01
Find the direction
Tie the work to an email, RFI response, sketch, field directive, text, or named requester.
Direct answer
How can electrical subcontractors recover unbilled T&M work?
Recoverable T&M starts with a documented chain: match each field direction to a same-day ticket, reconcile labor, material, equipment, and photos to payroll and purchase records, price the work under the contract, then submit the notice and change request before its deadline. Work with no authorization or timely record may remain disputed even when the crew performed it.
Operational completeness check
02
Rebuild the daily record
Match worker hours, material issues, equipment, photos, and location to the date performed.
03
Check entitlement
Confirm notice timing, authorization, rates, markups, and backup required by the subcontract.
04
Price and submit
Create one traceable change package and record when, how, and to whom it was delivered.
05
Track disposition
Keep submitted, revised, approved, rejected, billed, and paid dates separate.
Sources and verification
Institutional procedure
West Virginia University — construction change-order procedureInstitutional documentation controls for change authorization, labor, material, equipment, daily tickets, and supporting records.
Industry standard
AIA Contract Documents — change-order fundamentalsThe distinction between an agreed change order and other change instruments, including scope, price, time, and authorization.
Documentation improves recovery but does not create contractual entitlement by itself. Notice rules and payment rights vary by contract and jurisdiction.
Published July 21, 2026 · Sources verified August 4, 2026 · Research methodology
Electrical service work runs on speed — the crew fixes it, moves on, and the paperwork happens later, if it happens at all. 'Later' is where T&M work quietly stops being billable.
“My contract says they will install 2 new wall outlets at wall locations and also 'run wire for an outlet on the island.' The contractor is now saying running the wire doesn't include actually installing the outlet.”
“Joist is great for figuring out how much electrical work will cost, but it's way too much for service work. I don't need to know how many wires and connectors I need for a 200 amp panel swap; I just need the scope, the price, and a send button.”
How it works
01
Send your field documentation and invoicing records
Service tickets, change memos, whatever record exists between the work and the invoice.
02
We trace where billable hours and materials aren't reaching an invoice
The gap between what the crew did and what got charged for.
03
Get a written audit of the leak and what it's costing monthly
Specific to your documentation habits, not a generic industry estimate.
Next step
A written audit — here's what it costs and what it recovers.
T&M Leak Audit$1,499 one-time
Where unbilled time-and-materials work leaks through your field documentation. Built for subs and foremen eating field changes that should be billed. Pays back on three weeks of typical T&M leakage.
Related terms
Time and materials (T&M)Time-and-materials (T&M) is a billing method where a contractor charges for actual labor hours and material cost plus markup, instead of a fixed price agreed in advance.T&M ticketA T&M ticket (or daily ticket) is the field record of hours worked and materials used on a time-and-materials task, signed by the client or GC's representative on-site the same day.Scope of work (SOW)A scope of work (SOW) is the written description of exactly what a subcontractor is responsible for on a project — the boundary line everything else, including disputes, gets measured against.