Small construction / general contractingNew

What gets pre-loaded

• preferenceimportance 9/10

  Client communication — every change order names the dollar delta + schedule delta in writing

  All change orders sent to a homeowner or commercial client must name (a) the dollar delta against the original contract, (b) the schedule delta in calendar days, (c) a one-paragraph plain-English explanation of why the change is necessary, AND (d) the client's signed acceptance via a dated form (digital or paper). Verbal change-order acceptance is the #1 source of client disputes in residential construction; it doesn't matter how well the client trusts the GC at the start of the project, every undocumented change becomes a dispute risk by month four. Surface a watch item on any project where work has begun on a verbally-accepted change without a signed change order on file within 5 business days.

• preferenceimportance 8/10

  Subcontractor coordination — every weekly schedule names the responsible sub by trade for every line item

  Weekly project schedules must name the specific subcontractor company (and ideally the lead foreman) responsible for every active line item — never generic trade labels like 'electrical' or 'plumbing'. Subs read the schedule as their commitment; ambiguous lines get deprioritized in favour of jobs where the GC has named them explicitly. Named-sub schedules cut day-of no-shows by ~40% and shift dispute conversations from 'who was supposed to be there?' to 'why didn't [Acme Electric] show?'. Surface a watch item on any weekly schedule that ships with unnamed trade-only line items.

• lessonimportance 9/10

  Weather-window red flag — 3+ consecutive weather-blocked days on exterior work

  Three or more consecutive days of weather-blocked exterior work (concrete pour, framing, siding, roofing, exterior paint) is a structural schedule risk that compounds — sub crews redeploy to other jobs, materials staging gets disrupted, and the cascade typically pushes interior trades 2-3× the weather-blocked window because of resequencing. The right response isn't 'wait it out'; it's to immediately re-baseline the schedule with the affected subs, identify which interior work can be pulled forward to keep the crew billable, and notify the client with a written schedule-delta memo before they ask. Surface a watch item the moment the weather-blocked count crosses 3 days on any active exterior task.

• lessonimportance 9/10

  Lien-rights red flag — preliminary notice not filed within state statutory window on any new project

  Most US states require a preliminary lien notice (sometimes called a '20-day notice' or 'pre-lien notice') filed within a tight statutory window (10-30 days depending on state) after first labour or material delivery. Missing the window forfeits mechanic's lien rights for the project, which is the GC's only enforcement leverage if the client stops paying. Filing is cheap; not filing is catastrophic. Surface a watch item on any new project past day 7 without a logged preliminary notice filing, and prompt the operator to file or document why the project is exempt (e.g. owner-occupied single-family residence in a state that exempts those, with an explicit note).