Project Management Tools Simplified

• Have a folder for insurance work: by creating a folder for this you can easily see if you have everything covered, and in the incident that you need to make an insurance claim, you have all the information you need right at your finger tips and won't have to spend hours looking for the right forms and info. This will mean getting money faster, or having injuries paid out immediately and not having to cover those costs yourself.

• Have price comparison sheets for every item you must purchase: keeping these price comparison sheets in a binder means you can easily find them when you need them, or if you happen to see a good deal on something you already priced out, you can flip open your organizational binder and see if buying it now (when it is on sale) will get you a big enough savings to justify storing it for a time.

• Have a spreadsheet budget: This is a great organizational tool. By creating a spreadsheet budget for yourself, you will know what you can spend where, and how much equity you are building into your home by saving money. Also, let's say you found the countertops you want at an incredible price, so for that part of your budget you are a few thousand under. Then, when it comes time to put in bathroom fixtures and you are over budget by fifty or sixty dollars, you know you are still okay, and that overall you are under. This keeps you informed about where you are, and thus saves you money because you don't spend money you don't have due to an oversight on your part.

• Have a file with contact information for subs and contractors: this will make it easy to get a hold of each and every person you want to hire. Then, you have their numbers on hand for easy reference for the night before when you call and remind them to be on site the next day. And, if for some reason a sub can't make it, you have the contact information for a similar sub on hand, and can try and negotiate the same price the first sub offered, and you don't lose anytime in the project.

• Create a file for your running tally of expenses: keeping this tally going means not going so far over budget you have to stop the construction before the project is complete. It also means being aware, and knowing how well you are sticking to your plan. This saves you money because you remain frugal when you have actual figures staring you in the face rather than ballpark guesses.

• Have a folder for notes of interviews with contractors: before you give a contractor a job you will want to interview them, and know whether or not you feel comfortable working with them. By keeping a file of notes from those interviews you will be able to recall what each different person told you they can and can't do, and you won't end up hiring a contractor you were uncomfortable with just because you forgot.

• File all invoices and attach copy of checks written to pay them, and lien wavers: The dumbest way you can lose money in construction is by paying for the same thing twice. However, it happens all the time! Why? Well you have so many subs, suppliers, experts, laborers, etc. that it is sometimes hard to keep things straight. You might forget that you paid a bill and pay it again. However, there is a simple thing you can do to not make this mistake, and thus save yourself money. Just keep a file of all invoices, once you pay them make a copy of the check and attach it to the invoice.

Finally, one other tip - on a regular basis - perhaps each Friday afternoon, swing by your local copy shop and copy everything new you added to your binder that week. Then keep a backup book at home. This will be invaluable in case you ever misplace your binder, it gets run over by the roofer's forklift, or you need to find a quick fact when the book's in the car!