The Contract Process — A Project Manager's Field Guide
Everything a PM needs to run contracting on a project: how a contract moves, who owns each
step, the rules you can't break, the terms you'll defend, and where every document lives. You're not the
attorney — your job is to feed the process cleanly, decide on time, and never let a project get ahead of its paper.
Version 2.0Updated June 20, 2026Maintained by the Contract TeamSource: Contract Procedures & Workflow
1
Purpose & How to Use
What this is, and how to use it
This is the single reference for how contracting works at Grace, written for project
managers. Use it when you're starting a project, when a client sends their own contract, when you need to
bring on a consultant, or any time you're unsure what happens next.
New here? Read the Golden Rules first. They're the handful of things that protect the firm — break one and you create real exposure.
Not sure where you are? Use the “Which track am I on?” router, then follow the PM spine for your part.
Need the detail? The three process tracks show every step. Tap any colored step for what it requires.
Negotiating with a client? Jump to the Six Provisions cheat sheet — plain-English on each term and Grace's position.
Need a form, a signer, or a contact? It's all in the Directory. New term? See the Glossary.
Maintainer note: wire the three Quick Links above to live URLs before publishing.
Contracting is migrating from Milo to Monday CRM — where this guide says “Milo,” use Monday CRM once that switch is live.
2
Golden Rules
Never break these
If you remember nothing else, remember these six. They exist to protect the firm and the client.
3
Start Here
Which track am I on — and what's my part?
Three situations cover almost everything. Pick yours, then follow the PM spine below for the
steps that are your responsibility.
When in doubt, submit the request on Milo and ask the Contract Team.
It's always better to start the tracked process early than to guess.
The PM spine — your six jobs, in order
4
The Process
How a contract moves — start to finish
Color tells you who owns the step (each carries an initials badge so it reads in grayscale too).
Shape tells you the kind of step: rounded ends are start/finish, rectangles are actions, amber diamonds are decisions.
▶
Every contract starts the same way
All requests originate in Milo (“Request a Contract”). Milo automatically creates a tracked item on the
Monday.com — Legal Requests board, so the whole team can see status and priority without an email bottleneck.
No Milo request = the Contract Team can't see it = it isn't happening.
⏱
Plan your timing
Submit as early as you can — priority is set on the Monday board, and turnaround depends on the queue and
complexity. Standard lead times are still being finalized by the Contract Team (placeholder — confirm and
insert per track). The only hard clock today is Code Red: a genuine deadline within 3 business days. Late
planning is not an emergency, so build contract time into your schedule from the start.
A
Grace issues an AIA Owner / Architect contract
We write it on our paper⏱ Lead time: confirm w/ Contract Team
B
Reviewing an Owner-provided contract
The client hands us their paper⏱ Lead time: confirm w/ Contract Team
!
Code Red — only when it's truly urgent
A genuine, non-negotiable client deadline within 3 business days with real revenue or liability at stake,
or a material legal/compliance exposure. Late prep by the project team does not qualify. To declare:
email Zeb Scott & Caitlin Burcham, subject “CODE RED – [Contract/Project]”, include contract
type, counterparty, reason, the true deadline, and all drafts/exhibits — then ping them on Teams or call.
C
Issuing a Consultant / Subconsultant contract
We hire the consultant on our paper⏱ Lead time: confirm w/ Contract Team
✓
After signature — every track ends here
The Contract Team saves the fully signed contract to the project folder on the server and your
Project Accountant is copied. From there, change orders & pay apps are handled by the Admin
Team (under Admin Director Deondra Brewington-Bierria) through their own Milo request forms — the project team
saves those to the server and notifies the accountant.
5
The Negotiation Cheat Sheet
The six priority provisions
When we review a client's contract, these are the six terms we care about most — screened first
by Spellbook (AI), then by hand. You don't redline them (the Contract Team does), but you should
recognize them and be able to explain Grace's position to a client. Each card: what it is, why it
matters, and the ask.
6
Pursuits
RFQ contract reviews
Pursuits have their own timing trap. The moment an RFQ involves a contract, loop in the
Contract Team — what you do here can protect (or forfeit) our ability to negotiate later.
What to nail down early
Is a contract provided for review? When is it due?
