NO-DAMAGE-FOR-DELAY PROTECTION.
No-damage-for-delay clauses appear in most standard commercial subcontracts. They state that your only remedy for GC-caused delays is a time extension, with no additional compensation. In most states they're enforceable. But they carry exceptions that still allow delay cost recovery when the clause is drafted broadly. Here's what to know and how to protect yourself.
The clause is real, and in most states a court will enforce it. What subs miss is that enforcement has limits. If the GC actively interfered with your work, concealed the delay, dragged it out to the point of abandonment, or caused something the parties never contemplated when the contract was signed, the door to delay damages can open again. None of that helps you if you sat on notice. The exceptions live or die on a written record built while the delay was running, which means the financial work has to begin the week it starts and not the week the claim gets filed.
WHAT IT MEANS.
A no-damage-for-delay clause is a subcontract provision stating that your only remedy for a GC-caused delay is a time extension, with no additional compensation for what the delay cost you.
A time extension gives you more time to finish the project without being penalized for being late. It doesn't compensate you for what the delay cost, which includes additional supervision, equipment standby, and escalated material cost. Delay damages compensate for those additional costs. A no-damage-for-delay clause allows the time extension while prohibiting the damages, and the exceptions to the clause, where they apply, restore your right to delay damages on top of whatever extension you get.
WHERE THE CLAUSE COSTS YOU.
You're absorbing delay cost that should be recoverable
When a GC delays your work by changing the sequence, holding your start, or keeping you on site longer than planned, you take on real cost. Extended supervision, equipment on standby, labor at reduced productivity, and material price escalation are all quantifiable. But if you've signed a no-damage-for-delay clause and you don't know the exceptions, you assume all of those costs are unrecoverable.
You don't know the exceptions in your state
No-damage-for-delay clauses aren't absolute in most states. Courts have carved out exceptions for active interference by the owner or GC, fraudulent concealment of the delay, delays so extreme they amount to abandonment, and delays the parties didn't contemplate when the contract was signed. These exceptions vary by state and by how the clause is drafted, which is why two subs with similar delays get opposite outcomes.
You didn't give notice when the delay started
Even when exceptions apply, most contracts require written notice of delay inside a specific period, often 7 to 14 days of the delay event, to preserve any claim at all. Most subcontractors don't give timely notice, either because they don't know the clause has exceptions or because they're hoping the delay resolves quickly. By the time the delay is clearly a problem, the notice window has closed.
WHAT KEEPS THE OPTION OPEN.
When a delay event occurs, send written notice inside the contract's required period, whether or not you think the no-damage clause applies to it. Describe the delay, the cause, the impact on your work sequence, and a preliminary estimate of the cost. Notice inside the required window keeps your options open, and missing the window closes them for good.
Whether or not an exception fits your situation, document every delay cost as it occurs. Daily logs cover the work impacted, labor and equipment on standby, extended supervision, and the schedule impact. SPM tracks delay-related cost in ControlQore for clients who flag an active delay, which builds the day-by-day record that a delay claim runs on. A cost record built after the fact is worth a fraction of one built while the crew was sitting.
When a delay has produced significant cost and the exception analysis suggests recovery may be available, SPM refers you to an outside construction attorney for an assessment of your specific contract language, your state's law, and your delay documentation. That review is billed separately and isn't included in the SPM monthly fee. We stay on the financial side of it, which means the cost record the assessment runs on is already built and reconciled before the attorney opens the file.
THE OUTPUTS, NAMED.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Three tiers, priced by your trailing twelve month revenue. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No hourly billing, no payroll, and no add-ons.
| Last 12 months revenue | Monthly fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $1M | $1,900 to $2,900 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 to $3,900 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 to $5,700 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 to $7,100 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 to $8,500 |
| $12.5M to $15.5M | $7,400 to $11,000 |
| $15.5M to $18.5M | $9,400 to $13,500 |
| $18.5M+ | Quoted individually |
Range reflects the three tiers below. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No payroll. No hidden line items.
You stop guessing.
You get the CFO work. Job costing built against the way you estimate, a 13 week cash forecast, monthly WIP, and a meeting every month that ends in decisions rather than a report.
Your bookkeeper keeps doing the books.
You stop touching the books.
Everything in Core, and we run the bookkeeping and the controllership as well. Nobody in your office is answering coding questions or chasing a reconciliation at month end.
We do the books. No payroll.
Every job shows its margin while it's still running.
Everything in Executive, plus the job costing and WIP platform set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed for you every month. You never have to learn it.
We do the job costing.
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