Submittal Tracking Software: Who Holds It, How Long

Submittal tracking software shows who is holding each submittal and RFI on every job, for how long, and which install date it puts at risk, so a late review gets a follow-up before it costs the schedule. One project manager sees every open item across every job on one screen, instead of searching through a spreadsheet and an inbox.

This guide is for project managers and project engineers at subs and small GCs in millwork, electrical, mechanical and storefront work. It builds on our guides to AI for small business and to AI for Kansas City construction companies. Booking subs, inspections and deliveries is a different job, covered in general contractor scheduling software.

What submittal tracking software should show

Submittal tracking software should show, for every submittal and RFI, who holds it right now, how many days it has sat there and the date it must come back. That required-by date is worked back from the install date and the supplier's lead time, so a late review shows up as a schedule risk, not a surprise.

Status alone is not enough. A log that says "under review" on every row hides the one that matters, such as storefront shop drawings sitting on an engineer's desk while the glass needs a long lead to make the install date. When the register knows the install date, it can show that item in red while there is still time to call.

Good RFI and submittal tracking software treats both kinds of item the same way. An RFI holds up work just like a late submittal does, so each one gets an owner, a clock and a required-by date.

Why does a submittal spreadsheet stop working?

A submittal spreadsheet stops working once there is more than one job and more than one reviewer. It can show a status, but it cannot show who is holding an item, how long it has sat or which install date it puts at risk, and the real answers stay hard to find in email threads.

Off-the-shelf construction submittal management software is often built for large general contractors, with more setup than a small shop needs. The gaps show up fast. Reviewers must make an account before they can open anything. Revisions often overwrite each other, so nobody sees what the engineer marked last time. Each job lives in its own file. And the meeting list gets rebuilt by hand every week.

What we build: a submittal and RFI log, screen by screen

We build a submittal and RFI log around your jobs, your spec sections and the reviewers you deal with. It is a full web application where your PM sees every open item across every job, and each architect or engineer sees only the item that was sent to them.

• The register. One per job, by spec section, with every submittal and RFI, its revision and its status.
• Ball in court. Who holds each item right now, with a days-held count that restarts at every hand-off.
• Required-by dates. Counted back from each install date by the supplier's lead time, and shifted when the schedule moves.
• Reviewer reminders. A nudge with a link the reviewer can open without an account, showing only that item.
• Revision history. Every version, every reviewer comment and every resubmittal, in order.
• The PM's view. Every open item on every job, sorted by how close it is to its required-by date.
• Meeting export. The open items for one job, ready for the weekly meeting.
• Review marks. Each reviewer's mark, such as approved as noted or revise and resubmit, kept with a name and a date.

Reviewers can mark items on screen instead of on paper. The federal E-SIGN Act (opens in a new tab) generally keeps a signature or record from losing legal effect just for being electronic. Kansas's electronic records law (opens in a new tab) adds that an electronic record satisfies a law that requires a record in writing.

Our plans give you either the right to use the log we build or full ownership of it, and your job records stay with your company on both. The Admin Agent sends routine reminders on a schedule your PM sets and builds the weekly open-items list. For an item past its due date, it drafts a firmer nudge for the PM to read and send, and it logs every answer that comes back. Your PM decides what to resubmit, and the architect or engineer makes every approval.

How do we build and test a submittal log?

We map how submittals and RFIs move through your office today, write that down as a spec you can mark up, and run the log on one live job with one PM before the rest of your jobs move over. The pilot tells us which fields your reviewers actually use.

Before your other jobs move to the log, the pilot job must pass six checks.

1. Changing an install date moves every required-by date tied to it.
2. Each hand-off changes the ball-in-court name and restarts the days-held count.
3. A reviewer's link opens only that item, with no account and no view of other jobs.
4. A resubmittal keeps the earlier revision and its comments.
5. The meeting export lists only open items.
6. The PM's view across jobs matches each job's register exactly.

This is an illustration, not a customer story. Felix is the project manager at a millwork shop with five jobs open. The Monday list shows casework shop drawings for a clinic job held by the architect past the required-by date, with the install date close behind. Felix calls the architect, gets a marked-up set back that afternoon, and decides to resubmit only the two sheets with comments.

What stays with your PM and the design team?

Every approval and every design answer stays with the architect or engineer, and every decision about what to resubmit, order or push stays with your project manager. The app keeps the clock and the paper trail. It never stamps an approval, answers an RFI, changes a spec or tells a supplier to start.

Your own review comes first. On federal construction contracts that require shop drawings, the federal shop drawing clause (opens in a new tab) has the contractor check them for accuracy and compliance and mark its approval before submitting them. That clause covers federal contracts only. On private jobs, your contract and spec set the steps and the review periods, so that is where the log's due dates start. Either way, a person does the checking, and the app records who did it and when.

When a reviewer sits on an item, whether to push harder, go to the owner or order at your own risk is your PM's call. Same team. Same jobs. More capacity.

Frequently asked questions

What is a construction submittal?

A construction submittal is a package a contractor sends for the design team's review before ordering or installing something, such as shop drawings, product data, samples or mockups. The architect or engineer reviews it against the drawings and specs and returns it with a mark, such as approved, approved as noted, or revise and resubmit.

What is an RFI in construction?

An RFI, or request for information, is a written question from a contractor to the architect or engineer when the drawings or specs are unclear, conflict or leave something out. The answer may clarify the design or lead to a change, and the log records who asked, who holds it and when it was resolved.

What is a submittal log?

A submittal log is the list of every submittal on a job, usually organized by spec section. Each row shows what was sent, the revision, who holds it now, when it went out, when it is needed back and its status, so nothing waiting on a reviewer gets lost.

What is an RFI tracker?

An RFI tracker is a log of every request for information on a job, with the question, who asked, who must answer, the date sent, the date needed and the answer. Good RFI tracking software also shows how long each one has been open and which work it holds up.

How do you track submittals?

Keep one register per job by spec section, record who holds each item and since when, and set each required-by date early enough to cover the supplier's lead time before install. Check the open list every week, nudge reviewers who are past due, and keep every revision with its comments.

Next step

Book a free workflow consult and bring the submittal log you use now, however messy. We will find the items that waited longest and sketch a log that shows who holds what across all your jobs. We work from the Kansas City metro and meet owners face to face or by video call.