Run every job from one file, and record every change before you build it
The Contractor Job File Kit gives small builders and trades businesses every file for the live job: programme, look-ahead, trades and materials, change orders and variations, site diary, stage payments and the final account.
- A 22-sheet Job File Workbook: programme with logic checks and a bar timeline, look-ahead and weekly plan with PPC, trades, materials, RFIs, a variation register with running contract sum, site diary, job cost and stage payments, plus four dashboards
- A 9-sheet Variation Pricing and Time-Impact Calculator: your true hourly rate, markup and margin, risk, time impact and the new completion date
- 4 fillable PDF forms (13 pages): job opening and pre-start, variation and delay records, daily site diary, job close and final account
- 12 brand-ready client letters, 40 trade and supplier messages, 27 AI prompts and a 5-page site office print pack
The Contractor Job File Kit · Bodhih Pro Kits · 240 by Bodhih Training, trainers to 2,000+ companies since 2008.
How do contractors manage change orders on a job?
Record every change the day it is asked for or found, price the work and the time it adds, get written approval before building, then update the programme, contract sum and next payment application. The Contractor Job File Kit from Bodhih Training gives builders the forms, calculator, register and letters for each step.
Want the full free guide first? Read How to Manage Change Orders and Variations on a Building Job.
You already feel the problem. Here is what it is costing you.
Extras that never get paid
A change is agreed on the doorstep, built the same week and argued about at the final invoice. Without a written approval it is your word against the client's, and the money usually goes with the client.
Trades who do not turn up, or turn up too early
The plasterer arrives before the boards, the electrician before the plumber has finished. Each false start costs a day, and often the next trade's day as well.
No record when it matters
When a delay or a hidden drain is questioned months later, the diary is a few lines in a damp notebook and the photos are on four phones. The better record usually wins the argument.
Finding out at year-end whether the job made money
Costs are checked when the job is over. By then nothing can be done about the overspend, and stage payments have been applied for late.
Picture the next few weeks with the kit open beside you.
Imagine Friday at four. You open the Job File Workbook and every number for the weekly report is already there: what was done, what is next, what the client must decide, what each variation is worth and what is still owed.
As you look down the Change Dashboard, you see nothing built without approval and one quote to chase. When the client asks on site for three extra sockets, you say, 'Happy to price that', confirm it by email that evening and price it in the calculator the next morning, time impact included.
When it rains for three days, the diary already holds the hours lost and the photos, and the delay notice went out on the first afternoon. When you open up a wall and find something nobody could see, you stop, record, show the client and agree before you go on.
Whether you start with the Variations sheet tonight or the wall schedule board on Monday, each file is ready for your next job, in your currency and your working week.
20 files that do the work for you
The e-book shows you how. The tools make it happen. Here is exactly what you download.
The Contractor Job File Kit (e-book, PDF)
The guide: methods, worked examples, scripts and exercises
Start here: job file map
Your first hour, the whole job in ten steps with the file to open at each, the brand-it-in-five-minutes list, your first week and a 30/60/90 day plan.
Job File Workbook
22-sheet workbook for every live job: settings, holidays, job register, programme with logic checks and bar timeline, look-ahead and make-ready log, weekly work plan with percent plan complete, trade bookings, materials with order-by dates, RFIs, variation register with running contract sum, site diary, job cost against estimate, stage payments with retention, and four dashboards.
Variation Pricing and Time-Impact Calculator
9-sheet calculator: overhead per productive hour, true labour cost and charge-out rates, line-by-line variation pricing with waste, markup and risk, time impact using critical path and float, the new completion date, a daywork record and a markup versus margin converter.
Job opening and pre-start meeting record
Four-page fillable form: open the job file (documents, key dates, contacts, site rules and access), then run and record the pre-start meeting with the client.
Variation and delay record forms
Four-page fillable form pack: a variation (change order) instruction and approval form you get signed before work starts, and a delay or disruption notice record written as facts.
Daily site diary sheet
Two-page fillable daily diary: weather, people on site, deliveries, visitors and inspections, instructions, delays and problems, and a photo log with file names.
Job close and final account checklist
Three-page fillable form: practical completion checks, the final account (contract sum, every variation, adjustments, payments and balance), retention release dates and a job review.
Client letters: variations, notices and payments
12 brand-ready letters: variation quotation, instruction confirmation, delay notice, hidden condition notice, extension of time request, decision request, stage payment application, invoice cover, overdue reminder, disputed variation reply, final account and retention release.
