A construction contract playbook · For the project team

The cheat sheet  for your
construction contract.

Your PM didn't read every page. That's OK — we did.

Upload a contract and BuildPlaybook returns a role-specific playbook the project team can actually use: payment rules, notice deadlines, schedule risk, insurance and indemnity, change-order procedure, and closeout.

Every finding tells you what to do, when, and what happens if you miss it. Direct links to the cited contract language. Downloadable as PDF or Word. Built for the project team, not the lawyers.

View a sample playbook
What you get

Three outputs, one playbook.

Every playbook delivers the same three things: a role-specific Project Snapshot, a prioritized seven-section action list with deadlines and consequences, and direct links from every citation to the actual contract language. All three are downloadable as PDF or Word the moment the analysis completes.

Project Snapshot

The financial and procedural anchor for the job: contract sum, retainage rate and step-down, completion deadlines, notice periods, liquidated damages, and governing law. Plus an Incorporated Documents audit flagging every document referenced in the contract that you haven't been given. All with section citations.

Prioritized Action List

Six sections of findings (Payment, Notice, Schedule, Insurance, Changes, Closeout) tiered by urgency: Action Required for hard-waiver and money-losing provisions, Important for compliance items, and Note for calendar context. Each finding tells you what to do, who owns it, by when, and the consequence if it's missed.

Direct Links to Contract Text

Every cited section is clickable. The actual contract language opens in a side panel with surrounding context, so you can verify each finding without flipping between the playbook and the agreement. Download the full playbook as a PDF or Word document when you're done.

What we always check

The seven areas every playbook covers.

Every analysis works through these seven categories. The framework was developed with input from top-tier construction business owners, senior contract administrators, project owners, general contractors, design professionals, and trade subcontractors — people who actually negotiate, perform, and administer these contracts every day.

01

Cash Flow Protection

Pay-application timing and procedure, retainage rate and step-down, conditional payment language, lien-waiver mechanics, late-payment interest, and the financial off-ramps that protect your cash flow.

02

Claim Preservation

Claim windows, differing-site-condition notices, daily delay reports, the form notice must take, and every day-count provision that quietly waives a right if missed.

03

Schedule Survival & LD Exposure

Substantial and final completion, milestone dates, liquidated damages exposure (in dollars per day), no-damages-for-delay, weather day standards, float ownership, and the rules for time-extension requests.

04

Submittal Recovery & Schedule Protection

How fast submittals must go out, how long the design professional has to respond, what happens to your schedule if they're late, how many resubmittal cycles are budgeted, and the timing rules for long-lead items and deferred approvals.

05

Risk Transfer & Insurance

Required coverages and limits, additional-insured status, waiver of subrogation, pollution coverage gaps, indemnification scope, mutual versus one-way indemnity, and bond requirements.

06

Change Order Recovery

Change-order procedure, construction change directives, overhead and profit caps on time-and-material, written-change requirements, and the rules that decide whether extra work gets paid for — the PM's biggest margin lever.

07

Closing Out Without Waiving Claims

Termination for convenience and for cause, suspension rights, warranty period and scope, final-payment waiver, dispute resolution venue, and what NOT to sign at closeout if you want to preserve open claims.

How it works

Upload. Identify. Build.

Three steps from contract to playbook. The analysis typically takes three to five minutes depending on document length.

Step 01

Tell us who you are

Enter your party name as it appears in the contract — or pick your role on the project if the contract is a template or draft. Every finding is tuned to your perspective on the deal.

Step 02

Upload the contract

PDF or Word, single document or a stack (the operative agreement, exhibits, prime contract, amendments). Add specific concerns you want addressed, or skip and let the framework do the work.

Step 03

Build the playbook

The full role-specific playbook returns with citations, side-panel links to the contract text, and PDF and Word downloads. Bring it to the job kick-off, share it with the team.

Common questions

Questions we hear often.

Answers to the questions construction professionals ask before running their first playbook.

