As a subcontractor or supplier to a construction project, you take on tremendous risk with each new contract you sign. In almost every case, you won’t be paid until you do at least some of the work you’ve agreed to do or deliver the supplies you’ve agreed to provide. You’re essentially extending credit to whoever your contract is with. And if you get paid late or don’t get paid at all, you jeopardize your business.
Fortunately, there are ways to increase your chances of getting paid for almost every type of project you may encounter. At Emalfarb Law LLC and National Lien & Bond, we’ve helped thousands of clients protect their payment rights and recover unpaid money they were entitled to receive for their construction-related work. Whether it’s by following the applicable mechanics or construction lien requirements, understanding how to file a claim when there is a bond on a project, negotiating a joint check arrangement with an owner or GC, or otherwise, the first step to securing your payment rights is to collect certain information about the project. This is where using a Project Data Sheet can help.
The Project Data Sheet
A project data sheet helps you organize the information you need to determine the best way to help secure your payments for work performed or materials supplied to a construction job. It is the starting point for learning what steps you need to take and when you need to take them. In particular, your Project Data Sheet should include the following information:
- Name and location of the project
- Your status on the project: GC, subcontractor, sub-subcontractor, supplier, equipment lessor
- The project’s owner or the public entity controlling the project
- The general contractor and, where applicable, the subcontractor you’re working for
- The type of project; private, federal, or other governmental (public agency, city, county, state)
- Whether there is a payment bond and, if so, information about the bond
- Contact information for others involved in the project, such as architects, engineers, title companies, lenders, and any others of importance
- Your customer; who your contract is with
- Your customer’s role in the project: owner, GC, subcontractor, etc.
- The value and other information about your contract
- Any agreed credit terms that apply to the contract
- The type of construction project: multi-unit residential, subdivision, new construction, renovation, personal residence, commercial, municipal/governmental
- Important dates, including the date you first began work or supplied materials and your completion date, if applicable.
Much of this information will help you when it comes to identifying the steps you need to take to help secure the payments that you’re entitled to for the work or materials you provide for the project. The Project Data Sheet doesn’t protect your payment rights, but it’s the first step in making sure you follow the appropriate steps to do so.
Emalfarb Law and National Lien & Bond Can Help You Secure Your Payments
At Emalfarb Law LLC, we developed our Project Data Sheet to evaluate our clients’ requests for help with protecting and collecting on their construction-related work. With our associated counsel working through our affiliated company National Lien & Bond, we can help you ensure that you take the proper steps to protect your receivables even before there is a problem and to collect those receivables when they’re not paid as required. Our nationwide network of affiliated attorneys understands each state’s mechanics lien requirements and together will work to help you collect what you’re owed.
The best results happen when you plan from the beginning of the project, so contact us today to learn more about how Emalfarb Law LLC and National Lien & Bond can help you no matter where in the US your project is located. Call (800) 432-7799 or use our contact form to set up a free consultation.