The cheapest time to get a job file right is before the first drawing revision, not after the third unofficial “current” set has already spread to the field. A one-time setup means the folders, the naming rule, the logs, and the access are in place at mobilization, and the superintendent is not inventing a system in week three.

You can copy the tree and the README yourself from the job folder template (Job Folder Template for Google Drive or Dropbox). Hiring me for setup makes sense when you want that file built in your Drive or Dropbox, connected to the actual people on the job, and checked so the current set opens on a phone before the first pour.

What a setup includes

A typical job file setup covers:

  • A shared drive or team folder the company owns, named with the job number, so the record does not live in one person’s My Drive or personal Dropbox.
  • The numbered folder tree, from contract and contacts through current and superseded drawings, RFIs, submittals, changes, dailies, photos, transmittals, pay apps, closeout, and correspondence.
  • A one-page README in the root: the current-set rule, the naming convention, and who is allowed to replace drawings.
  • An RFI log and a submittal log, with the columns that matter, already sitting in the job folder and shared with the right people.
  • Permissions: most of the team can view and download the current set; only a short list can replace it. Subs get the drawings and the logs they should see, not the whole admin folder.
  • Phone access: the superintendent (and anyone else who must build from the sheets) can open 02_Drawings_Current on a phone, including offline if the site needs it.
  • A short walkthrough, so the people who will actually use the file know the rule: if it is not in the current folder, do not build from it.

If you already have a messy mid-job folder, setup can also mean cleaning the current set, standing up honest logs from this week forward, and transferring the file into a company-owned drive. You do not have to refile the entire history to start doing it right.

What setup does not include, unless we agree to it: day-to-day log updates after the file is handed over, or closeout packaging. Those are separate services, and they are often the right next step when the job will outrun a DIY cadence. See “When DIY Is Enough, and When It Isn’t.”

When to do it

Best: after award, before mobilization, once you have the contract set and the initial contact list. That is when a new job can start clean.

Still worth it: the first weeks of a job, or mid-project when a new superintendent is coming on, or when you can no longer tell which PDF is official. Later is harder, but it is never too late to stop the damage.

Arizona schedule pressure makes the timing real. Heat pushes pours earlier in the day, and a current set that only works at a desktop will not be the set in use at 5 a.m. Get the phone access right during setup, not after the first early pour.

What you get at the end

You should be left with a file you can run, in your account, without me. The folders, the README, the logs, and the access list are yours. If you later want a retainer, we are not starting from zero. If you do not, you still have the system.

Setup is quoted per job, based on the state of the file, and is usually carried as a fee in the job’s general conditions. If you want this on the next project, or a cleanup on a job already underway, show me where the drawings live now and, if you have it, bring the contact list for the people who will need access. I will give you a straight answer on what setup will take, and whether setup alone is enough. The files stay yours.

If you want help, not just a checklist

Some jobs run fine on a clean file and a superintendent who gives the log fifteen minutes twice a week. Others do not: revisions are moving fast, closeout is already behind, or the field simply has no hours left for paperwork.

That is where I come in. I set up the job file, run the logs on a retainer, or prepare closeout before the scramble starts. Your files stay yours, and there is no software contract to sign.

Email travis@builtonrecord.com Get the free Job File Kit