The exclusions nobody wrote
Disputes cluster around what the customer assumed. Decking, permits, disposal, landscaping, code upgrades, matching finishes. Every one of those is cheap to exclude in writing and expensive to argue about on day three of a job.
Half-signed and dispatched
The crew shows up, the material is ordered, and the agreement was never countersigned — or the second homeowner never signed at all. This is unprotected work, and it happens because nothing in the process gates dispatch on execution.
Change orders that never became documents
The customer asks for something, the crew does it, and it is remembered as a favor at invoice time. Every business with this problem believes it is a discipline issue. It is usually a friction issue: the path to authorizing a change on site is slower than the path to just doing it.
Totals that drift
The estimate said one number, the contract said another because someone retyped it, and the invoice said a third. Each drift is a conversation, a credit, or a chargeback. Carrying the priced scope forward rather than re-entering it removes the category.
Payment terms with no triggers
'50% up front, balance on completion' sounds specific until completion is disputed. Terms tied to observable events — material delivery, rough-in, substantial completion, final walkthrough — give both sides something to point at.
Documents nobody can find
An executed agreement in someone's email is not accessible to the person scheduling, the person on site or the person invoicing. When the document is not on the job record, everyone downstream works from memory, and memory is where the exclusions disappear.