Punch list template
A punch list template that closes items with photos, not promises
- Drywall ding at bath door Pass
- Cabinet door realigned Pass
Most punch lists die as spreadsheets: items with no location, no owner, and a 'done' column someone fills in from their desk. This template forces the fields that close an item: where it is, who owns it, and the photo that proves it.
- Drywall ding at bath door Pass
- Cabinet door realigned Pass
Where a punch list template falls apart on site
A punch list item is only closed when the fix is verifiable without walking back to the room. That means every item carries the same minimum fields, and the person closing it attaches the evidence at the moment of the fix.
Today
With RTI
Today
Items say 'fix drywall' with no location, and the closer has to guess which wall.
With RTI
Every item is tagged to a QR-coded inspection point, whether a room, unit, floor or zone, so the location is the record, not a text description.
Today
The 'complete' column gets checked in batches from the office trailer.
With RTI
Closure requires a photo of the corrected condition, attached from the phone standing in front of it. No photo, no closure.
Today
Nobody knows who owns an item, so it belongs to everyone and gets done by no one.
With RTI
In RTI a sent-back inspection goes back to the person who submitted it with the reason in writing, and a defect that needs an owner and a due date becomes an NCR, with due and past-due notices.
Today
The punch list for turnover is rebuilt by hand from three different spreadsheets.
With RTI
The approved re-inspection, with its photos and timestamps, goes into the branded turnover package.
Before you buy anything
What separates a working template from a printable one
Does every item have a verifiable location?
A room name typed by hand drifts ('Unit 4 bath' vs 'Bath 4'). A physical tag at the inspection point removes the ambiguity permanently.
Is closure gated on evidence?
If an item can be closed without a photo, it will be. Ask where that rule runs. It should be enforced by the system, not by a project manager's reminder email.
Can you filter by owner and by lateness?
The weekly punch meeting runs on two questions: who is behind, and what is blocking closeout. If the template can't answer both instantly, the meeting runs on anecdotes.
Does it export into the turnover package?
The punch list is part of the closeout record. If it exports as a raw CSV, someone rebuilds it by hand in the last week of the job.
The template itself
Punch list template
This is the template as a working document: the fields every punch item carries, and the photo that has to exist before an item can be closed.
- 01Every punch item records4 items
- 02Interior finishes4 items
- 03Systems and fixtures4 items
- 04Exterior and site3 items
Room-by-room closeout items with the before-and-after that closes them.
- Items
- 15
- Photos required
- 21
- Sections
- 4
Start from the template, finish with evidence
The trade punch checklists in the RTI library, covering drywall, painting, flooring, glazing and more, are ready-made starting points: load one, tag your rooms, and every closure comes back with the photo that proves it.