Title: Trade scope-of-work template | Cercha

Description: Define a residential trade package with printable fields for scope, exclusions, materials, handoffs, inspections, changes, and closeout.

Canonical: https://cercha.pages.dev/tools/trade-scope-of-work-template/

# Trade scope-of-work template

Tools for residential building

Give the sub one written trade package to price. Fill the blanks, name the handoffs, and resolve exclusions before you release the work.

You need a trade package that the sub can price and the foreman can use. Fill this scope-of-work template with the exact work, documents, exclusions, and handoffs for your project. Put a name beside every shared responsibility. Use one current version when you compare bids and discuss the start date.

Begin with the boundaries. Write the rooms, elevations, or areas served, then list included tasks. Replace “complete electrical” or “all trim” with the assignment you intend to buy.

Ask the trade to flag missing details before pricing. Attach the drawing revision and selection schedule. Put conflicting instructions on an open-question list for the responsible designer.

Next, divide the support work. Name who buys material, unloads it, provides access, protects finished surfaces, and removes debris. Record the field-measurement and substitution approvers. If the builder supplies a fixture, identify who receives it and who installs it.

Treat each blank as a discussion point rather than assuming it belongs to the nearest trade.

The North Carolina GC board’s contract guidance calls for written work details, materials, price, payment schedule, dates, permit responsibility, and warranty terms. It also recommends recording changes in writing. [Board contract guidance](https://www.nclbgc.org/remodeling-home-improvement-contracts/) This worksheet uses those topics as planning prompts.

Have a construction attorney turn the agreed business terms into the appropriate subcontract. Do not use these blanks as ready-made clauses for payment, indemnity, insurance, or lien rights.

Plan the incoming and outgoing handoffs. For a rough-in package, ask what must be ready before the crew arrives and what records another trade needs before covering work. Raleigh’s inspection sequence provides a local example: concealed insulation is checked before wall or ceiling coverings. [Raleigh inspection guidance](https://raleighnc.gov/permits/services/residential-inspections)

Confirm your permit’s actual sequence with the inspection office. Assign booking, attendance, corrections, and documentation separately.

Finish with the closeout assignment. List punch work, tests or records specified for the package, manuals, and the callback contact. Agree how a scope change reaches the person who can approve it.

Keep unresolved choices and existing-condition questions beside the current version. Review those questions with the sub before releasing the work, and record the final scope acknowledgment.

## Interface record

Complete a row for each boundary between trades. Duplicate it for additional handoffs.

| Work or interface | Providing party | Receiving party | Readiness evidence and date |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| __________ | __________ | __________ | __________ |
| __________ | __________ | __________ | __________ |
| __________ | __________ | __________ | __________ |

## Print note

Print the worksheet with the drawing and selection index. Use the blanks as fields, then attach longer descriptions. Date each revision and identify the version it replaces. This sheet supports scope discussion; your reviewed subcontract governs the agreement.

## Check the scope boundaries

Use the [trade scope guide](/guides/trade-scope-of-work/) to prepare the package. Check the [inclusions and exclusions guide](/guides/inclusions-and-exclusions/) before resolving bid differences.

For NC permitted work, send changed-design questions to the responsible designer and inspection office under [G.S. 160D-1112](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_160D/GS_160D-1112.html). Your change log does not authorize a permit revision.

Assign roof-wall drainage using the [PNNL flashing reference](https://basc.pnnl.gov/resource-guides/step-and-kick-out-flashing-roof-wall-intersections), cabinet/floor sequencing using the selected product’s instructions such as [Flooret’s example](https://support.flooret.com/can-i-install-cabinets-on-top-of-my-flooring), and drywall decoration using the [USG finish reference](https://www.usg.com/content/dam/USG_Marketing_Communications/united_states/product_promotional_materials/finished_assets/finishing-decorating-gypsum-panels-white-paper-en-J2010.pdf). Name each supplying and receiving party.

Return to the [construction tools hub](/tools/) for the other quantity checks and printable records.

Planning worksheet for a trade package, not a complete subcontract or installation specification. Have your construction attorney review contract terms. Confirm design details and inspections with the designer and local inspection office.

