When it comes to construction notices, all of the language and terms within each document must be formatted perfectly and filed in the proper manner. Otherwise, the company filing them runs the risk of sending virtually useless notices that may not hold up in a court of law.

Construction companies have two choices when it comes to processing these notices: they can go with an in-house process, do the work manually, or even bring on a third-party company to handle the work for them. Each of these has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, and weighing your options is critical for your notices to be effective. Just one notice would literally be the difference between hundreds of thousands of dollars or nothing at all. In the following section, we'll outline how each process differs from the others and how you can decide which one might be the best for your company.

Construction notices are actionable forms that are designed to elicit certain responses from the party on the receiving end. There are many different types of notices, and each of them has a different goal they're designed to produce when they're sent out. Some of the most common notices in construction include:

Get used to these five stages and what they entail so you can become a better project manager.

 Notice of Commencement

These notify the client that construction on a project has started.

 Notice of Completion

This informs a client that the project is complete, and that the contractor is ready to accept payment.

 Preliminary Notice

Preliminary notice is a notification to the owner or general contractor of a construction project to notify them that a contractor, sub-contractor, materials provider, or other party is reserving their right to file a mechanic's lien in the event of non-payment.

 Notice of Intent to Lien

This is the step before the lien process begins when a client doesn't pay (Only required in certain States). The next step is placing a lien on the property, in which case the contractor has a chance to gain possession for non-payment.

 Stop Work Notice

A Stop Work Notice either informs the client that work has been suspended or is for the contractor, notifying them they must stop work.

There are several more types of notices in the construction industry, but these should give you a general idea of why and how the're used.
Note: Depending on the state, some notices must first be filed with the local clerk or courthouse.

Choosing to do manual processing means someone within the company must take the time to handle putting these notices together. That also means going to the courthouse and having them notarized and filed. This could take a substantial amount of time, and the average construction worker probably isn't well-versed in these types of office administration tasks.

In-house processing means hiring an individual to solely work on notices. This could be economical, but only if you have a consistent flow of work. Otherwise, you'll be paying someone to sit around half the time.

Third-party means hiring an outside company to come in and handle notices only when they need to be typed and filed. This is an efficient way to save money and avoid taking an employee away from their normal duties. They may charge more than an in-house employee, but at least you won't be wasting an hourly rate in the event there are no notices to file.

If you're a small to medium company, hiring a third-party processor is probably your best bet. Hiring someone for in-house work is efficient but only if you're a huge construction company that does millions in business. In this case, you'll probably have enough work to keep an in-house worker busy. Manual only makes sense if you're a tiny company — a few-man operation. You handle one job at a time, so notices are only filed sparingly.

Use this article to make the best decision based on the size of your company and the volume of work. Remember, every dollar counts in construction, so base these types of decisions on your overhead and bottom line. When it comes to all things construction payment, Nationwide Notice is there for you. We assist companies with their construction payment, as well as change order forms and lien releases. You can find all of the services Nationwide Notice provides here to learn more. Or you can check out this page to see what sets us apart.