What does BuildPlaybook do?
BuildPlaybook reads a signed construction contract and produces a role-specific playbook for the project team. The playbook covers seven operational areas (Payment & Money, Notice Requirements, Time & Schedule, Submittals & Approvals, Insurance & Indemnity, Changes & Extras, Termination & Closeout) and tells the team what to do, by when, who owns it, and what happens if it's missed. Every finding cites the exact contract section and links to the underlying contract language.
Who is BuildPlaybook for?
Project managers, superintendents, project executives, and office administrators on the contractor, subcontractor, or owner side. The analysis is tuned to the party you represent. A finding directed at the contractor reads differently than the same finding directed at the owner. BuildPlaybook is built for the people running the job, not the lawyers.
Does BuildPlaybook give legal advice?
No. BuildPlaybook produces operational guidance for the project team, not legal advice. It does not opine on whether clauses are enforceable, interpret statutes, or substitute for a licensed attorney. Provisions that involve legal questions are flagged separately in an Items for Legal Review section, with the recommendation to consult a licensed attorney in the governing jurisdiction.
What contract types can I analyze?
BuildPlaybook handles AIA contracts (A201 General Conditions, A101, A102, A132, A133, A141, and related family), ConsensusDocs forms (200, 500, 750, etc.), EPC contracts, design-build agreements, CM-at-risk contracts, subcontracts of any form, supply agreements, and custom contracts. Both signed contracts and unsigned templates or drafts are accepted.
How long does the analysis take?
Three to five minutes for a typical contract. Longer documents or stacks of related documents (operative agreement plus exhibits plus amendments) may take slightly longer. The result is delivered as an on-screen playbook with PDF and Word downloads available immediately.
What does the playbook include?
Every playbook includes a Project Snapshot (contract sum, retainage rate and step-down, completion deadlines, notice periods, liquidated damages, and governing law), an Incorporated Documents audit, a Compliance Risk Summary ranked high/medium/low, seven sections of operational findings, and an Items for Legal Review section flagging provisions for attorney follow-up. Each finding includes the action, the consequence if missed, the team owner, and a section citation that links to the actual contract language.
Is my contract data confidential?
Documents are transmitted over an encrypted connection to a commercial AI service solely to generate the analysis, then are not retained, indexed, or used to train any model under the API terms in effect with the provider. Do not upload documents subject to a protective order, attorney-client privilege, or a confidentiality agreement that restricts disclosure to third-party services without first confirming that this use is permitted.
What does BuildPlaybook cost?
Pricing is per playbook, with no subscription. A single contract analysis includes the full seven-section playbook, Project Snapshot, Compliance Risk Summary, Items for Legal Review, and both PDF and Word document downloads.
Can BuildPlaybook compare two contracts?
Yes. The Compare mode takes a proposed contract and a standard or reference contract and produces a difference analysis tuned to your party. Use this when reviewing a new contract against your company's standard terms, or comparing two versions of a negotiated contract.
Confidentiality

Your documents are not stored.

BuildPlaybook sends your contract to a third-party AI service solely to generate your analysis. Documents are transmitted over an encrypted connection, used to produce your report in real time, and — under the commercial API terms in effect with the AI provider — are not retained, indexed, or used to train any model. This tool is not a substitute for a secure data room. Do not upload documents subject to a protective order, attorney-client privilege, or a confidentiality agreement that restricts disclosure to third-party services without first confirming that this use is permitted.

Beta
1  Set up
2  Building playbook
3  Playbook ready
Start here

Create your playbook.

Two steps. Under a minute to set up. Three to five minutes to analyze.

Step 1 of 2 — Your position on this contract
Step 2 of 2 — Upload the contract

PDF or Word. You can upload multiple files — main agreement, exhibits, amendments, or an upstream prime contract.

📁

Drag & drop your contract here

or click to browse — PDF or Word

BuildPlaybook is a reference tool, not legal advice. AI-generated findings may contain errors — verify all output against the actual contract language. Upload a clean copy without redlines, tracked changes, or handwritten annotations for the most accurate results.

Building your playbook…

This typically takes 3 to 5 minutes depending on document length.

0 / 45 pieces placed
Reading contract documents
Extracting key dates and financial terms
Analyzing payment and money rules
Reviewing notice requirements
Checking legal compliance flags
Generating your role-specific report
Contract Compliance Playbook

Project Name

Role
Project Snapshot
The contract at a glance.
Top exposures, ranked.
BuildPlaybook

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Effective date: May 2026

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your use of the BuildPlaybook service ("Service"). By accessing, uploading documents to, or otherwise using the Service, you ("User," "you") agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. Description of Service

BuildPlaybook is an artificial-intelligence-assisted reference tool that analyzes construction contracts and generates plain-English summaries of obligations, deadlines, and risks. The Service is intended to help construction professionals find key clauses in their contracts.

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