Can Contractors Review Customers?

Technically, yes. Whether you should is the real question.

When I first ran into the fact that contractors have nowhere to leave a record about a client, I decided to figure it out myself. I wanted to build the app that didn’t exist. Here’s what I ran into.

Why an App

We all have dozens of apps on our phones. Some we can’t imagine life without — we reach for them without thinking.

I kept asking what I’d actually want from this one. It had to be simple — like a map, opened every day. And that’s when it clicked. Everything that works is simple, and always within reach. A map. Experience tied to a place. Open it, check it, drive out.

Why Contractors Even Ask

Contractors don’t ask this for no reason. Slow payments cost the U.S. construction industry an estimated $299 billion in 2025. And 91% of contractors now factor a client’s payment reputation into whether they bid at all — with 88% declining to bid on a job in the past year because of a slow-pay reputation. The need to know who you’re dealing with is real. (According to Rabbet’s 2025 Construction Payments Report.)

The Questions That Almost Stopped Me

I wanted this open to everyone — from a large contractor to a handyman. But the moment I looked closer, the problems started.

If anyone can sign up, you protect no one. How do you make sure the person leaving a record is a contractor, not a homeowner settling a score? How do you confirm someone is actually licensed, not just anyone with an account?

And it wasn’t only about verification. I wanted a place where contractors are among their own — where a professional shares the experience he already carries, and that experience helps the next contractor at the same address.

Why It Can’t Be Public

The more I read, the clearer the line became.

Publicly reviewing an individual creates concerns around privacy, accuracy, and defamation. Once a platform starts identifying and rating individuals, those concerns become much harder to ignore. That wasn’t the kind of platform I wanted to build.

So it couldn’t be open to anyone. It had to be closed — verified contractors only. And the record couldn’t be about a person. It had to be about the place.

What I Landed On

Tie the experience to an address, not a name. Not “this client is bad,” but “here’s what happened at this job site.” A closed space for verified contractors, where the experience you carry stays with the address and helps whoever shows up next. Leave what you found. Take what others left. That’s how the map grows.

That’s StarProve. Simple as a map. Check the address before you quote, and see what other verified contractors found there before you.

Don’t start with the person. Start with the job site.

Disclaimer: StarProve app is a private, closed platform for verified contractors to preserve and access professional project experiences and operational history. StarProve app does not identify, rate, or profile homeowners, residents, or property owners. The platform does not provide consumer reports, credit scores, or background checks on individuals, and is not a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA. All Job Site Logs reflect the independent professional experiences and opinions of the contractors who submit them.