AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Pay a village build in stages tied to finished work, never in one sum: agree a written schedule (foundation, walls to lintel, roofing, finishing), release each payment only after dated photos or video and, ideally, a check by someone independent, and keep a ledger of every naira sent with the receipt. Hold back a small part of each payment until the house is finished.
Why stage payments matter more from abroad
Building in a home town while you live in Dubai or Abu Dhabi means you rarely see the site. The money moves faster than the work, and once a large sum has gone, you lose your main lever. Stage payments put that lever back: the builder is paid for what has been built, and the next stage is the incentive to keep going. Families who have built this way say the biggest cause of stalled houses is not dishonesty but money running ahead of progress, with cement bought for one job used on another.
Set up the job properly
- Plans: under the Architects (Registration, etc.) Act, only architects registered in Nigeria may prepare or take full responsibility for building plans. Ask for the architect's registration and keep a copy of the approved drawings.
- Approval: ask what building approval your local planning authority requires, and do not start before you have it. Building control authorities may also want proof of builders' liability insurance: Nairametrics' summary of the 2025 insurance law (section 75) says cover for buildings under construction must be verified before approval.
- Contract: write down the scope, the drawings it follows, the price for each stage, who buys which materials and the timeline.
- Who holds title: settle whose name the land is in before you spend; see building on parents' land.
A stage schedule you can use
Stages vary by design, so treat this as a template. The percentages are an example only, for a bungalow priced at an example ₦30,000,000 for labour and materials:
| Stage (example) | Share | Amount (example) | Evidence before payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobilisation and setting out | 10% | ₦3,000,000 | Site cleared, pegs and trenches photographed |
| Foundation to damp-proof course | 20% | ₦6,000,000 | Foundation and DPC photos with a measuring tape visible |
| Walls to lintel level | 20% | ₦6,000,000 | Video walk-round of every room |
| Roofing | 20% | ₦6,000,000 | Roof covered, photos from outside and inside |
| Plaster, plumbing, electrics | 20% | ₦6,000,000 | Independent check of wiring and plumbing |
| Finishing and handover | 10% | ₦3,000,000 | Final walk-round, keys, snag list cleared |
The shares add up to 100% and the amounts to ₦30,000,000. A common protection is a retention: hold back, say, 5% of each stage and release it a few months after handover once defects are fixed. On the example figures, 5% of the ₦6,000,000 roofing stage is ₦300,000 held back, so ₦5,700,000 is paid at that stage.
Buy the expensive materials yourself
Cement, iron rods and roofing sheets are the items most often bought in larger quantities than needed or diverted. Some builders abroad pay suppliers directly and have deliveries counted on arrival. See buying materials directly from abroad. For solar or inverter installations, federal guidance reported in April 2026 says only electrical contractors certified by NEMSA may install rooftop solar, with the certificate on site.
Evidence before each payment
Decide in advance what proof unlocks each payment, and stick to it. Ask for photos and video that show a date and something you recognise in the background; a live video call where you direct the camera is harder to fake than a forwarded clip. An independent check, such as a quantity surveyor's valuation or a trusted relative who is not the builder's friend, adds a second view. Our guides to site reports and using a quantity surveyor go deeper.
When a stage is only half done
Builders will sometimes ask for part of a stage payment because the walls are "nearly at lintel". Decide your answer before it happens. One fair approach is to pay a fixed part of the stage against a measured quantity of work, such as a count of completed courses of blocks agreed with your checker, and to pay the rest when the stage is complete. What you should avoid is paying the whole of the next stage to keep the peace: once the money for roofing has been spent on finishing the walls, the roofing stage has no money behind it and the house sits uncovered through the rains.
Delays and penalties
You can agree a deduction for late completion. A BusinessDay review of Nigerian case law notes that courts enforce a genuine pre-estimate of loss but not a sum meant mainly to punish, so keep any late-completion deduction proportionate and write down how you arrived at it.
Keep a ledger
Every payment should appear in one record with the date, amount, stage, recipient, what it bought and the receipt. Ask the builder and suppliers for written receipts and keep your own transfer confirmations. This is the record that resolves disputes with the builder, explains the project to siblings who contributed and, later, shows the cost of the house if you ever sell it. Our Nigeria library covers managing building money from abroad in full.
Where Pryme fits
From the UAE, a Pryme account can hold naira for the build alongside USD, GBP and EUR. You pay the builder and suppliers stage by stage with Send, and can issue or request verifiable receipts through Pryme's partnership with VerifyDoc.ai, so anyone can check a receipt is genuine and unaltered. Holding the next stage's money in a naira Savings Box keeps it apart from family spending.
Questions people ask
How do I pay a builder in my village from Dubai?
Pay by bank transfer in stages tied to completed work, against photos, video and ideally an independent check, and keep a ledger with receipts.
What percentage should I pay a builder upfront in Nigeria?
There is no legal rule. Many owners pay a small mobilisation sum and then stage payments; our example uses 10% upfront.
Should I buy cement and rods myself?
Buying the expensive materials directly and counting deliveries reduces the risk of over-ordering or diversion.
Can I deduct money if the builder finishes late?
You can agree a late-completion deduction in the contract. Keep it to a genuine estimate of your loss, as Nigerian courts do not enforce punitive penalties.
Sources
- Architects (Registration, etc.) Act, PLAC Laws of Nigeria · accessed Oct 2026
- Nairametrics: insurance provisions in Nigeria's new insurance Act (8 Aug 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- TheNigeriaLawyer: FG mandates certified solar installers (20 Apr 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- BusinessDay: liquidated damages and penalty clauses in Nigerian contracts (2 Oct 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.