Before-signing checklist
Use this as a practical pass before you sign: payment first, then scope, schedule, liability, dispute process, and closeout. It is a business-review checklist, not legal advice.
Payment review
A millwork shop has payroll, material bills, finishing labor, trucking, and install crews to pay whether or not the owner pays the GC on time.
condition precedent, payment by owner, if contractor is paid
A fixed payment window after your approved invoice or completed work.
Cash-flow review
Millwork often finishes before the entire project closes. If retainage waits on unrelated trades, your profit can sit locked up for months.
retainage, retention, final completion
Release retainage after your scope is accepted, not after the whole project closes.
Payment paperwork
A shop's leverage is strongest before rights are waived. Once an unconditional waiver is signed, getting paid can become much harder.
unconditional waiver, waive lien rights, upon execution
Use conditional waivers until good funds are received.
Field-change control
Millwork changes are expensive. Field dimensions shift, finishes change, hardware gets substituted, and schedule pressure makes verbal approvals tempting.
prior written change order, no extras, directed work
Email approval or field authorization counts while formal change order paperwork catches up.
Schedule-risk review
Millwork is often late-sequence work. Your install window can be squeezed by problems that happened months before your crew arrived.
liquidated damages, time is of the essence, no damages for delay
Damages only to the extent caused solely by your shop.
Liability review
One broad indemnity clause can create exposure far larger than the profit on the job.
indemnify, hold harmless, defend
Limit indemnity to claims caused by your negligent acts or omissions.
Document-control review
A shop cannot price, schedule, insure, or manage obligations it has not seen.
prime contract, incorporated by reference, flow down
Attach the prime contract and all general conditions before signing.
Default and deduction review
Backcharges can turn into a catch-all bucket for cleanup, protection, acceleration, damage, or coordination problems caused by multiple trades.
backcharge, supplement, deduct
Written notice describing the specific problem and location.
Claim-path review
A small shop can be right on the facts and still lose leverage if the process is expensive, far away, or controlled by the GC.
arbitration, venue, jury trial
Mutual dispute options, not GC-only election rights.
Scope and exclusions review
Custom millwork bids are built from drawings, specs, assumptions, exclusions, and shop capacity. Vague scope language can wipe out that careful pricing.
complete scope, reasonably inferable, incidental work
Attach and control your proposal, inclusions, exclusions, and assumptions.
Cancellation-risk review
Millwork shops commit early. Material, hardware, finish samples, engineering, shop drawings, and fabrication time can be sunk before install begins.
termination for convenience, without cause, only work performed
Payment for work performed, stored material, custom orders, committed costs, and reasonable demobilization.
Check your actual contract
Upload the subcontract your GC sent. MillworkShield applies these checks to the actual language and drafts the redlines and email response.