5 Reasons to Improve Your Contracting Business Documentation

When you work with clients, you want the important information in writing. It’s not surprising that clients want the same. Documentation is the way that you set expectations and make sure that every aspect of the project, from the initial negotiations to the final payment, are easy to understand. Here are five reasons you’ll be glad you got your business documentation to the best it can be.

Avoid Confusion
You’ve probably had multiple points in your life where what you thought was different than what someone else was expecting. When this happens as part of your contracting business, someone is going to be at fault. Flaws in planning or unclear documentation can create confusion. As a result, people who are confused may decide to escalate it into conflict. The best way to avoid this is to document as much as you can. This includes:

• Early negotiations
• Contracts
• Daily logs
• Incident reports
• Rule compliance

Make sure they’re comprehensive, with all the details listed. Keeping these records in a place where you can get to them when you need them can help stop a simple misunderstanding from turning into a big conflict.

Outline Expectations Clearly
When you are in the early stages of negotiation between your business and a client, documentation is key. This is your opportunity to outline what you are willing to do, and which responsibilities you are willing to shoulder. This is also your chance to make it clear what you’re not willing to do and when you will consider the contract to be a failure on the client’s end. It may seem like it’s easier to just hammer out the details as they arrive, but this is how conflicts start. Instead, get everything in writing from the beginning and you can refer to it throughout the project.

Manage Liability
When you’re working on a high-cost project that involves a variety of risks to you and the property owner, liability is one of the first things you need to manage. Documentation makes it obvious which liabilities are yours, and which ones are the responsibility of the client. When you create documentation, it’s important to consult a lawyer who specializes in construction. That way, you know what is conventional for the area as well as the legal requirements for your business.

Remember that the record you keep is just as important as the documentation you create in the first place. For example, if you are responsible for creating a safe jobsite for employees, you need to document what you’ve done and show how you monitor it. This can help to protect you against claims that you failed to meet these requirements.

Provide a Clear Picture of Progress
In the modern world, everyone wants more information. Clients who used to be perfectly happy to get an update every few days or once a week may want to be able to see your documentation in real-time at any given moment. This makes a strong case for finding systems that allow you to update documentation on the fly, for storage in the Cloud.

It’s also a handy way to show that you are meeting the terms of the contract. Delays in construction projects and overspending the budget are extremely common. In many cases, contracting businesses are liable for the overrun. When this happens to you, having updated logs of your progress can help keep clients happy and explain the source of the delay.

Ensure Compliance
People love to say that if you don’t have evidence for it, then it probably never happened. This is why documentation is so important when you need to establish compliance, particularly for required mandates issued by the city, county or state. For example, if you want to be able to prove that you are maintaining the safety requirements dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic, you’ll need a record to show that. This might include:

• Cleaning logs
• Records of PPE purchases
• Standards posted for employee review

A little effort as part of your daily routine could make the difference between no problems and a lengthy lawsuit.

Learning how to do paperwork well is one of the best ways to protect your contracting business. To get started, contact CSLS today!