Trade and supplier message library
40 ready-to-edit messages in 7 groups: booking, confirming and the day-before check, chasing, rescheduling and delays, quality and site concerns, suppliers and deliveries, inspections and neighbours.
Weekly job report template
Brand-ready one-to-two page weekly report: status, work done, the next two weeks, decisions needed, variations and contract sum, delays and PPC, inspections, payments, photos and risks, each fed from a named workbook sheet.
Job file index and change procedure
Brand-ready template in two parts: a 12-folder job file index with document and photo naming conventions, and a one-page client procedure (10 rules) for changes, decisions and payments to sign at the pre-start meeting.
Worked example pack: a ten-week extension
One fictional ten-week rear extension followed from job opening to final account: pre-start record, baseline and current programme, three variations (one disputed and settled with evidence), a rain delay notice, diary entries, a weekly report, job cost, stage payments and the final account.
AI prompt pack for running jobs
27 tool-agnostic prompts in 7 groups, from job opening to final account, each with what to paste in and what to check, plus the human review rule.
Change order decision card and mistakes card
Page 1: the record-before-you-build decision card, 14 'if this, then that' situations for changes on site. Page 2: 15 job management mistakes and the fix for each.
Numbers that matter: KPI card
The 13 numbers a live job runs on: plain-words definition, exact formula, where it lives in the Job File Workbook and what to do if it moves.
Payment and retention rules by country (October 2026)
Dated general notes on payment notices, security of payment, retention and change order rules for the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, India, the GCC and other markets, with where to check.
Site office print pack
Five landscape pages to print and put up: a write-on weekly schedule and look-ahead wall board, the variation 'stop and record' poster, two daily diary cards, two day-before trade check cards and a photo rules poster.
Job start-to-close calendar
35 events for a ten-week job: opening, pre-start, Monday look-ahead and Friday job file close each week, stage applications, completion, final account, job review and retention release. Starts Monday 2 November 2026; move events to your job's dates after import.
Job task board
40 job tasks from opening to retention release, with list, owner, due day, priority and the kit file to use. Import into Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira.
Chapter by chapter
Each chapter opens with a real situation, gives you a method and ends with something to do today, using the tools in your kit.
- Format
- PDF e-book + XLSX + fillable PDF + DOCX + printable PDF + ICS + CSV
- Files
- 20 files plus a one-click ZIP
- E-book
- 59 pages
- Works with
- Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, Word, Google Docs, Acrobat Reader, Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner, Jira
- Best for
- Small builders, renovation firms, general contractors and trades businesses, sole traders to about 25 people
- Currency and units
- Any currency, metric or imperial, 5 or 6-day working week
Opening the Job File
Twelve folders, the five documents to find first, and how to open a job in forty minutes.
The Pre-Start Meeting
A twelve-item agenda and a one-page change procedure the client signs before work starts.
A Programme You Can Actually Use
Tasks, durations, dependencies, hold points, long-lead items and the critical path in plain words.
The Look-Ahead and the Weekly Work Plan
The Last Planner idea for small jobs: make work ready, promise only what is ready, measure PPC.
Trades, Materials and Deliveries
Book, confirm and check every trade the day before; order every material by its order-by date.
Questions, Decisions and Hidden Problems
RFIs with needed-by dates, and the six-step method for what you find when you open up.
Change Orders and Variations, End to End
Record before you build: spot, record, price work and time, get written approval, build, update.
The Site Diary, Photos and Delay Notices
Contemporaneous records, a photo naming convention and delay notices written as facts.
Money on the Job
Weekly job cost against estimate, stage payments and valuations, retention and local payment rules.
Job Close, Final Account and the Tools Around You
Practical completion, the final account, retention release, app categories and AI with a human check.
Not just reading. Tools you will actually open again.
