Lesson 1.1: Why Documentation Matters

In this foundational lesson, you'll discover why documentation is the direct connection between the work you do and the money you get paid. We'll explore a real case where poor documentation cost a contractor $17,000 on a single job.

What You'll Learn

• Why insurance companies require documentation (and what happens when it's missing)
• The Three Pillars of Documentation: Authorization, Process, and Evidence
• The financial impact of poor documentation (20-35% revenue loss)
• The documentation timeline: before, during, and after every job

Key Takeaways

• Insurance adjusters have a mental checklist - missing items trigger automatic reductions
• The same job can result in completely different payouts based on documentation quality
• One properly documented $30K job can recover $6,000-$9,000 in otherwise lost revenue
• Documentation isn't busywork - every piece has direct financial value

Real Example

Job A (perfect documentation): $42,000 estimate, $41,200 paid (98%)

Job B (poor documentation): $41,000 estimate, $24,300 paid (59%)

Difference: $16,700 - same type of work, different documentation.