The homeowner just refused Draw #2. Your materials are sitting on their site, your crew is waiting, and every day you keep working unpaid is money out of your pocket. Yelling doesn’t get you paid — a clean paper trail does. The Contractor Stop-Work Order & Non-Payment Notice kit lets you pause the job calmly, state exactly what is owed, prove what you sent and when, and protect the materials and tools you paid for — all in one sitting.
What it is
This is an 8-page printable packet, a fillable phone version, and a tracking spreadsheet that work together as one calm, documented pause:
- Stop-Work Order Notice — parties, amount due, reason for stopping, signatures
- Non-Payment Demand Letter — a factual, firm letter you can copy onto your letterhead
- Payment & Contract Record — contract summary, a draws/invoices table, and totals
- Materials On-Site Inventory — item, quantity, who paid, value, and location on site
- Jobsite Protection & Photo Log — leave the site safe and prove its condition
- Certified Mail Checklist & Log — a step-by-step sending checklist plus a tracking log
- Restart Conditions & Sign-Off — no restart on a verbal promise; both sides sign the terms
The fillable PDF is phone-friendly — tap and type every field on site, no printer needed.
The Amount Owed + Materials Tracker (.xlsx, for Excel and Google Sheets) does the math that arguments are made of: per-draw balances calculate automatically (Billed − Paid), materials line values calculate automatically (Quantity × Unit Value), and the mail and notice log keeps every sending on record. Demo data showing a refused Draw #2 lets you see it working in about a minute.
Why it was created
Non-payment fights are lost in the gap between “you owe me” and proof. Contractors keep working on verbal promises because stopping feels risky — then the hole gets deeper, materials they bought are stranded on someone else’s property, and when the dispute finally hardens, the record is a pile of texts. This kit was created to make stopping a professional, documented step instead of a confrontation: a signed notice of what is due, a demand letter that stays factual, a certified mail trail that proves delivery, an inventory that protects what you paid for, and restart terms that require a signature — so the job only resumes when the paper says it can.
Who it’s for
- General contractors and remodelers who bill in draws and have felt one refused
- Subcontractors who need their own notice and record, independent of the GC’s paperwork
- Small builders whose materials sit on client property between phases
- Any contractor who has restarted a job on a promise and regretted it
How to use it
Start with the Payment & Contract Record so the amount due is arithmetic, not opinion. Complete the Stop-Work Order Notice and the demand letter in the same sitting, while the numbers are in front of you. Inventory the materials on site and photograph the jobsite’s condition as you secure it. Send the notice and letter following the certified mail checklist, and log the tracking the same day. Then hold the line: work restarts only under the Restart Conditions page, signed by both sides. Every page works the day you download it — the kit is built to be used in one sitting, in the middle of a live dispute, not studied in advance.
This kit is an organizational and communication tool. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Contract, payment, and lien rules vary by state and by your written contract — consult a licensed attorney in your state before relying on lien, contract, or collection rights.
Related: for software, devices and tools that work with this kit, see Contractor Stop Work Order: Software, Devices and Tools That Work With It.
Get the kit
A CLEAN PAPER TRAIL GETS YOU PAID. Get the Contractor Stop-Work Order & Non-Payment Notice for $19.95, or find DealShore on Etsy.
Get free sample pages + new kit alerts — email contact@dealshore.com