Punch list template for Excel, Word or PDF, and how to close one out
The punch list is the last thing between a finished job and the final payment. Write each item so anyone on the crew can find it and fix it, and the list gets shorter instead of longer.
Download the punch list template: ExcelWordPDF
The punch list format
One list per job, one line per item, with the same seven columns on every line: number, where, what is wrong and what done looks like, who, due date, done (date and initials) and photos. The Excel sheet has those columns set up with a header row that stays in view and filters, so you can sort the open items by person or due date. Print the PDF or the Word version for the walk itself.
Punch list, [job name and address] · Walked on [date] with [names]
[#] · Where: [room, area or elevation] · What: [what is wrong, and what done looks like] · Who: [person or trade] · Due: [date] · Done: [date and initials] · Photos: [before and after]
1 · Kitchen, north wall · Outlet cover missing left of the window; install a white cover plate · Electrician · Fri · ___
2 · South slope, lower edge · Drip edge dented about 2 feet from the corner; replace that section · Roofing crew · Thu · ___
3 · Garage · Touch up paint on the door trim where the ladder rubbed · Painter · Fri · ___
When to make it
Walk the job with the owner or the general contractor when the work is close to done, not when it is half done. Agree on one list, kept by one person, so items don't scatter across texts and sticky notes. Anything added later goes on the same list with the date it was added.
Write items anyone can fix
A good item says where, what is wrong and what done looks like. Compare:
- Vague: "Fix trim."
Useful: "Primary bedroom, door casing on the hallway side: gap at the top left miter. Fill, caulk and paint to match." - Vague: "Clean up roof."
Useful: "Rear slope: nails and shingle scraps in the valley and in the back gutter. Remove and run a magnet over the lawn below."
Assign it, date it, close it
Every item gets a person or a trade and a due date. When it is done, the person who fixed it marks it with the date and their initials, and adds an after photo. Review the open items at the start of each day until the list is empty.
Before and after photos
A photo of the problem when it goes on the list and another when it is fixed ends most arguments about whether something was done. Keep both with the item, not on someone's phone.
Signing off
Walk the finished list with the owner, have them initial the items they accept, and keep that sign-off with the job. Then send the final invoice while the work is fresh.
Common mistakes
- Several lists in several places, with nobody sure which one is current.
- Items with no location, so the crew spends the morning looking for them.
- No owner for an item, so it sits until the final walk.
- Closing items without an after photo.
Doing it in FieldPix
Every FieldPix job has tasks: a punch list where each item can go to one person, who gets a notification on their phone. Make a task from a photo, check it off when it is done, and keep the before and after photos on the job. A walkthrough can also become a punch list: talk through what is left as you walk the job, and FieldPix writes it up. When the list is done, send the invoice and take the final payment from the same app. Watch: tasks for your crew.
