Job information sheets: The bedrock of the construction credit industry

Embarking on any construction project without a completed job information sheet is risky. Without complete and accurate job information, a company’s ability to secure payment through a mechanic’s lien or bond for their project may be compromised.  

Why it matters: Taking the time to not only ensure that your customers are completing a job information sheet, but to thoroughly verify information given in the document can help mitigate risk in the construction world.

What is included in a job information sheet? Most will include: 

• Company name and address 
• Project type 
• Important project dates 
• Property owner, developer and bonding company information 
• Participants on the project 

“I’ve regularly asked my salespeople to try and get the project information from our customer before they become involved in the project, which is typically before the project starts,” said George Demakis, corporate credit and accounts manager for Scafco Corporation (Spokane, WA). “At a minimum we require the project address and general contractor information before we provide any material. Then the credit department has to follow up to get the rest of the required information. But if a customer is over their credit limit, then we will not release orders until all the project information is obtained by the inside sales or outside salespeople.” 

While your customer is often responsible for completing the job information sheet themselves, this doesn’t mean the credit manager’s work is done. Taking the time to verify all the information provided on the sheet is an easy way to ensure that you know your legal customer, and should you enter litigation, you have updated, accurate information on them.  

“If we find an error—usually after being notified by a party listed on the preliminary notice who isn’t involved in the project—we reach out to the other parties involved to try and get the correct information,” Demakis said. “Then we re-send the preliminary notice to all the parties. Generally, the initial notice is still good except for the party not correctly noticed.” 

Carefully verifying information and double checking anything written on a job information sheet is critical. If there is misspelled or outdated company information, it could interfere with future litigation and hurt your chances of securing payment. 

For Anne Scarcella, CCE, CCRA, regional credit manager at Crawford Electric Supply Co. (Houston, TX), an outdated address led to factual errors on notices sent, creating problems when the two companies went to court. 

“We got to the point where we thought that we were pretty close to settling,” Scarcella said. “And then they said ‘Oh, the notices that you sent in the beginning are at an old address. We haven’t been there in three years. So, per the statute, the general contractor has not been timely notified and now your claim of $120,000 is perfected for $29,000.’” 

Scarcella’s team had checked over the information on the original job information sheet but used Google to check the official address of the company, which rendered the same outdated information.  

“We may be on the losing side of this strictly because if you Google that company, that address still comes up,” Scarcella said. “The lesson is you better be using the address on file with the Secretary of State as your official address of record, which we have started doing. It’s a very, very painful lesson to learn. That’s why as we talk best practices and we get everybody else’s experiences, it just makes us all better.” 

It is critical to do your due diligence when it comes to verifying customer information. The Secretary of State’s website is a valuable resource to construction credit managers, with many companies being required to register with their state.  

“The more documents you can get from your customers, the better,” said Isaac Kotila, regional credit manager at Insulation Distributors (Chanhassen, MN). “Depending on which state you’re in, a lot of this information is posted directly at the job site. So, if you have a salesman in the area, it doesn’t hurt to drive right out to the job site where that project is and just verify the details right there.” 

The bottom line: In an industry where credit decisions are often made quickly, with deadlines always close on the horizon, taking the time to truly know your customer and verify their information is critical. Best practices are continuously redefined as industries shift and fraud evolves, but knowing your customer remains a key aspect of any risk mitigation strategy.