A lien waiver for every payment, without chasing every sub

The pay cycle in two passes

A conditional waiver only takes effect once the payment it names is received; an unconditional waiver takes effect when it's signed. That's why the second pass waits for the bank, not the calendar. New to waivers? Start with the lien waiver guide.

Build one template per form

1. 1

   Start from the right wording

   Where your state prints the waiver in its statute, use that text unchanged, or the version your attorney approved. Elsewhere, the library's conditional and unconditional forms are a starting point. Name each template so nobody grabs the wrong one: TX conditional progress, TX unconditional progress.

2. 2

   Give it one signer role

   Call it Claimant: the sub or supplier giving the waiver. Their part is a signature, a printed name, a title and the date signed.

3. 3

   Put the pay details in labeled text boxes

   Owner, Job location, Through date, Payment amount, Payment maker, Pay application number. Text boxes print as fixed wording the claimant can't edit, and each label becomes a column you can fill from a spreadsheet.

4. 4

   Use the same labels on every form

   If the conditional and unconditional templates share their labels exactly, the spreadsheet you used for the first pass works for the second without renaming a single column.

5. 5

   Set the template's sending defaults

   A sign-by date a few days after sending, so waivers land before your check run. Turn on Let signers reassign if a foreman tends to receive it but the owner signs for the company; you're told who took over and why.

Each draw: send, chase, release

1. 1

   Make the draw's sheet

   On the template, choose Bulk send, then Download a blank CSV. Paste in each sub and supplier on this pay application with their email, the amount and the through date.

2. 2

   Check and send

   Rows with a bad email or a missing amount are held back with the reason. Pick reminders every 3 days and add each claimant's name to the envelope title, so the list reads like your pay app.

3. 3

   Chase from one list

   Open the template's Responses tab, filter to this bulk send and pick Waiting. That's everyone still holding up the draw. Open a row and press Remind for anyone you need today.

4. 4

   Release against Completed

   Switch the filter to Completed and download the CSV. Each row has the envelope title, with the sub's name in it, and the Payment amount, ready to tick off against the checks you're about to cut.

When the checks clear, open the unconditional template's bulk send and upload the same file. Drop anyone whose payment hasn't cleared yet; they go in the next batch.

If you're the sub

When a GC asks you for waivers, build the same templates for your state. Start an envelope, press Add me so you're the signer, and add the GC's accounts payable contact as Receives a copy. The moment you sign, they get the sealed PDF and its certificate of completion, and you keep the same copy for your job file.

Where SignMaster stops

• It doesn't know who's on the pay app. Your accounting system does; the CSV is the bridge. On Crew and Company, webhooks can send each signed waiver's amount and through date back.
• It doesn't notarize. For a form with a notary block, leave Allow print and sign on (it is by default): the claimant chooses Print and sign instead, signs in front of a notary and uploads the pages, which join the signed PDF.
• It doesn't see your bank. You decide when a payment has cleared, and only then send the unconditional form.