Using QC Checklists to Check Work
Select a project, work each trade's PRE and POST checks, record notes and photos, and understand what payment gates and the draw warning actually do.
**QC** is quality control — your own check of the work, done before the crew arrives and again after they leave. The **QC Checklists** page holds OwnerDraw's standard checklists, organised by trade, and records which items you have checked on a project.
This is your own inspection record. It is not a building inspection, it is not a code certification, and ticking items does not pay anybody or release any money.
Start here
1. Open **QC Checklists**.
2. Under **Select project to save & track progress**, choose your project. Until you do, ticks are not saved anywhere.
3. Pick a trade from the list — they are grouped by build phase, in build order.
4. Work through the **PRE-Work Checklist** before the trade starts, and the **POST-Work Checklist** once they are done.
5. Tap the box beside an item to record it as checked. Tap again to un-check it.
6. Add **Notes** for the trade at the bottom of the checklist, and any photos under **Photos (optional)**.
What the page shows
The trade list is grouped by build phase. Each trade row shows:
| On the row | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Progress bar and `4/17` | how many of that trade's items you have checked on the selected project (only shown once a project is selected) |
| **n PRE** | number of before-work items; turns green with a tick when all of them are checked |
| **n POST** | number of after-work items; same |
| **n Critical** | items where a mistake is expensive or unsafe to fix later |
| **n Gates** | items flagged as **Payment Gate** — see below |
| A green circle beside the trade name | every item for that trade is checked |
Selecting a trade opens its checklist. **All Checklists** goes back.
Inside a checklist
The header shows `12/30 complete` and a percentage, then the trade name, an **IRC** code badge where OwnerDraw has a matching code reference for that trade, and the same PRE / POST / Critical / Payment Gate badges.
Items are split into **PRE-Work Checklist** and **POST-Work Checklist**, and within each into collapsible categories with their own `2/5` counts.
- **PRE** items are what to confirm *before* work starts — the right material on site, conditions ready, plans and the drawing agreeing.
- **POST** items are what to confirm *after* — workmanship, dimensions, the things that get buried by the next trade.
Each item can carry:
- **Critical** — worth stopping over.
- **Payment Gate** — a check OwnerDraw expects you to complete before you bill that work on a draw request.
- An information icon opening a tip, a **DO** and a **DON'T**.
There is one recorded state per item: checked or not checked. There is no Pass / Fail / N/A, and un-checking an item is normal and immediate — nothing is locked once ticked. Items you leave un-checked simply stay un-checked; OwnerDraw does not build a punch list from them.
Notes and photos
At the bottom of an open checklist, with a project selected, there is a notes area for **PRE** and another for **POST**. Each holds:
- free text — what you found, what you accepted, what you asked to be redone;
- **Performed by**, filled in from your account;
- photos you upload, stored against the project.
Notes and photos are saved per project, per trade, per PRE/POST — so one *Framing POST* note per project, not one per item. Write the item name into the note when it matters.
Where else checklists appear
The same checklists show up in two other places, sharing the same records:
- On a **Schedule** task — open the task, or use the shield icon in List view. OwnerDraw matches the task's title to a trade by name, so a task called *Framing* finds the framing checklist and a task called *Week 6* finds nothing.
- In **Library**, as a reference you can read without a project.
On **Expenses**, saving an expense requires you to tick *I have completed the QC checklist for this work*. That tick is your own statement on that expense — it is a confirmation, not a lookup, and it does not read this page.
Payment gates and the draw warning
When you generate a bank packet for a draw request, OwnerDraw's pre-flight check looks at incomplete **Payment Gate** items and can warn you: *n trades have incomplete payment gate items*, with a count per trade, and asks you to tick **I acknowledge incomplete gate items and want to proceed**.
What that warning is: a reminder to check the work before you bill it. Acknowledging it lets you carry on, and records nothing else. It does not fail a draw, notify your lender, or hold money back.
What it is not: a control on payment. Nothing in OwnerDraw withholds a vendor payment, releases a payment, or funds a draw based on a checklist.
The warning reads the same records this page writes: an item you tick here, or on the matching Schedule task, counts either way, and un-checking it brings the warning back. Photos are optional and never affect it.
Important terms
| Term | What it means here |
| --- | --- |
| **PRE** | check before the trade starts |
| **POST** | check after the trade finishes |
| **Critical** | expensive or unsafe to correct later |
| **Payment Gate** | complete before you bill that work on a draw |
| **IRC** badge | a related International Residential Code reference, for your own reading |
| **Build phase** | the stage grouping the trades on this page |
What do I do next?
| If you… | Do this |
| --- | --- |
| are on this page for the first time | choose your project under **Select project to save & track progress** |
| have a trade starting tomorrow | open that trade → **PRE-Work Checklist** |
| just had a trade finish | open that trade → **POST-Work Checklist**, then write the **POST** note |
| want the record to survive | select the project first; without one, ticks are not saved |
| are recording what you found | use the **Notes** area and upload your photos there |
| ticked something by mistake | tap it again to un-check |
| are working from your schedule | open the task and use its **QC Checklist**, or the shield icon in List view |
| are about to bill a stage | clear the trade's **Payment Gate** items first, then prepare the draw |
| got the incomplete-gates warning | check the work, or tick the acknowledgement and carry on |
| are paying a vendor | that is **Expenses** and **Lien Waivers** — a checklist never releases a payment |
Common questions
**Are these checklists mine or OwnerDraw's?** They are OwnerDraw's standard construction checklists, the same for everyone. You cannot add, edit or delete items, and you cannot build your own template here. Your project's *records* — which items are checked, your notes, your photos — are yours alone.
**Can I make a custom checklist for a trade?** Not on this page. Use the scope of work on a bid, or your project To-Dos, for anything OwnerDraw's list does not cover.
**Where is the progress saved?** Against the project you selected, not against a trade or a task. Tick an item from a Schedule task and it shows as checked on this page too.
**Does a complete checklist prove code compliance?** No. It is your own record of your own inspection. It does not replace your building department's inspections, it is not a certificate, and the IRC badge is a reading reference, not a ruling.
**Does completing a checklist pay anyone or fund a draw?** No. Payments are recorded on **Expenses**, and money is requested on **Draw Requests**. A checklist never moves money.
**Who can see this?** Anyone with a seat on the project can see the checklist records, notes and photos, and anyone with a project seat can tick items and write notes. There is no separate approver or sign-off role. Clients on the client portal do not have this page.
**Do I have to add a photo?** No. Photos are optional supporting evidence — some checks cannot meaningfully be shown in a photo. No photo is needed to tick an item, finish a checklist, satisfy a payment gate or clear the draw warning. Add the ones that help you under **Photos (optional)** in the trade's notes area.
Professional builder notes
- Read the PRE list the day the material is delivered, not the morning the crew starts — most PRE failures are wrong material or unready conditions.
- The POST note is the one that saves you a year later. Name the item, the date, who was on site, and what you accepted.
- Payment-gate discipline is what the checklist is really for: on your own build, the check before you bill is the only check.
- Photograph anything that is about to be covered up. Photos are optional, but they are the cheapest record you will ever take.
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