Often the most difficult task
facing a contractor when collecting
payment of a bill in dispute is
documenting the basis for the bill.
You may know you did the work,
but if you can't provide a paper
trail proving to the owner,
arbitrator, or court that you
incurred the expenses, the owner
may get the benefit of the doubt,
which means you don't collect.
This is particularly true when there
is a dispute about who supplied a
piece of material or performed the
work — when an owner claims he
paid the plumber for the fixtures
you supplied, for instance, or that
he, not your carpenter, installed
the bookshelves in the basement.
Such disputes often lead to the
filing of