Glossary
Punch list
A list of remaining or deficient items to be completed or corrected before a project is considered finished.
A punch list (called a snag list in some regions) is the itemized list of work that’s incomplete, defective, or not conforming to the contract, compiled near the end of a project. Items might be anything from a missing fixture to touch-up paint to a door that doesn’t close properly.
It’s typically created during a walkthrough as the work approaches substantial completion. Each item is assigned to a responsible party and tracked until it’s resolved and verified.
The punch list is where a job either finishes cleanly or drags on. Items get missed when they’re scattered across notebooks, photos, and texts instead of tracked in one place with clear ownership.
Treating punch items as what they are — tracked tasks with an owner and a status — is the fastest way to get to a clean handover.