Construction glossary
Force account
Also called owner-directed work, force account extra, T&M extra.
Force account is owner-directed work paid on T&M because the extra is not defined well enough to lump. The LEM is the backup. If the ticket is thin, the payment is thin.
What the owner is buying
Hours and iron at agreed rates, with enough description to prove the work was directed. Photos, a named extra, and a signed daily go further than a one-line note in the daily.
When to convert
Once the extra has a shape, many contracts want a change-order price. Keep issuing clean T&M tickets until that CO is signed, or you will have a gap.
Force account FAQ
Is force account only public work?
The phrase is common on public and heavy-civil jobs. Private extras are the same idea with different letterhead.
Do I need a separate rate sheet for force account?
You need agreed rates. Many jobs attach a T&M schedule to the contract for exactly this.
Use your agreed rates on every daily ticket.
These public ranges are a benchmark. SubTrack stores the rates you agreed with the client on a project rate sheet. Crews apply those rates to labor, equipment, materials, and subcontractors on the daily ticket. The same figures carry into reporting and the billing documents you send.