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Create a job sheet: a template for trades businesses

The work for a job may already be agreed while the dates are still open. A change request might come in later. The office and the team carrying out the work need to be able to see which scope applies and which decision is still outstanding.

The job sheet lets the office find the agreed work alongside the relevant quotation and documented confirmation. It also contains the planning information and next task. There is a separate place for change requests. Anyone reading the sheet later can distinguish a proposal from an agreement already reached.

You can copy the blank template and change sheet in this BrandHoop guide. A fictional bathroom renovation shows how they can be used in a small trades business in Austria. The sheet helps with internal organisation; it is not a universal contract template.

What the job sheet is for

You can create the internal sheet while your business is still clarifying an enquiry. A suitable status might be "Enquiry being clarified". Once the work has actually been agreed, it could say "Scope of work confirmed". A colleague taking over the record can then see how far the discussions have progressed. ^[b]

When reading the sheet, the team should also be able to find the relevant agreement, such as the appropriate quotation with a documented confirmation. That is what the reference on the sheet is for. A website enquiry form serves an earlier purpose: it first captures the contact details and proposed project.

What the sheet says about a contract

In Austria, legal transactions are generally not subject to a prescribed form. They can therefore also be made verbally; statutory or agreed requirements may call for a particular form. The WKO explains the formal requirements for legal transactions and the exceptions. ^[1]

The status field therefore initially describes what your business has recorded internally. The parties' actual statements and the applicable requirements determine whether there is an agreement. The form refers to the contract documents and documented agreements; this template is not a finished job confirmation ready to send to customers. ^{[2] [1]}

Enquiry, quotation or job?

Under §861 ABGB a contract is formed through an offer and its valid acceptance, meaning the mutual consent of the parties. While negotiations are still under way and no such agreement has been reached, they do not yet form a contract. ^[2]

For internal organisation, enquiries, quotations and internal job records can therefore be distinguished by their purpose. The overview below helps you classify them. A document's name alone does not tell you what the parties have actually agreed. ^[2]

A sheet already created with the status "Awaiting clarification" keeps outstanding questions together. It does not turn a pending decision into a commitment. A verbal agreement also belongs in the documentation and should not be treated as unresolved solely because there is no signature. Statutory or agreed requirements as to form must still be observed. ^{[2] [1]}

Our own workflow illustration, with no real customers or signatures. The form documents the current position; unconfirmed dates and change requests remain explicitly unresolved. ^[c]

The information your team needs

The sheet should let the office and team find the right record and read through the agreed work. They need different information to plan the work on site. The selection below is an organisational aid, not a list of legally required information. ^[b]

An ID is a unique identifier that lets you find the right entry again. The job ID belongs to the record, the customer ID to the customer and the site ID to the work location. Keeping them separate helps, for example, when a customer commissions work at several locations. The work location is therefore recorded separately from the customer's address or billing address.

The scope of work sets out which work has actually been agreed and what is excluded. The current confirmed version and reference lead the team to the relevant quotation or documented confirmation. A version number is of little use if nobody can find the content it refers to.

Planning needs its own information. The recording date shows when the sheet was created. The start and completion dates relate to the planned work. Schedule status shows whether a period has only been requested, has already been planned or is actually confirmed.

The sheet also records who is handling the record and how far the work has progressed. The last update shows how recent the information is. The next task needs a person responsible and a due date. A colleague covering the work can then see who will resolve the outstanding question and by when.

An entry explicitly marked "unresolved" is clearer than an empty field. Material notes or access details, such as key handover, can be added as needed. A priority, photos or plans and the trades businesses involved may also matter for the particular record.

Personal data is subject to principles including purpose limitation and data minimisation. Purpose limitation means that data must be collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and must not be reused in ways incompatible with those purposes. Data minimisation limits the information to what is necessary for the purpose. These principles are set out in the GDPR; the WKO explains them for businesses. ^{[3] [4]}

A reference to a maintained customer record can therefore be useful on the job sheet if it avoids unnecessary copies of contact details. The tradesperson still needs the contact and site information required for the specific work. Which details are needed depends on the work on site. ^[b]

A job sheet to copy

The basic template contains 20 fields. You can copy it into a document or your job management system. Each sheet covers one record for one site; separate work locations get separate sheets with the same customer ID. Each field records the actual current position. ^[b]

Where written confirmation or proof of signature is provided for, the lines below offer space to reference the original and its version. Such evidence is not a general requirement for every job. Whether a particular form is required still depends on the statutory and agreed requirements. ^[1]

Confirmation / proof of signature, where provided for: ____________________
Related document and version: ____________________

A change sheet for the same job

A change request gets its own identifier on the additional sheet. The previously confirmed version remains visible alongside the proposed new version. This lets someone check later what the decision concerned and what was still unresolved at the time. ^[b]

Example: a bathroom renovation job

All identifiers, staff roles, documents and dates in this example are invented. It uses no real customers, addresses or contact details. The planning information is current as of 12.10.2026. In the example, the original scope has been confirmed. The dates for the work and the request for a different tile format are still unresolved. ^[a]

Example of a pending change sheet

The tile request belongs to the same job and site. The change sheet records which effects need to be clarified first and who is preparing the decision. ^[a]

In the example, V1 remains confirmed; V2 is the pending proposal for a different tile format. Once the decision has been documented, the project lead records what changes in the work and dates, and which tasks come next. ^[a]

Several work locations and changes

With several work locations, the customer ID stays the same while each site gets its own site ID and sheet. Fictional customer F-K001 might, for example, have the bathroom with F-O001 and a separate WC with F-O002. Confirmation of work in the bathroom does not then also confirm work in the WC. ^[a]

If a quotation covers several sites, the reference on each sheet leads to the relevant items. A project overview can link the related job IDs. The individual sheets still show which work belongs to each site and who will carry it out when. ^[b]

For the request to use a different tile format, the team needs to know the affected site and have a precise description. "Different tiles" leaves it unclear which material and area are meant. The office therefore records on the change sheet what should change and which effects still need to be clarified.

