A job folder is only useful if a new superintendent can open it and know where to put something without a meeting. The tree below is the one in “A Procore-Level Job File With Google Drive (or Dropbox) and a Spreadsheet.” It is a practical starting point, not an industry standard. Copy it at the start of the job, put a README in the root, and leave “Misc” off the list. Within a week, it becomes the place files go to disappear.

00_Admin_and_Contract
01_Contacts
02_Drawings_Current
03_Drawings_Superseded
04_Specs_and_Addenda
05_RFIs
06_Submittals
07_ASIs_and_CCDs
08_Change_Orders
09_Daily_Reports
10_Photos
11_Meetings
12_Transmittals
13_Pay_Apps_and_Lien_Waivers
14_Closeout
15_Correspondence

00 through 04: The contract set and the current drawings

00_Admin_and_Contract. The executed contract, insurance certificates, bonds if any, and admin that belongs to this job. Keep this folder tighter than the drawings. Most subs do not need it.

01_Contacts. A current list of the owner, designer, and subcontractors: names, roles, emails, phones. Update it the same week you change someone’s access.

02_Drawings_Current. The issued-for-construction set, and every later official revision. If a sheet is not in this folder, do not build from it. Keep a “binding RFIs” packet here so an answer that changed the work is not buried in 05_RFIs. Only a short list should be able to replace files in this folder.

03_Drawings_Superseded. Everything that used to be current and is not current now. Do not leave both versions in Current, and do not delete superseded sheets because they “clutter the drive.”

04_Specs_and_Addenda. The project manual and every addendum, in one place. After bid day, what governs is the contract set plus the addenda and accepted alternates. If an addendum lives only in a bid email, the job will be built to the wrong documents.

05 through 08: Questions, approvals, and changes

05_RFIs. Outgoing questions, official responses, and the RFI log. A closed RFI that changes the work also gets a copy in or next to the current set.

06_Submittals. What you sent, what came back, and the submittal log. File the returned copy, not only the outgoing one. “Approved as noted” belongs here with the notes visible, and those notes still have to reach the installer.

07_ASIs_and_CCDs. Official design changes that are not RFIs and not yet (or not also) change orders. If an ASI changes the work, treat it like a drawing: file it and distribute it.

08_Change_Orders. Proposed, priced, and executed change orders. A handshake in the field still needs a written record before the extra work is treated as approved and billable.

09 through 15: The daily record, money paper, and closeout

09_Daily_Reports. Dated dailies: weather, manpower, areas of work, delays, visitors. A monsoon day or a heat shutdown is hard to explain later if the reports skip the dates that matter. One file per day, named with the date first.

10_Photos. Folders by date or area, with file names that say what the photo shows. A camera roll is not a record. File photos the same day if you can, and always before a pour or a cover-up.

11_Meetings. Agendas, minutes, and a simple decision log if you keep one. Decisions made in the weekly meeting need a date, an owner, and a home in the file.

12_Transmittals. A short record of what you sent, to whom, and why, plus the cover sheet for a current-set issuance. A template is in Current-Set Cover Sheet and Transmittal.

13_Pay_Apps_and_Lien_Waivers. Each month’s application, backup, and waiver packet, dated and kept together. This is a filing habit, not legal advice. Keep the documents and the dates where you can find them, and talk to a construction attorney when the dollars matter. A checklist is in Arizona Pay App and Lien Waiver Packet Checklist.

14_Closeout. Start this folder empty on day one. Warranties, O&Ms, as-builts, extra-stock records, test reports, training records, and punch lists go in when they appear, not in the last month. A checklist is in Closeout Checklist.

15_Correspondence. Official letters and important email that do not belong in a more specific folder. If it is an RFI, a change, a transmittal, or a pay-app question, file it where that work lives.

There is no 16_Misc. If you do not know where a file goes, pick the closest official folder, or put it in Correspondence with a real name.

If you want this tree built for the next job

You can duplicate the empty tree from the job folder template (Job Folder Template for Google Drive or Dropbox). If you would rather not invent the system in week three, I can set up the folders, naming, logs, and access, then run the file on a retainer or prepare closeout when you get there. If you want me to take a look, walk me through the current job folder, even if it is messy. 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