Frequently Asked Questions

LocalHands is South Africa's home services marketplace — an online platform that connects homeowners with trusted, verified local contractors for a wide range of services including cleaning, gardening, childcare, handyman repairs, tech support, beauty, catering, moving, and security installations. We are 100% South African, operating in ZAR, and built specifically for the needs of South African households.

Yes — completely free for homeowners. Browsing contractor profiles, reading reviews, and sending messages to contractors costs nothing. You only pay when you accept a formal quote and confirm a booking. There are no hidden sign-up fees or subscription costs for customers.

No account is needed to browse contractor listings, view profiles, read reviews, or see pricing. You will need to register a free account to send a message, request a quote, or make a booking.

LocalHands operates across all nine South African provinces — Gauteng, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Free State, and Northern Cape. Service providers can define their coverage at city, provincial, or nationwide level. When you search, we prioritise contractors nearest to your location first.

LocalHands covers 9 service categories with 60+ individual services: Cleaning & Hygiene (home cleaning, deep cleaning, upholstery, windows), Gardening & Outdoor (lawn mowing, pool cleaning, tree felling), Childcare & Family Support (babysitting, nannies, tutoring), Handyman & Maintenance (plumbing, electrical, painting, tiling), Tech Support & WiFi (router setup, DSTV, TV mounting), Mobile Beauty & Wellness (barbers, nails, massage), Moving & General Labor (furniture moving, bakkie hire), Catering & Events (private chefs, braai catering, waitrons), and Security & Home Safety (alarms, CCTV, electric fences, gate motors).

The main differences are trust and structure. Every provider on LocalHands has been reviewed and approved by our team before appearing — they are not anonymous strangers. Pricing is transparent upfront, communication stays on-platform, payments are processed securely via PayFast, and every booking leaves a verifiable review trail. There is no chasing people for quotes, no cash-in-hand uncertainty, and no disappearing contractors.

Use the search bar or browse by category on the Contractors page. You can filter by service type, location (city or GPS-based "Near Me"), price range, minimum rating, and distance. Each contractor profile shows their services, photos, pricing, experience, and real customer reviews to help you make an informed decision.

Click "Connect" on any contractor's profile to start a conversation through our built-in chat. You can describe your job, ask questions about availability or pricing, and request a formal quote — all without sharing your personal phone number or email address.

Yes. You can message as many contractors as you like simultaneously. Review their quotes, compare their ratings and experience, and choose the best fit for your job and budget before committing to any booking.

Once you accept a contractor's quote, you will be directed to the secure PayFast payment page to complete the booking. After successful payment, both you and the contractor receive an email confirmation with booking details. The contractor's contact details are then shared so you can coordinate the appointment.

Contact our support team within 48 hours of the service being completed. We will investigate the issue, mediate between you and the provider, and work toward a fair resolution. If the service clearly did not meet the agreed standard, we will assess a refund on a case-by-case basis. Please review our Terms & Conditions for full details on dispute resolution.

After your booking is marked as complete, you will be prompted to leave a review in your bookings dashboard. Reviews can only be left by customers who made a confirmed, paid booking — this ensures all ratings on the platform are genuine and verified.

Yes. Use the chat to discuss and agree on a date and time with the contractor before finalising the booking. The agreed time should be reflected in the quote or discussed in the conversation. LocalHands does not currently have a built-in calendar scheduler — this is coordinated directly between you and the contractor via chat.

Company accounts on LocalHands manage a team of agents. If you book through a company profile, they may assign one of their qualified agents to your job. You can ask the company who will be attending before confirming the booking. Independent (individual) contractors always attend in person.

Click "Join LocalHands" and register an account. During registration, select the service provider option and complete the application form — including your services, pricing, service areas, and a brief bio. Our team reviews all applications and you will be notified of approval via email. Once approved, your profile goes live and customers can find and contact you.

Registering and applying as a provider is free. LocalHands may charge a small platform fee on completed bookings — current fee details are published on the platform and communicated to providers before any deduction is made. There are no monthly subscription fees.