Record the status and next task

Job status tells a colleague how far the record has progressed. A few terms with a shared meaning across the team are enough. You can use these internal definitions for the workflow below: ^[b]

• Recorded: Your team has created the record and is checking the information.

• Awaiting clarification: The work, its allocation or confirmation is still unresolved.

• In planning: Your team is planning dates, materials and the work on site for the confirmed scope.

• In progress: Work is under way based on the documented information.

• Work reported: Feedback has been received. Your team is checking outstanding points.

• Closed: the closing tasks defined within your business are done.

Schedule status answers a different question and stays separate. A job may already be "In planning" while the start date is still being coordinated with the customer and team.

For a next task, specific wording is more useful than a general work status. "Check material availability – Role P1 – 13.10.2026" gives the task, responsibility and date. "Contact customer" lacks these details. Both phrases are examples of an internal workflow. ^[a]

Word, spreadsheet or PDF?

For individual enquiries or jobs, you can copy the template into Word or Google Docs. A spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets can provide an overview alongside it, with one record per row and a reference to the detailed sheet. The customer overview for small businesses explains how customers and records can be linked. ^[b]

A PDF captures a particular version for filing or printing. The team also needs the editable file for later changes. The version should be visible in the PDF too.

For collaboration, the current file needs a fixed storage location and someone to enter changes. Copies can still be identified by their version. When trying new software or an app, your own workflow can serve as a test case: can customers and sites be linked, and can the team find the right version? The required access permissions belong in this test too. The number of jobs alone does not determine which tool suits the business. ^[b]

Check the sheet with your team

The fictional case provides an initial trial for the blank template. Having the office and the team carrying out the work read it independently shows whether both understand the same work to be agreed. The unresolved dates and unconfirmed tile request are particularly useful for this check. ^[b]

These questions help with the joint review:

• Do the customer, job ID and site ID match?

• Can your team find the agreed scope and supporting record for the confirmed version?

• Have you clearly labelled requests and pending changes as such?

• Does the schedule status match what is actually documented?

• Does each next task have someone responsible and a due date?

• Can the necessary attachments be found and outdated versions identified?

The trial shows the team which fields help and which they would like to rename. Then agree who will keep the sheet up to date. That person records new agreements and changes so the team can continue with the appropriate plan.

Further reading

The job sheet sits between first contact and further project work. The guide to the website enquiry form covers recording contact details and checking delivery. For linking customers and individual records, there is the customer database in Excel. The project status report then helps record progress on an ongoing project.

Sources and publication date

The linked sources on contract formation, form and data protection were read again on 16.10.2026. The templates and fictional bathroom renovation are BrandHoop's own working aids.

Editorial version dated 16.10.2026. Numbers link to sources; letters explain editorial examples or recommendations. Each note states what the source supports.

[b] Practical recommendations. The proposed processes and decision aids are editorial applications of the cited principles. Their specific effect on enquiries or jobs has not been measured here.

[c] Editorial illustration. The illustration explains a relationship. It is neither a real customer reference nor evidence of a measured effect.

[a] Editorial examples. Content labelled as a sample or fictional illustrates possible situations. It does not describe real customer cases or provide evidence of a measured effect.

Sources and context (4 sources)

1. Form von Rechtsgeschäften — Wirtschaftskammer Österreich

   WKO information on the general freedom from prescribed form, including verbal legal transactions, and on statutory or agreed requirements as to form. It does not confirm the validity of a specific job agreement, a general requirement for signatures or the completeness of our template. Checked: 2026-10-16.

2. ABGB § 861: Abschließung des Vertrages — Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS)

   Statutory text on mutual consent, a promise and valid acceptance; ongoing negotiations alone do not form a contract. The conclusion that an internal status cannot replace the parties' actual statements is an editorial interpretation limited to this template. It does not provide a full assessment of any specific consumer contract. Checked: 2026-10-16.

3. DSGVO: Artikel 5, Grundsätze für die Verarbeitung personenbezogener Daten — European Union / EUR-Lex

   Article 5(1)(b) and (c) establish purpose limitation and data minimisation. Referring to a linked customer record is our own organisational recommendation; the document does not thereby declare all of a business's data processing lawful. Checked: 2026-10-16.

4. Datenschutzgrundsätze im Überblick — Wirtschaftskammer Österreich

   Primary WKO information for businesses, dated 08.10.2026. The sections read explain the GDPR principles of purpose limitation and data minimisation. They do not establish a specific statutory list of fields, validate this particular job sheet template or identify a suitable software product. Checked: 2026-10-16.