The Parking Lot Report: Why You Must Document NOW, Not Friday

You know you should document. Everyone knows. But when do you actually do it?

If your answer is "Friday afternoon" or "when I get home" — you've already lost.

Why "Later" Kills You:

• Details fade in hours: By Friday, you can't remember if the Super said "do it" or "check with the owner first." That difference costs thousands.
• Disputes happen fast: By the time you sit down to write it up, the GC has already told their version to someone else. You're playing defense.
• Friday never comes: You get slammed with an emergency call. You're tired. You tell yourself you'll remember. You don't.

The Parking Lot Report (What Actually Works):

Before you leave the site:

1. Pull out your phone
2. Record a 60-second voice note: "March 15th, 3:30pm. Finished the panel upgrade at the Anderson site. Super asked me to add two extra circuits for future HVAC — verbal approval, no PO yet. Took photos. Emailed recap."
3. Turn it into a PDF on the spot
4. Send it to the GC while you're still in the parking lot

This takes 2 minutes. But it creates a timestamped, professional record that says: "I document everything, immediately."

Why This Scares GCs Into Paying:

When a GC sees you documenting in real-time, they know:

• You're organized
• You have evidence
• You're not going away
• Disputing your invoice will be expensive

Most payment problems disappear when the other side knows you're documenting properly.

The problem is: nobody has time to type this up on site. That's the gap. Voice notes already exist. Professional PDFs already exist. The gap is turning one into the other, instantly, with zero friction.