This guide will walk you through introducing your General Contractor to Clearstory for a new project, and how it will be beneficial to them.
Clearstory saves time and speeds up the out of contract work process for both Sub Contractors and General Contractors. However, not all GCs will automatically understand the benefit when seeing Clearstory for the first time. To help, we've put together some guidance to make sure you can easily get them on board and make everyone's job easier.
What you should know about GCs & Clearstory
- Your General Contractor does not need to create an Clearstory account in order for you to submit Tags, CORs, and share your COR Log. Since everything can be sent as a PDF, at it's simplest, Clearstory is similar to the normal process for submitting out of contract work
- An Clearstory account is NOT needed to review and sign Tags and CORs
- If a GC does want to sign up for an Clearstory account to take advantage of additional features, they can use a free account
Introducing Clearstory
We suggest following the advice of "Ask for forgiveness instead of permission". Instead of asking permission to use Clearstory, we suggest letting them know you'll be submitting Tags and CORs digitally to make sure everything is formatted and submitted in real time. For them, it might sound like a lot of work to try a new software, but remember, they don't need to use Clearstory for you to submit Tags and CORs.
We find it better to introduce Clearstory closer to when you are actually submitting Tags and CORs. You can even show them in person when you submit your first Tag so they can see how easy it is.
Here is an easy way to explain what Clearstory is: "Clearstory is digital T&M & COR submission and tracking. It reduces the time to submit, ensures nothing gets lost, and takes away all the time spent digging through inboxes to find Tags and CORs"
Benefits to General Contractors
It's important for the GC to understand that Clearstory doesn't only benefit Sub Contractors. Here are some of the great benefits they will also enjoy:
For Superintendents:
- Formatted, easy to read tags
- Attached images
- Can sign and review remotely or in person
- No more meetings having to try and remember what tags were related to what work
For Project Managers:
- Faster insight into costs
- No need to hunt through your inbox to find CORs
- Formatted COR log that is updated automatically
Common objections
Sometimes GCs are skeptical or think that something "new" will be too much of a hassle. Here are some common pushback we hear and how to respond:
- I don't want to try some new software - You don't need to, everything that is submitted is through email and PDF, just how we'd do it normally
- I need to be able to rubberstamp - You can manually add comments to Tags, and if you use a free account, you can duplicate your rubber stamp language with pre-populated comments
Example Email Template to your GC
You can use this email template when you are introducing Clearstory (just make sure to replace the "XXX"!):
Email Subject: (Insert Projects Name) Change Order Tracking
"Hi NAME,
We have recently implemented Clearstory to more effectively manage our change order and T&M work and collaboratively share with our General Contractors in real time.
Our change order log for (Insert Project Name) project will always be available and shared at link (insert your COR log share link).
There will be a link to the web based change order log in each change order email which will appear as below. This hopefully minimizes the email traffic back and forth requesting the most current COR log.
You do not need to sign up for anything to access the link above. Clearstory is free for General Contractors so if you want to learn more check it out at: https://www.clearstory.build/general-contractor-software
You have the option of creating a free account and you can comment on our change orders directly in Clearstory or view the change orders in Clearstory rather than relying on the e-mail links.
If any time and material work is required for this project, we will submit via Clearstory’s mobile app to eliminate having to fill out paper T&M tags, transport to office, scan, and avoid any sloppy handwriting etc . You will be able to see our live T&M log at (insert your T&M share link) and will be receiving an email for each T&M tag that is signed. If on site, you will be able to sign digitally on our mobile device or tablet. If a representative is not available on-site for signature, we will request a signature via email to which you can sign remotely.
Please identify email addresses of all project personnel whom you wish to be notified of each COR and/or T&M tag. "