Electrical Connection Spring 2015

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pictures with it! In disputes around
defective work or damage, take a pile of
photos right there and then. If possible
have the work inspected by an expert who
can prepare a report shortly after.
Often disputes around defective work
occur months before a payment dispute.
Only then does the client raise the defect
as a reason for non payment. If the
contractor can produce photos and reports
about the work from the actual time, this is
excellent evidence as to what was or was
not defective.
I recently prepared an application where
the respondent refused to pay by alleging
that much of the fitted equipment was
damaged by the contractor; however, the
contractor had taken so many photos at
the time, together with a detailed report,
that clearly showed that the damage was
caused by another trade. This type of
evidence was impossible to argue with and
the contractor got paid.
> Site Diary (Time required: 60 - 90
seconds)
A site diary is useful because it typically
captures a whole raft of information.
Beside details of work done or directed,
it also records weather, any delay details,
conversations, staff onsite/offsite and more.
This is a single record of each day that can
take as much information as you want to
include. If you can make completing a site
diary page a daily habit then you will be
able to produce evidence regarding the
dispute, and if you can show that this has
been a daily habit for a long time then
the weight given to your site diary will
drastically increase.
> Emails/Faxes (Time required: up to
20 minutes)
Any project will leave behind it a paper-
trail of faxes, letters and emails. Keep all
of these in a file in chronological order.
They can show what happened and when.
Further, if a dispute comes up onsite make
sure you confirm the details in a fax to
your client that day. Remember, verbal
recollections of events aren’t worth the
paper they’re written on!
MINUTES OF MEETINGS (TIME
REQUIRED: UP TO 30 MINUTES)
Site meetings occur regularly on most
projects, especially meetings that are
supposed to resolve disputes. Most times
the client will not provide any record of the
meeting, what was promised or agreed. So
this is the contractor’s chance to step into
that void. There is nothing stopping you
from writing up your own record/minutes
of the meeting and sending them to the
client. Again you are creating a record of
events and undertakings that can be useful
evidence in the future.
RECONCILIATIONS RULE
This is the most common weakness in
contracting payment practices; very few
of you prepare a proper reconciliation
of what you are owed each month. That
is nuts. Amazing as it may seem, many
contractors don’t actually know what
they are owed. Every month your claims
must show the breakdown of full work
value, variation value, other amendments
and the paid-to-date. Again, too many
contractors are concerned with the
‘certified-to-date’ instead! You can’t pay
your bills with ‘certified payments’! A
good reconciliation will show you your
paid amount so you know exactly what
remains ‘unpaid’.
Payment Mastery has a complete video
taking you through the reconciliation
process making it easy to follow. It also
provides a completed reconciliation
spreadsheet template to use each month.
That way every outstanding dollar can
be identified.
THE POWER OF PAPERWORK
The power of good paperwork lies
in its credibility and the weight that
a court or adjudicator will place on it.
Good paperwork will very often beat
hearsay, statutory declarations, someone’s
recollections and will often catch out
‘invented’ evidence. Good paperwork
is very hard to argue with and provides
adjudicators with sound material upon
which to make their decisions about what
actually happened in the dispute. Good
paperwork helps you prove and support
your case for payment.
SO WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN
FOR ME?
It means you should start to get very
excited about keeping great paperwork!
Take a look at the estimated time you need
to invest. Most of the time it would not
reach 10 minutes a day. Now is 10 minutes
a day worth it to protect your ability to
recover payment and settle payment
disputes? Of course it is!
Never again will you rely on your
word against the client’s. There will be
overwhelming evidence on your side.
Make paperwork a daily habit right
now and rejoice while you’re doing it.
Don’t see it as red tape; see it as money
in the bank.
Because that’s exactly what it is.
> Payment Mastery
paymentmastery
Paperwork is probably the most
effective weapon in defending a
payment claim.