Before work starts, finish the agreement

The crew is ready, materials are on hand and the homeowner wants the job underway. The agreement still needs attention.

Set aside a deliberate check before work begins or a payment is accepted. Confirm the scope and terms, complete the required signatures and make sure the customer has the contract copy. Wisconsin's home-improvement rules address those steps separately.

Understand the writing requirement

For covered home-improvement work, ATCP 110.05(1) requires written contracts and changes to their terms in specified circumstances. These include payment or other consideration before the contractor completes the contract obligations, and certain seller-initiated solicitation.

The chapter's coverage and the circumstances matter. It is not a rule that every construction project must use the same contract process.

For a fictional residential LVP job requiring a deposit before completion, the payment arrangement is a reason to complete the required written agreement before relying on it.

Check the terms and every required signature

Under ATCP 110.05(2), when subsection (1) requires writing or the buyer signs a written contract, the written agreement must be signed by all parties and clearly state the material terms.

Those terms include the work and principal materials, price, start and completion dates or time periods, applicable warranty terms and identified documents incorporated into the agreement.

Review the exact version being signed. Confirm the rooms, selected flooring, preparation included, customer responsibilities and treatment of conditions still unknown. A drawing or selection sheet needs an identifiable version too.

Give the customer the copy before work or payment

ATCP 110.05(3) separately requires providing the buyer a contract copy before beginning work or receiving any payment under a written home-improvement contract.

Sending a draft for review, completing signatures and delivering the customer's copy are distinct events. Keep available signature and delivery records with the agreed document.

That makes the practical habit straightforward: complete the required agreement, obtain all parties' signatures and provide the customer a copy before work or payment.

Confirm what else must happen

A signature does not settle every readiness question. Check the notices, applicable cancellation requirements, permits and other prerequisites relevant to the job.

Keep proposed work separate from approved scope. If the fictional flooring job later needs additional substrate repair, describe the discovery and its price and schedule effect, then complete the appropriate change process before relying on that revised commitment.

Try it on your next job

Before the first workday or payment, identify the agreed document version, required parties' signatures, customer-copy delivery record and any outstanding prerequisites. Assign an owner to resolve each open item.

See ScopeAccord's describe, review and online-signature workflow.