{"id":1410,"date":"2017-02-16T15:38:05","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T20:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=1410"},"modified":"2026-02-16T05:30:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T10:30:45","slug":"construction-contracts-pay-attention-preamble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/construction-contracts-pay-attention-preamble\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction contracts: Pay attention to the preamble"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/category\/strategy-legal-operations\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Strategy, Legal &amp; Operations<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tConstruction contracts: Pay attention to the preamble\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2017-02-16T15:38:05-05:00\">February 16, 2017<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"Construction contracts: Pay attention to the preamble\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/construction-contracts-pay-attention-preamble\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/author\/alexanderbarthet\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/04\/CRE-Alex-Barthett-1-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"CRE Alex Barthett\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Alex Barthet<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of a subcontractor who hadn\u2019t been paid. The prime contractor named in the suit countered, saying that the company name listed in the contract\u2019s preamble wasn\u2019t the right company. When we looked into it, we found that the prime contractor had three nearly identical names, and the proper entity wasn\u2019t the one listed in the contract\u2019s preamble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pro-tip:<\/strong> You can usually verify company names by checking with your state\u2019s online business registry. Florida, for example, provides an easy way to search business records on its <a href=\"http:\/\/dos.myflorida.com\/sunbiz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sunbiz.org<\/a> site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you\u2019re dealing with contracts that can be 15 to 80 pages long, company names and other information in the preamble may seem minor in comparison to other terms and provisions in the contract. But like any part of a legal document, a preamble\u2019s significance shouldn\u2019t be overlooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A preamble is a short explanation of the contract usually, but not always, found on the document\u2019s first page. It typically includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Name and address of the project<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Name and address of the project owner<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Name of the design professional, if applicable<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Short description of the work, such as electrical contracting or construction management (A more detailed description of the work will go into the contract\u2019s scope of work section.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Overall price<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Start and end dates of the work<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Retainage amount<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A preamble will also include whether you are required to furnish a bond. When working with subcontractors, I\u2019ve often been surprised at how many don\u2019t know if the prime contractor also has provided a bond. If you are a subcontractor, this is important to know if you want to assure you will get paid. Also, if you provide a bond and the prime contractor doesn\u2019t, it can create a tremendous amount of risk for you as a subcontractor if something goes wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Correctly executed contracts set the stage for a project\u2019s success while protecting your company\u2019s rights. &nbsp;Start your contract due diligence from the very beginning with the preamble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to our Sage Advice Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Get our latest business advice delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-ab515c6e-7e90-4c2f-a67e-113872516e8b\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Working from home with tea in hand\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of a subcontractor who hadn\u2019t been paid. The prime contractor named in the suit countered, saying that the company name listed in the contract\u2019s preamble wasn\u2019t the right company. When we looked into it, we found that the prime contractor had three nearly identical names, and the proper [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"business_type":[40],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[50],"persona":[],"imagine_tag":[246],"coauthors":[627],"class_list":["post-1410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-strategy-legal-operations","business_type-small-business","industry-construction-and-real-estate"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-us","author_name":"Alex Barthet","featured_image":"","imagine_tags":{"246":"Construction"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice US","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1410\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1410"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=1410"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=1410"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=1410"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=1410"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=1410"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=1410"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}