Punch list

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The short list of small items left to finish or fix at the end of a job, walked with the customer before final payment.

At the end of a job the contractor and the customer walk it together and write down what is left: a touch-up, a missing cover plate, a door that needs adjusting. That is the punch list. When it is done, the job is complete and the balance is due.

Writing it down is the point. A punch list that lives in the customer's head grows every day.

Related: Substantial completion · Balance due · Callback

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