Basic Construction Clauses

NOTE-- We retired MacNail Spec Writer and the rest of the MacNail construction software, back in 2000. It has been replaced with Goldenseal, a complete software package for Macintosh and Windows that handles construction spec writing, plus accounting, construction estimating, and project management, There is a much larger range of basic contract clauses included in Goldenseal, with the ability to pull in contract information from a much wider range of sources.

Basic Stock Clauses

The MacNail construction management software comes with seven basic stock clauses that will put information about the project into the contract. Each basic clause includes one or two key words which tell the program where to put the text describing the project.

You can edit the text and location of any basic clause, but you can't change its title. The text must also include the key word-- you won't be allowed to enter text without it.

Client name and address-- This clause includes both the Contractor's business name, plus the owner's or subcontractor's name and address. Generally it will be the very first line in the contract. The key words are CLIENTNAME and CLIENTADDRESS.

Brief project description-- This clause allows you to type in a brief description of the project, limited to 255 characters. The key word is PROJECTDESCRIPTION.

Contract price-- This clause includes the total cost of the project. If you make a contract directly from an estimate, the total price from the estimate will be entered as a suggestion. The key word is PROJECTCOST.

Down payment-- This clause includes the expected down payment amount that will be paid before work begins. The key word is DOWNPAYMENT.

Retainage percentage-- This clause enters any retainage or 'hold back' percentage, to be deducted from the value of work completed to date in each progress payment. Generally it is paid at the end of the project. The key word is RETAINPCT.

Project start/finish date-- This clause enters the project start date and completion date. If you make a contract from a schedule, the start and finish dates in the schedule will be entered as a suggestion. The key words are STARTDATE and FINISHDATE.

Offer valid until-- This clause enters a deadline for the client to accept the contract. The key word is ACCEPTDATE.

To change a basic clause, use the Stock Clauses command (see page 105), or click the Edit List button when you are asked which stock clauses to use when making a new contract.

Each selected stock clauses will be added to the contract at the location you specified (see page 106). The key word in the basic clause text will be replaced with whatever you typed into the dialog for that item.