Free templates / Construction

Punch List Template (Excel)

A free Excel punch list for contractors: one row per deficiency with its location, trade, responsible subcontractor, due date and status, days open computed, overdue items flagged, and a summary by status and by trade.

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Free, no sign-up. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice.

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Who uses it, and when

Superintendents and project managers build the punch list during the walk-through before substantial completion, often with the architect and the owner's representative. Subcontractors receive their items, fix them and report them done; the general contractor verifies before the architect does the final inspection.

Owners and facility managers use the closed list as part of the closeout record, and some contracts tie the release of retainage to the completion of the punch list, which makes its accuracy a payment matter.

What is in the file

Punch list: The project block (project, area walked, walk date, prepared by), then one row per deficiency: number, location, trade, description, responsible subcontractor, dates identified and due, priority, status, date completed, verified by and when, days open (computed), photo reference and notes.
Summary: Items by status, the number open and past due, and, for the trades you list, items open, completed and verified by trade.
Instructions: How to fill it, step by step.

Column by column

Item no.: Sequential, never reused. A voided item keeps its number.
Location / room: As precise as the drawings allow: level, room number, grid line, elevation. 'Level 2, room 214, north wall' rather than 'second floor'.
Trade: The trade whose work is deficient. It is what the Summary groups by.
Description: What is wrong and what 'fixed' looks like: 'paint scuffed on north wall, touch up to match'. A subcontractor should not need a call to understand it.
Responsible (sub): The company that has to fix it, which is not always the trade that caused it.
Date identified and due date: When the item was recorded and when it must be done.
Priority: High, Medium or Low: life safety and items blocking occupancy first.
Status: Open, Completed (the sub says it is done), Verified (your team or the architect checked it), Disputed or Void. Only Verified closes an item.
Date completed, verified by, date verified: The trail that proves the item was closed.
Days open: Computed from the date identified to the date completed, or to today.
Photo ref.: The file name or number of the photo taken at the walk-through.

How to use it

Walk the area with the drawings, room by room, and record each deficiency on its own row with a photo reference.
Assign each item to the subcontractor responsible and give it a due date and a priority.
Send each subcontractor its filtered list; filter the sheet on the Responsible column.
As items are reported done, set them to Completed; after you check them, to Verified.
Use the Summary to chase the trades with the most open and past-due items before the architect's final inspection.

Limits

The Summary by trade counts only the trades you type in its first column; a typo in the trade name on the Punch list sheet is not counted.
Photos are referenced, not embedded: keep them in a folder named after the project and area.
The list records deficiencies; whether one is a defect under the contract, or a change, is for the contract to decide.

A worked example

Item 1: level 2, room 214, painting, 'scuffed paint on north wall, touch up to match', Apex Painting, identified 1 October 2026, due 8 October, low priority, photo P-0214-01. Apex reports it done on 6 October: status Completed, days open 5. The superintendent checks it on 7 October and sets it to Verified.

On the Summary, painting shows 0 open, 0 completed, 1 verified; if three electrical items are still open after their due date, the open-and-past-due count shows 3 and those rows are red on the Punch list sheet.

Mistakes to avoid

Vague descriptions. 'Fix door' generates a call; 'door 214 binds at head, adjust hinges, re-check closer' gets fixed.
Closing items on the subcontractor's word. Completed is not Verified.
One giant list for the whole building, sent to every trade. Filter by responsible party and send each its own.
Waiting for the final walk-through to start. Rolling punch lists by area, as areas finish, shorten the end of the job.
No photos. A disputed item without a photo from the walk-through is one person's word against another's.

Questions

What is a punch list in construction?

The list of work that does not conform to the contract documents or is incomplete, compiled near the end of the job, usually at substantial completion. The contractor completes or corrects each item before final completion and final payment.

Who creates the punch list?

Usually the contractor compiles it during its own walk-through, then the architect and the owner's representative add their items during their inspection. Contracts often require the contractor to submit its own list before requesting the architect's inspection.

When is the punch list done?

At or near substantial completion, when the work is complete enough for the owner to use it. Many contractors run punch lists area by area as each area finishes, rather than once for the whole building.

Does the punch list affect payment?

Often. Contracts commonly allow the owner to withhold an amount for incomplete punch list items, sometimes a multiple of their value, and tie the release of retainage to final completion. Your contract sets the rule.

Can I use it in Google Sheets?

Yes. It uses standard functions (COUNTIF, COUNTIFS, TODAY) and conditional formatting, which Google Sheets and LibreOffice both support.

Deficiencies tied to the drawings

This template records the items you walk. Mirage deploys AI agents that read site reports and photos, tie each deficiency to its location on the drawings, and keep the list current with the trades, for your superintendents to verify.

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