By Adam Hicks, CooperBuild AI · November 11, 2026

Time and material tickets (T&M tickets, or T&M tags) are the daily field records of extra work done outside the contract scope: who worked, how many hours, what equipment ran, and what material went in. The superintendent signs each one the same day, and the tickets later become the backup for a change order or a T&M invoice.

A T&M ticket gets paid when three things line up: written direction before the work starts, a ticket filled out and signed the same day, and a fast handoff into a change order request. Skip any one and it turns into a negotiation months later. This guide walks through how GCs run T&M tickets with their subs and their owners.

#What is a time and material ticket in construction?

It's a one-day record of extra work. It isn't a change order and it isn't an invoice. It's the proof that sits under both.

A solid ticket has:

• Ticket number, job, date and location on site (building, floor, gridline or room)
• What directed the work: RFI number, field directive, email or verbal direction with the name of the person who gave it
• A plain description of the work done that day
• Each worker by name or trade, classification and hours (straight time and overtime split)
• Equipment by type, hours used, and whether it was operating or on standby
• Material quantities, with delivery tickets or receipts attached
• Photos of the work and the area
• Signature, printed name and date from the GC's authorized rep (or the owner's rep, on the GC's own T&M)

Leave rates and markup off the field copy if your contract sets them. The field signs for facts; the office prices them.

#When do GCs use T&M tickets?

Mostly when extra work has to start before anyone can price it: unforeseen conditions behind a wall, a design fix from an RFI, an owner request on a tight schedule, or emergency repairs. In each case the scope isn't clear enough for a lump-sum change order yet, so you track actual cost and price it after.

Some contracts are T&M from the start, but on most commercial jobs T&M is the exception path inside a lump-sum or GMP contract. That's why the paperwork matters so much. As one commenter in an r/Construction thread put it, daily signed tickets are "the only way it's done for T&M on a commercial job. Otherwise it's a proposal at risk" (r/Construction (opens in a new tab)).

#Who should sign a T&M ticket, and what does the signature mean?

Your subcontract and prime contract should name who can sign tickets. Usually it's the superintendent or the PM, not whoever happens to be in the trailer.

Be clear about what the signature means. Many GCs sign with language that confirms people, hours, equipment and material were on site doing the described work, and says the signature doesn't approve a change order, scope, cost or schedule impact. A PM in r/ConstructionManagers shared wording close to that in a May 2026 thread on T&M tracking (r/ConstructionManagers (opens in a new tab)).

That split helps both sides. The sub gets a fact record nobody can deny later. The GC doesn't concede entitlement before the PM reviews it.

#How do you track T&M work day to day?

Here's a simple flow most teams can run:

1. Get direction in writing first. Even a two-line email or a field directive with a number. Verbal "just do it" is where T&M disputes start.
2. Open a ticket when the work starts. The foreman tells the super the crew is starting the extra work, and the ticket gets a number.
3. Keep base and extra hours apart. A worker who spends half the day on contract work and half on extra work gets two lines under different cost codes.
4. Fill it out and sign it before the crew leaves. If the signer isn't on site, send it the same day so there's a timestamp.
5. Tie it to the daily report. Note the ticket number in that day's report so the two records back each other up. Our construction daily report guide covers what to capture.
6. Log it on a T&M register. One list per job: ticket number, date, related RFI or directive, status (open, signed, priced, in a change order, billed).
7. Roll it into a change order request weekly. Don't let tickets pile up until month end.

The common failure is time. In an r/Construction thread titled "Lost ~$4k this month on unbilled T&M work," a GC described tickets showing up from the sub's office months after the work, or a sub asking for a signature weeks later "when we both have forgotten what you even did" (r/Construction (opens in a new tab)). Same-day signing fixes most of that.

#How do you price T&M tickets?

Price them the way the contract says. Check your prime contract and subcontracts for:

• Labor rates: actual wages plus burden (taxes, insurance, benefits), or a fixed rate schedule
• Equipment rates: owned equipment at a stated rate book or internal rate sheet; rented equipment at invoice cost
• Material: invoice cost, with or without sales tax and freight
• Markup: the allowed percentage for overhead and profit on each category, and whether the GC can add markup on a sub's marked-up T&M
• Supervision and small tools: whether they're billable or covered by the markup

Practitioners in the r/ConstructionManagers thread above said markups vary by contract and that general conditions usually aren't billed directly on T&M unless the change extends the job. Then they're claimed as a separate, justified line. If you need a refresher on how markup and margin differ, see markup vs margin in construction.

#How do T&M tickets become a change order?

The tickets are backup. The change order is the agreement. Total the signed tickets for each piece of extra work, apply the contract rates and markups, and submit a change order request to the owner with every ticket attached.

On the GC side, the sub's tickets roll up into your own request to the owner, so your markups stack on top of theirs as the contract allows. Once the owner approves, issue the matching change to the sub's subcontract so the commitment and the billing line up. Our change order process guide walks through that step by step.

If extra work causes damage or rework that a sub owes you for, that's a different document. Keep those separate, as covered in the construction backcharge guide.

#Common T&M ticket mistakes

• Starting without direction. No written direction, weak claim.
• Batching tickets. A week of tickets signed on Friday invites "I don't remember that."
• Vague descriptions. "Extra work, 3rd floor" doesn't tell anyone what was done.
• Mixing base and extra hours. It makes the whole ticket look padded.
• Missing material backup. No delivery ticket, no reimbursement.
• Tickets that never get billed. If no one owns the T&M register, signed tickets sit in a truck.

#How T&M tickets show up in job costing

Code T&M labor, equipment and material to the change, not to base scope. That way the job cost report shows the extra work as its own cost, and you can see whether each change order covered what it cost. Unbilled T&M is cost without revenue until it's billed, so it also matters on your WIP report. See construction job costing for how to set up the codes.

#Keeping T&M records in one place

T&M work falls apart when the ticket, the photos, the daily report and the change order live in different places. In CooperBuild AI, daily reports, job chat, change orders, job costs and sub bills sit in the same system as full accounting (GL, AP, AR), and it connects to QuickBooks Online if that's where your books live. Assistants can draft a field report from the job chat for your team to review, so the record of who was on the extra work that day isn't rebuilt from memory.

If you want your field records and your billing on one system, get started with free credits, no credit card needed.

#FAQ

#What is a time and material ticket in construction?

A time and material ticket is a daily record of extra work outside the contract scope. It lists workers and hours, equipment, materials and a description of the work, and it's signed by the GC's or owner's authorized rep the same day.

#Who signs a T&M ticket?

The person the contract authorizes, usually the GC's superintendent or PM for a sub's tickets, and the owner's rep for the GC's tickets. Many signers note that the signature confirms the hours and resources only, not approval of a change order.

#Is a signed T&M ticket the same as a change order?

No. A signed ticket documents what was done. The change order is the agreement on price and schedule, and the tickets are its backup.

#How often should T&M tickets be signed?

Daily, before the crew leaves site or the same day by email if the signer isn't there. Tickets signed weeks later are the ones that get disputed.

#What markup can be added to T&M work?

Whatever the contract allows. Most contracts set labor, equipment and material rates and a markup for overhead and profit, so check your prime contract and subcontract before pricing tickets.

This article is general information for contractors, not legal advice. T&M rights depend on your contract and state law, so confirm with your construction attorney.