Bond Checklist Template
What this is
A one-page checklist you run for each individual bond, from the moment the underwriter says go through to the day the bond is closed and the capacity comes back. One sheet per bond, filed with the job.
Your producer keeps a version of this. Keeping your own is what lets you answer "is that bond closed?" without an email chain, and it is where premium errors get caught.
When you use it
- Open one the day a performance and payment bond request goes out
- Keep it open through the job as change orders move the contract amount
- Close it out when the job is complete and the surety has released the bond
- Review the open ones monthly, alongside your bond register
How to fill it in
Open the sheet at request, not at issuance. The most useful line on it is the first one: has the underwriter reviewed the contract and given the go ahead. If that answer is still blank two days before you need bonds, you have found the problem early.
Rating tier drives the premium. Sureties price by class of work. Recording the tier on each bond means you can check the invoice against your rate schedule instead of trusting it. Get the tier from your surety account profile.
Send the executed bond back to the underwriter. Contractors forget this because the obligee has their copy and the job is moving. The surety's file is what generates the execution report and the correct premium.
"Diary set for job completion" means a calendar reminder exists. Not an intention. A dated reminder, on a shared calendar, owned by a named person. This one line is why bonds get closed out.
Premium reconciliation is a two-way check. Compare the invoice against your own rate schedule and contract amount, and compare the surety's bond execution report against what you were billed. Errors go in both directions and neither party finds them for you.
The commission line is not a secret. It is the share of your premium the agency earns, and it appears on the execution report. Track it. It is a fair thing to discuss at your annual meeting when you are talking about service levels.
A bond that is never formally closed keeps consuming aggregate capacity at some sureties long after the job is done. If you are being told you are at capacity while your backlog says otherwise, start with the list of bonds you never closed.
The template
BOND CHECKLIST
Job information
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Our company (principal) | |
| Obligee name | |
| Job description | |
| Job number | |
| Bond number(s) — performance / payment (added) | |
| Surety name (added) | |
| Bond request date (added) | |
| Estimated start date | |
| Estimated time to complete | |
| Contract amount | $ |
Issuance
| # | Item | Status | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Has the underwriter reviewed the contract and given the go ahead to issue? | [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] N/A | ||
| 2 | Has the obligee provided a performance bond form? | [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] N/A | ||
| 3 | Has the obligee provided a payment bond form? | [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] N/A | ||
| 4 | What rating tier does this work fall under? | Tier: ______ | ||
| 5 | Has the bond been issued? | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 6 | Has a copy been sent to the underwriter? | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 7 | Executed contract sent to the surety? (added) | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 8 | Power of attorney attached to each executed bond? (added) | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 9 | Notarized / sealed as the obligee requires? (added) | [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] N/A | ||
| 10 | Original(s) delivered to the obligee and receipt confirmed? (added) | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 11 | Dual obligee rider issued, if required? (added) | [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] N/A | ||
| 12 | Scanned copy filed in the job folder and logged in the bond register? (added) | [ ] Yes [ ] No |
Premium
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Estimated premium | $ |
| Estimated commission | $ |
| Premium charged to job cost code (added) |
| # | Item | Status | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Have we been invoiced by the agency? | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 14 | Have we paid? | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 15 | Has the bond execution report been received and premiums verified? | [ ] Yes [ ] No |
During the job (added)
| # | Item | Status | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Net change orders to date | $ | ||
| 17 | Does any change order cross the surety's rider threshold? | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 18 | Bond rider requested and issued? | [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] N/A | ||
| 19 | Additional premium billed on the increase? | [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] N/A | ||
| 20 | Any claim, stop notice, or payment bond demand received? | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 21 | If yes, surety notified in writing? | [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] N/A |
Completion
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Estimated date of job completion | |
| Diary set for job completion? | [ ] Yes [ ] No — set for: __________ |
| Actual substantial completion date (added) | |
| Notice of completion recorded (added) | |
| Warranty / maintenance period ends (added) | |
| Bond closed? | [ ] Yes [ ] No |
| Final contract amount | $ |
| Final premium | $ |
| Final commission | $ |
| # | Item | Status | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Have we been billed for the final amount? | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 23 | Have we paid? | [ ] Yes [ ] No |
Closeout (added)
| # | Item | Status | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Consent of surety to final payment requested and issued, if required? | [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] N/A | ||
| 25 | Final payment and retention received from the obligee? | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 26 | All subcontractor and supplier claims resolved and releases collected? | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 27 | Bond closed out with surety? | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 28 | Aggregate capacity released? | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 29 | Final premium reconciled against surety execution report? | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 30 | Return premium due? | [ ] Yes — $________ [ ] No | ||
| 31 | Return premium received? | [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] N/A | ||
| 32 | Bond register updated with final figures and closeout date? | [ ] Yes [ ] No | ||
| 33 | Job cost closed and bond premium variance posted? | [ ] Yes [ ] No |
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Closed out by | |
| Date closed |
Notes and common mistakes
Opening the sheet only after the bond is issued. By then you have skipped the four items that actually cause delays.
Marking "bond closed" when the job is finished. Those are different events. The job is finished when the owner accepts the work. The bond is closed when the surety says its obligation has ended and releases the capacity. There is often a warranty period in between.
Assuming final premium equals estimated premium. Change orders move the contract amount, and premium follows it in both directions. On a job that finished 10% under contract, there is likely money coming back to you.
Never reading the bond execution report. It is the surety's own record of what was issued and at what premium, and it is the only independent check you have on your invoices. Ask for it if you do not receive it.
Filing one checklist per job instead of one per bond. A job with a performance bond, a payment bond, and a separate maintenance bond has three obligations with three different end dates. Track the maintenance bond separately or it will outlive your attention.
Review every open bond checklist once a month, at the same time as your work-in-progress review. Ten minutes a month keeps closeout from becoming an annual archaeology project.
For the running summary across all bonds, use the bond register. For the full sequence of steps, see bond request and issuance and bond closeout.