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To start a difficult project like the one you’re thinking of undertaking, you need a central place to store all the original paperwork you’re about to accumulate. Because each transaction creates its own set of paperwork, you want to get organized; otherwise, you’ll end up drowning in all that paper! A typical construction project usually generates enough paperwork to fill a two-drawer file cabinet. Not only do you need to store all this paperwork, but also you’ll need to easily retrieve it throughout the process. Here are some suggested categories for your filing system:

 Architecture and design

 Contractor communication

 Contracts

 Financing

 Invoices

 Land purchase

 Materials information

 Paid receipts

 Permits and approvals

 Subcontractor communication

 Warranties

Many people start out with a single notebook and find it fills up very quickly. We recommend using a permanent and portable system instead. Use the following efficient, step-by-step method for having pertinent information at your fingertips, whether you’re at home, in your office, or at your construction site:

1 Create a loose-leaf binder with dividers for the categories in the previous bulleted list.

2 After looking at each document, decide whether you may need it at the site.If you may need it at the site, make a copy and proceed to Step 3. If you won’t need it at the site, proceed to Step 4.

3 File the copy you made in your binder.

4 Place the original in your home file system.

5 Review your binder every day, adding the necessary documents from your file system.

No doubt you’ll receive email and texts from your building team. These electronic forms of communication help the people collaborating on your project to easily pass along and share invoices, designs, pictures, and memos. The great thing about emails and texts is that they’re easy to store without taking up any space in your file cabinet. Consider setting up folders or tags in your email system to sort information for all the subjects and people you communicate with. This way, you can easily reference prior communication and share it if needed. You can also create a shared folder structure in an online storage platform like Dropbox (www.dropbox.com) or Google Drive (https://drive.google.com) to collect documents. Your builder may use an online tracking system to help you keep notes, documents, photos, and other files organized. If you need help navigating a system like this, ask your builder for a tutorial or search for one online.