E-book
- The Contractor Job File Kit e-book: about 9,600 words, ten chapters, six diagrams, a weekly routine and a glossary
Start here
- 00-Start-Here-Job-File-Map: your first hour, the job in ten steps with the file for each, brand it in five minutes, your first week and a 30/60/90 day plan
Workbooks
- Job File Workbook (22 sheets): settings, holidays, job register, programme with logic checks and slip, bar timeline, look-ahead and make-ready log, weekly plan, PPC by week, trades, materials, RFIs, variations, site diary, job cost, valuations and retention, cost and variation summaries and four dashboards
- Variation Pricing and Time-Impact Calculator (9 sheets): overheads, labour rates, pricing, time impact, daywork, markup vs margin and summary
Forms
- Job opening and pre-start meeting record (4 pages)
- Variation and delay record forms (4 pages)
- Daily site diary sheet (2 pages)
- Job close and final account checklist (3 pages)
Word templates
- Client letters: variations, notices and payments (12 brand-ready letters)
- Trade and supplier message library (40 messages)
- Weekly job report template (brand-ready)
- Job file index and change procedure (12 folders, naming conventions and a one-page client procedure to sign)
- Worked example pack: a ten-week extension, from job opening to final account
- AI prompt pack for running jobs (27 prompts with the human review rule)
Cheat sheets
- Change order decision card (14 situations) and mistakes card (15 traps)
- Numbers that matter KPI card (13 numbers with formulas)
- Payment and retention rules by country (dated October 2026)
Print pack
- Site office print pack (5 pages): wall schedule and look-ahead board, variation stop-and-record poster, daily diary cards, day-before trade check cards, photo rules poster
Calendar and import
- Job start-to-close calendar (35 events, ICS)
- Job task board (40 tasks, CSV for Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira)
When you have worked through it, you will be able to…
Every outcome is practised with a worked example and a tool, not just described.
- Open a job file in forty minutes with the same structure on every job
- Run a pre-start meeting that agrees how changes, decisions and payments will work
- Build a programme with dependencies, hold points and the critical path, and keep the baseline
- Plan each week from a look-ahead and measure percent plan complete
- Price a variation from your true hourly cost, including the time it adds
- Keep a site diary, photos and delay notices that stand up as evidence
- Track job cost against estimate weekly and apply for stage payments on time
- Close a job with an agreed final account and retention dates in the calendar
Know your starting point. Prove your progress.
People who measure before and after improve faster and can show it. AssessAll, our sister assessment platform, has AI-graded assessments that pair with this kit. Take one now, work through the kit, then re-take it.
Project & Delivery Leadership
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentTask Prioritisation & Planning
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentConstruction Site Supervision & Safety Judgment
Take the assessment →JobularyIf-then plans that make habits stick (Jobulary)
Make it a growth plan →A taste of Chapter 7
Anjali Patel asked on site on Wednesday 14 October for three extra double sockets, an outdoor socket, two external wall lights and one radiator moved. Sam confirmed it by email at 18:05 and logged it as V03. On Thursday he priced it in the calculator: eight hours of his own team at a full cost rate that included overhead recovery of 6 pounds an hour, the electrician's and plumber's lump sums, the two wall lights with a 5 percent waste allowance, markup by line type and a 3 percent risk allowance. Direct cost came to 1,137.22; the price was 1,307 before VAT. Two of the items used float before plastering and the electrician agreed to bring a second person for a day, so the time impact was zero.
The honest comparison
| Free templates and typical advice | This kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Change orders | A blank form, or none | A register with running contract sum, a pricing calculator, a signed form and 12 letters |
| Programme | A bar chart that is never updated | Working-day dates, logic checks, baseline slip, look-ahead and PPC |
| Evidence | A notebook and photos on phones | Daily diary form and sheet with flags, photo naming convention, delay notice record |
| Money | Checked at year-end | Weekly job cost forecast, stage payments with retention, cash received vs applied |
| Country rules | Assumes one country | Any currency and working week, plus a dated country sheet |
| On site | Office documents only | A print pack for the site office wall and the van |
Made for you if…
- Owners and office managers of small building and renovation firms, from sole traders to about 25 people
- General contractors doing domestic and light commercial work
- Electricians, plumbers, carpenters and joiners, roofers, tilers, decorators, HVAC engineers and landscapers running their own jobs
- Site leads and supervisors who keep the diary and book the trades
- Builders who have lost money on extras, delays or late payments and want a system
- Firms moving from paper and phone messages to a single job file before choosing software
Probably not for you if…
- Homeowners running their own renovation (see The Renovation Project Manager and Self-Build Owner's Kit)
- Estimating and quoting before the job is won (see The Trades Estimating and Quoting System)
- Anyone looking for legal advice, safety documents or structural, electrical or gas design
Built by trainers, tested in real rooms.
Bodhih Training has designed and delivered corporate programmes since 2008. Bodhih Pro Kits package what works in those workshops into a guide plus the exact tools we use, so you can apply it the same day without a facilitator in the room.
From here to using it in three steps
- STEP 1
Tap Get the kit
Name, email and country. UPI, card or netbanking in India; international cards everywhere else. No account to create.
- STEP 2
Download instantly
Your download page opens at once, with every file and a one-click ZIP. A permanent link lands in your inbox too.
- STEP 3
Open the first tool
Start with the quick-start chapter, then the main spreadsheet or planner. Most buyers use something from the kit the same day.