Is there a Q&A window? That's often the only chance to request modifications — timing is critical.
Will requesting changes disqualify us?
If it says “no changes allowed,” we still review and decide whether to proceed — then negotiate if awarded.
If changes won't disqualify us
Have the Contract Team add a blanket reservation-of-rights statement to the submission, so we keep the
right to negotiate the terms that matter after award.
Use the exact language at right →
Blanket reservation-of-rights statement — use verbatim
If awarded, Grace reserves all rights to negotiate reasonable terms of any ensuing agreement, including but
not limited to provisions addressing an applicable standard of care, limitations of liability, waiver of
consequential damages, indemnity, Architect/Design Professional's work product and other standard contractual
protections requested of an Architect/Design Professional and its insurer.
7
Bringing on Help
Subconsultants
We hire consultants on our paper — never theirs. Get them into the system early and keep
their insurance current, or payments stall.
When to act
As soon as you know a consultant is likely, list them in Milo under the owner contract request
(“Consultants” is required info) — it populates the Monday board so the Contract Team can plan.
When you're ready to engage them, submit a separate Consultant Contract Request on Milo.
What the request needs
Consultant name & discipline
Scope and fee
Basic service vs. reimbursable
A copy of their unsigned proposal (reference only)
!
The two hard gates1. Never sign — or let anyone sign — a consultant's proposal. Grace issues its own AIA agreement.
2. Consultants are not paid until our contract is signed, a current COI is on file, and the
agreement is saved to the project folder.
Required documents back from the consultant
W-9
Sent to Clint Skinner.
Current Certificate of Insurance (COI)
Filed on the Monday.com COI tracker for
expiration tracking. Project Accounting confirms it before any payment — no current COI, no payment.
Pass-through vs. reimbursable — know the difference
Pass-through
Invoices are passed to the Owner, who pays the consultant
directly. The money doesn't flow through Grace.
Reimbursable
The consultant (often Owner-provided) is retained by Grace,
and the Owner reimburses Grace for the cost. A contract between Grace and the consultant — typically a
C402 — must be in place before payment is released.
Master agreements & task orders
The Contract Team is compiling all existing and legacy subconsultant master service
agreements (MSAs), plus a wish list of MSAs we'd like to have. The more MSAs in place, the faster we can
issue task orders for future work instead of renegotiating from scratch. Once the master list is
compiled, it will be published on Milo — check there before assuming a consultant needs a fresh agreement.
Assignability language in Grace ↔ Consultant master agreements (C421) — example
The Architect may assign any Service Order/Letter Addendum, or any portion thereof, to an affiliated entity
without the prior written consent of the Owner/Consultant, provided that such affiliated entity agrees to be
bound by the terms and conditions of this Agreement. The Architect shall notify the Owner/Consultant in writing
of any such assignment. The Owner/Consultant agrees that its obligations under this Agreement shall continue in
full force and effect as if such assignment had not occurred.
8
Who Does What
Responsibilities in shepherding the process
Same colors and initials as the flowchart. The Contract Team does the legal heavy lifting — but
the process only moves at the speed of the PM. Read your own card first, then know your handoffs.
9
Directory
Systems, forms, signers & contacts
Five systems carry the whole process. Know which door to use and you'll never lose a document
or stall a payment.
Template library — which form, when
If the client doesn't supply their own form, the Contract Team uses
these AIA templates (with Grace's standard modifications already built in).
Authorized signers
PMs are not signers. Nothing is signed without routing through the
Contract Team first; only the people below may execute. Verify the current list with the Contract Team before relying on it.
Authorized company signors
Gerald D. Hebert, II
Adam L. Fishbein
Authorized contract signors
Gerald D. Hebert, II
Adam L. Fishbein
David F. Hebert
Thomas D. Curtis
James E. Spencer
Larry W. Adams, Jr.
Robert G. Maggiore
Eric L. Hahnfeld
Kevin Williams
Daniel Summers
Christopher Chivetta
Erik Kocher
Vispi Karanjia
Erik Clinite
Walter Powell
Timothy Hoeft
Sandra Goodman
Rolf Haarstad
Contracting entities
Which Grace entity signs is a Contract Team decision, but it helps to know
the order of preference. (Entries marked “Why?” are open items in the source to be confirmed.)