Bindery

Inspiration

My father works as a general contractor and I’ve been able to join him on jobs, growing up alongside him. His current company would like to use procore but decided not to because it would cost them $60,000 annually due to procores pricing model being based on annual construction volume. This is mission critical software that many GC’s cannot afford especially if they have low margins.

I created Bindery to be a simpler, cheaper, more connected construction operating system powerful enough to manage real projects, and intuitive enough for every stakeholder to use.

What it does

Bindery connects owners, general contractors, and subcontractors in one shared platform. Teams can manage project documents, drawings, RFIs, submittals, budgets, commitments, contracts, change orders, company directories, attachments, and communication without jumping between separate systems.

Because project communication and financial information live together, teams can understand how field decisions affect budgets and contracts. Everyone works from the latest information, helping projects control costs, reduce risk, and finish with fewer surprises.

How I built it

I built Bindery completely alongside codex using 5.6 sol, as a modern full-stack web application using Next.js 16, React 19, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS. Prisma provides the application’s relational data layer, while Supabase handles authentication and file storage. Resend powers transactional email and project notifications.

I started with 5.5 and built the initial mvp containing only the signup flow and project creation screen. Then heavily refactored and continued when 5.6 was released. I also used 5.6 to learn about third party tools I used like resend and mailing, to understand how I can ingest external emails to populate my DB. 5.6 has helped me understand how far I can take things just by chatting along the way.

Challenges I ran into

One of the largest challenges was modeling how construction information connects. An RFI can affect a drawing, a commitment, a change order, and ultimately the project budget. Those relationships need to remain understandable without making the interface feel complicated.

I also had to carefully handle organization isolation, project permissions, file attachments, outbound email, responsive financial tables, and navigation between data-heavy tools. Improving perceived performance was particularly challenging because fast navigation requires coordinating server rendering, loading boundaries, optimistic selection, and retained client state.

Accomplishments that I’m proud of

I am proud that Bindery feels like one connected product rather than a collection of unrelated tools. Users can move from project communication to financial information while remaining inside the same project context.

I built complete workflows for RFIs, submittals, budgets, commitments, change orders, project directories, documents, attachments, and email notifications. I am also proud of the retained-page experience, which keeps recently visited tools mounted and makes rapid navigation feel much closer to a desktop application.

Most importantly, I created a foundation that can support serious construction workflows without inheriting the complexity or pricing associated with traditional enterprise platforms.

What I learned

I learned that construction software is not primarily about adding more features. Its value comes from connecting information clearly and making the correct next action obvious.

I also learned how important trust is in this industry. Users need immediate feedback, predictable navigation, clear status history, accurate cost calculations, and confidence that every organization’s information remains isolated. Small interface details can have a major effect on whether a tool feels dependable enough for daily project use.

What's next for Bindery

Next, I plan to develop the payments integration with stripe, deepen drawing management, invoicing, field activity, reporting, permissions, and mobile workflows. We also want to add accounting integrations, easier data imports, configurable approval workflows, and richer project analytics.

The long-term goal is for Bindery to become the complete operating system for construction: one platform connecting every company, document, conversation, and financial decision involved in delivering a project.

Built With

• mailgun
• resend
• supabase
• vercel