Open the job file once, then let it carry the busy weeks
Open the workbook, type your live job and log every change you are carrying today. Whether you start with the Variations sheet tonight or put the stop-and-record poster up on Monday, each file is ready for your next job.
Personal licence for the buyer's own use (and use with your own team, site leads and trades within your business where the kit says so). Please don't share or resell the files. Team and company licences: solutions@bodhih.com.
What buyers say
No ratings yet. Only people who have bought this kit can rate it - every buyer gets a one-click rating link a couple of days after their purchase.
The Bodhih family, when you are ready for more
The Small Contractor Business Kit
Run your building or trade firm as a business.
The Renovation Client Communication Pack
Give homeowners a professional client pack.
The Site Safety and Handover Kit
Keep small sites organised and safe day to day and hand jobs over cleanly.
AssessAll
250+ AI-graded assessments to measure skills and earn verified credentials.
Jobulary
Individual development plans that start from evidence and stay yours.
Bodhih Training
Run this topic as a live workshop for your team, in person or online.
Pewple
Book a vetted coach for career, leadership or communication. Pay per session.
Bodhih.org pathways
Certification pathways in Applied AI, Workplace English and management.
The Contractor Job File Kit: FAQs
Read the free guideAlready bought? Resend my linkWhat is a change order, and how should a contractor handle one?
A change order, called a variation in many countries, is any change to the contracted work: added, removed, altered or resequenced. Record it the day it is asked for, price the work and the time, get written approval, then build and update the programme, contract sum and next payment application. Chapter 7 and the Variations sheet walk you through it.
How do I price a variation fairly?
Start from your true hourly cost, including on-costs, unproductive time and an overhead share per productive hour, then add materials with waste, plant, subcontract, markup by cost type, a risk allowance and the cost of any extra days on site. The Variation Calculator does each step and shows markup and margin side by side.
Can I use this with my staff?
Yes, within your own business under the personal licence: share the workbook, forms and print pack with your office manager, site leads and the trades on your jobs. Company and multi-site licences are available via solutions@bodhih.com.
Does it work in my country?
The method works anywhere, and the workbook takes any currency, units and working week. Payment, notice and retention rules differ by country, state and contract; the dated country sheet covers the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, India and the GCC in general terms, but you still need to check current local law and your lawyer.
I'm an electrician or plumber doing short jobs. Is it too much?
Use the parts you need: the Jobs, Variations, Site Diary and Valuations sheets, the variation form, the diary card and the letters. The programme and look-ahead pay off on jobs longer than a week or with several trades.
What should a site diary include?
Weather and hours lost, who was on site, deliveries with note numbers, visitors and inspections, instructions received, delays or problems as facts, and photos, written the same day. The diary sheet, the pocket card and the Site Diary sheet all follow that list.
Do I need job-management software to use it?
No. It runs in Excel or Google Sheets, Word or Google Docs and any PDF reader. If you later choose a job-management or field-service app, the same job file structure and routine carry straight across.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is a practical job management system. Templates are starting points; contracts, payment rules and notices depend on your contract and local law, so check them with your lawyer. Safety, structural, electrical and gas matters belong to your regulator and a competent person.
How can I measure my starting point?
AssessAll, from the Bodhih group, has assessments that fit this kit: Project & Delivery Leadership, Task Prioritisation & Planning, and Construction Site Supervision & Safety Judgment. They are separate products at assessall.com.
How do I turn the weekly routine into a habit or a development plan?
Write the Monday and Friday routines as if-then plans. Jobulary explains how if-then plans make work habits stick, and you can use them to build a development plan for yourself or your site leads.
How much does The Contractor Job File Kit cost?
₹999 including 18% GST for buyers in India, or $29 for buyers outside India. One-time payment, no subscription, with an automatic invoice.
How do I get the files after paying?
Instantly. Your download page opens the moment payment succeeds, and a permanent download link is emailed to you. Download each file separately or everything in one ZIP.
What software do I need?
Any of the usual tools: Excel or Google Sheets for spreadsheets, Word or Google Docs for templates, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview, Xodo or GoodNotes for the fillable PDFs, and Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar for the calendar plan.
Can I get a refund?
Because it is a digital download, kits are not refundable once downloaded. We always refund a duplicate charge or a failed delivery, and if a file is corrupted and we cannot fix it within 3 working days. Full terms: bodhih.org/refunds.
Can my company buy this for a team?
Yes. Team and company licences, and workshops on this topic run by Bodhih Training, are available. Write to solutions@bodhih.com or call +91 99000 11601.