- [ ] Package identity: Enter project, address or lot, package title, builder, and sub: _____. Why: Tie the scope to the right job and parties.
- [ ] Package identity: Enter preparer, date, revision, and superseded version: _____. Why: Identify the current package.
- [ ] Package identity: List drawings, specifications, schedules, and manufacturer instructions by revision: _____. Why: Define the documents being priced.
- [ ] Work boundaries: Describe included tasks and the rooms, elevations, or areas they serve: _____. Why: Replace a broad trade label with an assignment.
- [ ] Work boundaries: List exclusions and name the party accepting each: _____. Why: Identify work outside this package.
- [ ] Work boundaries: List labor, materials, tools, lifts, protection, and cleanup by responsible party: _____. Why: Make the price boundary explicit.
- [ ] Work boundaries: Record existing conditions and questions needing designer direction: _____. Why: Keep uncertain work out of an assumed fixed scope.
- [ ] Materials and selections: Enter quantities, units, product identifiers, finishes, and approval references: _____. Why: Give the takeoff and selections a shared reference.
- [ ] Materials and selections: Name the supplier, purchaser, receiver, and substitution approver: _____. Why: Assign the order and delivery handoffs.
- [ ] Materials and selections: Enter field-measurement owner, release conditions, and storage location: _____. Why: Check readiness before committing material.
- [ ] Schedule and handoffs: Enter earliest start, target finish, return visits, and crew contact: _____. Why: Discuss every planned mobilization.
- [ ] Schedule and handoffs: List incoming work, readiness criteria, and acceptance owner: _____. Why: Define what must be ready for the crew.
- [ ] Schedule and handoffs: List outgoing trade, handoff condition, and correction contact: _____. Why: Assign the next transfer of responsibility.
- [ ] Schedule and handoffs: Name owners of penetrations, sealing, blocking, and patches at shared interfaces: _____. Why: Resolve work that crosses trade boundaries.
- [ ] Inspection and review: Record permit responsibility and the confirmed project inspection list: _____. Why: Put inspection questions with the local office.
- [ ] Inspection and review: Assign inspection booking, attendance, records, and correction work: _____. Why: Keep the process attached to named people.
- [ ] Inspection and review: Define agreed sample, test, appearance, and acceptance references: _____. Why: Give review a written basis.
- [ ] Changes and closeout: Record price basis, allowances, unit rates, and billing references: _____. Why: Identify terms for attorney and commercial review.
- [ ] Changes and closeout: Record who requests, prices, approves, and logs a change: _____. Why: Give changed work a documented path.
- [ ] Changes and closeout: List closeout records, punch work, manuals, and warranty contacts: _____. Why: Define what the final handoff includes.
- [ ] Changes and closeout: Record open questions, owners, due dates, and final scope acknowledgment: _____. Why: Keep unresolved work visible to both parties.

Print this checklist from the HTML page.

## Where Cercha fits

Cercha’s Messages let you start the trade-package conversation with another member. Trade tags show the trades a member lists. The portfolio shows project examples you can discuss while defining the package. Keep the agreed scope in your project records.

## Build your connections

[Ask about the beta](</beta/>)

## Sources

<a id="source-1"></a>

1. North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors. (n.d.). *Building, remodeling, improving your home*. NC Licensing Board for General Contractors. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://www.nclbgc.org/remodeling-home-improvement-contracts/

<a id="source-2"></a>

2. City of Raleigh. (2026, October 12). *Residential Inspections*. Raleighnc.gov. https://raleighnc.gov/permits/services/residential-inspections

<a id="source-3"></a>

3. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-1112. https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_160D/GS_160D-1112.html

<a id="source-4"></a>

4. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. (n.d.). *Step and Kick-Out Flashing at Roof-Wall Intersections*. Building America Solution Center. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://basc.pnnl.gov/resource-guides/step-and-kick-out-flashing-roof-wall-intersections

<a id="source-5"></a>

5. Flooret. (n.d.). *Can I Install Cabinets on Top of My Flooring?* Flooret Support Center. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://support.flooret.com/can-i-install-cabinets-on-top-of-my-flooring

<a id="source-6"></a>

6. USG Corporation. (2022, July). *Finishing & Decorating Gypsum Panels*. https://www.usg.com/content/dam/USG_Marketing_Communications/united_states/product_promotional_materials/finished_assets/finishing-decorating-gypsum-panels-white-paper-en-J2010.pdf