An individual account is for sole traders or freelancers offering services personally. A company account is for registered businesses with a team — a Company Admin can manage multiple Agents, assign jobs to them, and run a professional service operation through the platform. Both account types can be verified and listed on LocalHands.

The Verified badge is awarded after our team manually reviews and approves your provider application. It signals to customers that your profile has been checked and that you are a legitimate, approved service provider on LocalHands. The badge can be revoked if you breach platform policies or if your account receives sustained negative feedback.

During your profile setup, you can define your coverage at three levels: specific cities (e.g., Johannesburg, Cape Town), an entire province, or nationwide. You can serve multiple cities across different provinces. Customers searching in your defined areas will see your profile in their results, ranked by proximity.

Yes. You can create separate service listings for each service you offer, each with its own price, pricing type (fixed, hourly, or quote-on-request), and description. For example, you could list "Standard Home Cleaning" at a fixed price and "Deep Cleaning" as quote-on-request.

In your provider dashboard, navigate to the Portfolio section. You can upload photos of completed jobs, add a title and description, and associate them with a specific service offering. Approved portfolio items appear on your public profile and help customers see the quality of your work.

Yes. You are not obligated to accept every enquiry. Simply respond to the customer in chat and let them know you are unavailable for that date or job. However, repeatedly ignoring or cancelling confirmed bookings will negatively affect your rating and profile visibility.

Payments are processed by PayFast, South Africa's leading payment gateway. PayFast accepts credit cards (Visa & Mastercard), debit cards, instant EFT, and several other South African payment methods. All prices are in ZAR. Your card details are entered securely on PayFast's servers — LocalHands never sees or stores your card information.

Payment is made upfront when you confirm a booking by accepting a quote. This secures the booking and ensures the contractor is committed to your job. Payment is released to the contractor after the service is completed.

Yes, subject to timing: cancelling more than 48 hours before the scheduled service qualifies for a full refund (less any payment gateway fees). Cancelling 24–48 hours before may qualify for a 50% refund at our discretion. Cancelling less than 24 hours before or not showing up generally does not qualify for a refund. Please review our Terms & Conditions for the full cancellation policy.

Approved refunds are processed within 5–10 business days via the original payment method (credit/debit card or EFT). The exact timeline may vary depending on your bank. LocalHands will deduct any non-refundable payment gateway processing fees from the refund amount.

If payment fails, the booking is not confirmed and no charge is made. You can retry the payment through the booking page. If the issue persists, check with your bank or try a different payment method. Contact our support team if you were charged but did not receive a booking confirmation.

Yes. Your full payment history is available in your account dashboard under "Bookings". Each completed payment shows the amount, date, contractor, and booking reference. For formal VAT invoices, please contact our support team.

Every contractor must submit a provider application that is manually reviewed by our team before their profile becomes visible to customers. We check the information provided, confirm the services offered are legitimate, and approve or decline each application. Approved providers receive a visible "Verified" badge. This is not a one-time check — providers can be re-evaluated if their account receives serious complaints.

LocalHands verifies every provider before listing them. We recommend reading a contractor's reviews and rating carefully before booking, messaging them through the platform to discuss the job first, and ensuring you are comfortable before confirming. As with any service booking, we advise being present or having a trusted adult at home during the service. Never feel pressured to book — take the time you need to feel confident.

Yes. LocalHands is committed to protecting your personal information in compliance with South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). We do not sell your data to third parties, all communications are encrypted over HTTPS, and payment data is handled exclusively by PayFast — we never store your card details. Read our full Privacy Policy for complete details.

No. All communication happens inside LocalHands's built-in chat system. Your phone number and personal email address are never visible to contractors unless you choose to share them yourself. After a booking is confirmed, basic contact details may be shared for the purpose of coordinating the appointment.

Report the issue to LocalHands support immediately using the contact form. Include as much detail as possible. We take all reports of inappropriate behaviour seriously and will investigate promptly. In cases of immediate danger, please contact South African Police Services (SAPS) on 10111 first.

Yes. If you believe a listing is fraudulent, misleading, or in violation of our policies, please report it via our contact page. Include the listing URL and a description of the concern. Our team will investigate and take appropriate action, which may include removing the listing and suspending the account.