diff --git a/pkg/project/project.go b/pkg/project/project.go
index 99f8231b..9177acf9 100644
--- a/pkg/project/project.go
+++ b/pkg/project/project.go
@@ -69,10 +69,6 @@ func (p *Project) GetBatchServices() []Batch {
 func (p *Project) BuildBatches(fs afero.Fs, useBuilder bool) (chan ServiceBuildUpdate, error) {
 	updatesChan := make(chan ServiceBuildUpdate)
 
-	if len(p.services) == 0 {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("no services found in project, nothing to build. This may indicate misconfigured `match` patterns in your nitric.yaml file")
-	}
-
 	maxConcurrentBuilds := make(chan struct{}, min(goruntime.NumCPU(), goruntime.GOMAXPROCS(0)))
 
 	waitGroup := sync.WaitGroup{}
@@ -130,10 +126,6 @@ func (p *Project) BuildBatches(fs afero.Fs, useBuilder bool) (chan ServiceBuildU
 func (p *Project) BuildServices(fs afero.Fs, useBuilder bool) (chan ServiceBuildUpdate, error) {
 	updatesChan := make(chan ServiceBuildUpdate)
 
-	if len(p.services) == 0 {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("no services found in project, nothing to build. This may indicate misconfigured `match` patterns in your nitric.yaml file")
-	}
-
 	maxConcurrentBuilds := make(chan struct{}, min(goruntime.NumCPU(), goruntime.GOMAXPROCS(0)))
 
 	waitGroup := sync.WaitGroup{}
@@ -573,6 +565,10 @@ func fromProjectConfiguration(projectConfig *ProjectConfiguration, localConfig *
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to match service files for pattern %s: %w", serviceMatch, err)
 		}
 
+		if len(files) == 0 {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to match service files for pattern %s. This may indicate misconfigured `match` patterns in your nitric.yaml file", serviceMatch)
+		}
+
 		for _, f := range files {
 			relativeServiceEntrypointPath, _ := filepath.Rel(filepath.Join(projectConfig.Directory, baseService.GetBasedir()), f)
 			projectRelativeServiceFile := filepath.Join(projectConfig.Directory, f)