Selection and procurement log

One row per thing that has to be chosen, approved, ordered, delivered, checked and installed. The log carries each item from "deciding" to "installed" with the dates that matter in between, so that a late decision shows up as a date, not as an idle crew. The thinking is in Module 8. The log is saved only in this browser; export it from the binder page and keep order confirmations with it.

Decision deadlines

Every selection has a date by which it must be ordered, and that date is arithmetic, not a feeling:

Order-by date = install date − lead time − approval time.

Lead time is what the supplier quotes from order to delivery. Approval time is everything that has to happen between "we like this one" and a placed order: the designer confirming it fits, the contractor confirming the rough opening, a template, a deposit, a signature. Two weeks is a common minimum for anything that needs a template or a confirmation. The calculator below does the subtraction; the log's "order by" column is where the answer lives.

The log

"Allowance" is the amount carried in the contract or budget; "quoted" is the real price including installation where the allowance includes installation (compare like with like). "Needs field verification" says what must be checked on site before the order is final; "verified" means it was. Load the example rows to see the Alder Street kitchen's selections in mid-project. The sheet is wide: scroll sideways, or download the CSV to work in a spreadsheet.

How to use the log

• Add every item the moment it becomes a line in the scope. Including the ones the contractor supplies: you still need to know when the choice is due.
• Fill "order by" first, from the calculator, then sort your attention by that column. A "deciding" status next to an order-by date that has passed is the clearest early warning this binder gives.
• Field verification is a dependency. If the countertop cannot be templated until the cabinets are set, and the sink must be on site for the template, the sink's deadline is the template date, not the countertop install date. Write that in the notes.
• Owner-supplied items are yours end to end. Delivery window, who signs for it, where it sits, who checks it for damage before the delivery truck leaves: the log's columns exist so that none of those are assumed.
• "Inspected on delivery" means opened and looked at, with a photo of any damage and a note in the "damage noted" column the same day. Carriers and suppliers have short claim windows.
• Approved by and approved date are what you point to when a bidder says "you changed your mind". Keep them even when the approver is you.
• Allowance versus quoted flows to the budget tracker: the difference is a change to the contract price, in either direction, and it needs a written change order.