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After the job

Practical Completion

The short answer

Practical completion is the point where a job is finished enough to hand over and use. It starts sign-off, even while a few small items wait to be fixed.

What it means

A job rarely finishes with every last detail perfect. Practical completion is the point where the job is finished enough to hand over and use. Any remaining snags are listed, dated and agreed. They do not hold up the whole job. The term comes from building contracts. The idea applies to any job with a few small items left at the end.

Name this point plainly. Say "this is practically complete, here is the outstanding list." The client can then accept and use the work. Meanwhile you clear a short snag list. Otherwise they may treat the whole job as unfinished until every item is done.

For example

A bathroom refit is usable and the client has moved back in. A cupboard door still needs adjusting and one tile is chipped. You call the job practically complete and list the two items with a date each. You invoice once the client confirms the main work.

The mistake to avoid

Waiting to invoice until every last snag is cleared. Treat practical completion, with a short dated list outstanding, as the point where the job is signed off.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rates and rules vary by place; check yours. See our terms for the full version of this note.

See also

Sign-OffSnag ListHandover

Where this shows up

Guide

Close out the job — get the client to confirm before you invoice

A job is not finished when the work stops. It is finished when the client agrees, in writing, what was done. This guide walks the five-minute close-out and what to write down. It shows how to list a snag with a date on it. It also covers a client who will not confirm the work before you invoice.

 Templates

Finishing a job scripts, for closing out a job before you invoice

Six messages for the moment a job stops and the moment it is signed off. Send the all-done message. Confirm a snag list with a date against each item, and confirm a snag is cleared. Chase a sign-off that has not come. Tell a client the invoice waits for their confirmation. Hand over a job that someone else signs off. Fill in your details once at the top of this page, and every script below updates.

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