist. Save the records you want to investigate rather than starting again each time.
- Keep your research moving. Save searches and choose optional daily alerts for newly collected matching records.
Read our planning leads guide for builders for a practical starting point, and check current coverage and data sources before choosing where to search.
Turn research into a direct-work pipeline
- Choose work you can deliver. Match your search to your trade, travel area and capacity.
- Verify the opportunity. Read the original record and check the current project stage. A proposal may change, be refused or never proceed.
- Decide your next step. Check who is managing the project and use an appropriate, lawful route to introduce your services. A public record is not a customer enquiry or permission to send marketing.
- Quote on your own terms. If the customer wants a quote, agree the scope, price and payment terms directly. Allow for your delivery costs and responsibilities.
Winning direct work also means taking responsibility for the customer relationship, programme, payment collection and any defects. Work Signals supports the research; you decide which jobs to pursue and how to run them.
Try Work Signals before you subscribe
The 1-day free trial gives you full individual member access for 24 hours, with no card required and no automatic charge. Explore all available signals, try the research tools and save a shortlist.
After the trial, choose a monthly subscription if it suits your business. Your account and saved work stay with you. The subscription pays for access to the research service; Work Signals takes no commission from work you win.
Questions about direct work and job profit
Does Work Signals take a percentage of my jobs?
No. You pay for your subscription. Work Signals does not take a percentage of your job value or profit.
Do I have to work through a lead contractor?
Work Signals does not appoint a lead contractor or require you to work through one. You research opportunities and choose how to pursue them. Some projects will already have a contractor or procurement process in place.
Are these guaranteed or exclusive leads?
No. Planning records are research signals, not confirmed jobs, exclusive enquiries or a promise that the project owner needs your services. Coverage and supporting evidence vary by source.