Close out a punch list with photo proof

Before you begin

Upload the floor plans for the area you're walking so items can be pinned to real locations. Confirm the subcontractors who will receive items are on the project directory, since punch items are assigned to a company, not just a name in a text field. Bring a phone: the punch walk is designed to be done from the field, not typed up afterward from notes.

Steps

1. From the project, go to Field → Punch List → New Item (or open the mobile app on site).

2. Drop a pin on the drawing at the exact location of the deficiency. The pin is the location record, so "north wall, second floor" ambiguity goes away.

   

3. Take a before photo. Photos carry their own capture date and GPS coordinates from the file's metadata, so the timeline is real rather than reconstructed.

   

4. Assign the item to the responsible subcontractor and set a due date.

5. The sub works the item and uploads an after photo against it, which moves the item to ready for verification.

6. Verify the item yourself on a re-walk. Verification is a separate step from the sub marking it done, so nothing closes on the sub's word alone.

7. Repeat until the list is clear, then generate the punch list report for the owner or architect.

What happens next

Open punch items roll up to the project's closeout checklist, so the remaining count is visible without anyone assembling a status spreadsheet. Items assigned to a sub also show on that sub's performance history, which is what informs whether you invite them to bid the next job.

Where the record lives

Every punch item stays under Field → Punch List with its drawing pin, before and after photos, assignment history, and who verified the closure. Items can be voided with a reason (a duplicate, or a condition that turned out to be per the design) but not deleted, so the record of what was raised survives.

Troubleshooting

A sub marked items complete but they aren't: un-verify the item rather than reopening a new one. The original item keeps its history and the sub's completion claim stays visible in the record.

Photos aren't sorting into the right order: photos sort by their embedded capture timestamp. A photo that was screenshotted, forwarded through a messaging app, or re-saved usually has that metadata stripped and will fall back to upload time.

Same deficiency appears across many units: create one item per unit rather than one item covering all of them. A single item covering twelve units can't be partially verified, and it hides which units are actually done.