Commercial Tenant Improvement Project Tracking for Landlords

A tenant-improvement project becomes hard to manage when its record is scattered across a lease exhibit, an email approval, a contractor invoice, and somebody's memory of what changed on site.

The allowance amount may be clear at signing. The project is not. A landlord still needs a reliable way to see the approved scope, who can authorize changes, which documents support a draw, how much allowance remains, what inspections are open, and whether closeout is actually complete.

This is an operational tracking system for commercial landlords. It does not decide what a lease requires or whether a cost is reimbursable. Use the executed lease, amendments, written approvals, lender requirements, and qualified legal, construction, and accounting advisers when those terms control.

Start With One Project Record

Create a single project record before construction starts. It should link to the executed lease and TI exhibit, but it should not replace either document.

At a minimum, capture:

• Property, suite, tenant legal name, and project owner
• Lease commencement, outside completion, and allowance-use dates that apply to the project
• Approved allowance cap, any landlord-funded scope outside the allowance, and the remaining available balance
• Delivery condition and the approved scope reference
• Draw requirements, retainage rules, and required approvals
• Key contacts for the tenant, landlord, property manager, architect, contractor, and lender or insurer when applicable
• Status: proposed, approved, in construction, pending inspection, closed out, or archived

The record gives everyone one place to answer a basic question: what is approved today, and what proof supports it?

Confirm the Allowance Before You Track Spending

Do not begin with an invoice. Begin with the controlling deal record.

Review the TI allowance provisions and note the items that affect the operating workflow: the maximum amount, expiration or draw deadline, eligible uses, documentation needed for payment, approval rights, payment timing, and treatment of unused funds or overruns. If the project was approved through a lease amendment, letter agreement, or construction exhibit, link that signed document too.

For a broader overview of allowance terms and recurring lease questions, see Tenant Improvement Allowances in NNN Leases. This project tracker is different: its job is to preserve the day-to-day record after the allowance is approved.

If a provision is unclear, flag it for review rather than inventing a rule in the tracker. A project status should never substitute for the lease.

Lock the Approved Scope and Baseline Budget

The first version of a scope is rarely the final version. That is why the tracker needs a baseline.

Save the approved plans, specifications, bid or contractor proposal, and a concise scope summary. Break the baseline budget into useful categories—demolition, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, finishes, permits, design, or tenant-specific equipment—only to the level your team can maintain consistently.

For each budget line, identify:

• The original approved amount
• Whether it is allowance-funded, landlord-funded, tenant-funded, or pending review
• The vendor or responsible party
• The supporting document and approval date
• The committed amount, paid-to-date amount, and forecast to complete

This creates a comparison point before the first change request arrives. It also makes it easier to distinguish a cost that belongs in the approved project from a new request that still needs a decision.

Track Approvals as Decisions, Not Just Emails

An inbox can prove that people talked about a project. It is much less useful when someone needs to know what was actually authorized.

Use an approval log with a row for every material decision. Record the decision type, request date, description, financial effect, schedule effect, approver, approval date, and link to the supporting document. Examples include plan approval, contractor selection, draw approval, substitution approval, change request approval, and permission to proceed after an inspection issue.

Keep the distinction between these statuses clear:

• Requested: submitted for review; no work authorization implied
• Approved: authorized under the applicable process
• Rejected: not authorized; do not include in the approved forecast
• Deferred: needs more information or a later decision
• Completed: work or document requirement has been verified

Written approval requirements vary by lease, project agreement, lender, and local conditions. When terms require a particular signatory or form, follow those terms rather than relying on an informal note.

Keep Vendor Documents Ready for the Next Draw

Draw delays often begin with a missing document that nobody knew to request until payment was due.

Build a vendor-document checklist for each contractor and major consultant. Depending on the project and governing requirements, the file may include the signed agreement, scope or proposal, insurance certificate, license information, W-9, schedule, invoices, lien waivers, permit information, inspection records, warranties, and closeout materials.

Do not assume the same list applies everywhere. Confirm what the lease, contract, lender, insurer, and local requirements call for. The operational goal is simpler: before approving a draw, the responsible reviewer should be able to see which required documents are present, expired, missing, or under review.

The same recordkeeping discipline is useful outside construction. Vendor contract tracking for commercial landlords covers the recurring service side of keeping agreements, dates, insurance, and documentation organized.

Run a Draw and Allowance Ledger

The draw ledger should show the project financial position without requiring someone to rebuild it from invoices every month.

For each draw request, record:

• Draw number, request date, period covered, and requester
• Invoice or application-for-payment reference
• Amount requested, amount approved, retainage if applicable, and amount paid
• Cost category and funding source
• Required backup received and reviewed
• Approval status, payment date, and payment reference
• Remaining allowance after the approved draw

Separate at least three figures: the allowance cap, approved commitments, and paid draws. A project can have a healthy remaining allowance while its approved commitments already show an overrun. It can also have invoices in hand that should not be paid until backup or approvals are complete.

Review the ledger against the baseline budget and current forecast at every draw. If the project is headed over budget, show the expected overage and the decision needed. Do not quietly treat an unapproved overage as allowance spend.

Make Change Requests Visible Before Work Moves On

Change requests are where an organized TI project can lose its baseline. A seemingly small field condition, substitution, or tenant request can affect cost, timing, permits, building systems, or future maintenance responsibility.

Create a change-request log that includes the request number, description, reason, submitted date, requested cost and schedule impact, documents, owner, decision status, and final approved amount. Link the approved change back to the relevant budget line and draw ledger entry.

Before approving a change, ask practical questions:

• Is it inside the approved scope or a new request?
• Who pays under the applicable lease, agreement, or written approval?
• Does it change a building system, warranty, permit, insurance requirement, or operating responsibility?
• Does the project need an updated schedule or inspection plan?
• Has the authorized decision-maker approved it in the required form?

The tracker cannot answer those questions by itself, but it can keep them from disappearing after the work begins.

Track Inspections, Deficiencies, and Tenant Updates

Construction closeout should not be the first time anyone checks whether the work was completed as expected.

Maintain an inspection and issue log with the inspection date, location, inspector or reviewer, finding, required action, owner, due date, status, and completion evidence. Link photos, reports, permits, and communications to the relevant item.

For deficiencies, use specific descriptions. “Fix electrical” is not a closeout record. “Replace damaged cover plate at Suite 120 rear electrical room; contractor to submit completion photo and inspector sign-off if required” gives the next reviewer a workable task.

Keep the tenant informed through a documented communication log, especially when a decision affects access, schedule, disruption, or the next draw. Clear updates reduce the risk that a project promise lives only in a phone call.

Close Out Before You Archive

A final draw is not automatically a complete closeout. Before archiving the project, perform a final review of the record.

Use a closeout checklist that confirms:

• The final approved scope and all approved changes are reflected in the project file
• Allowance draws, landlord-funded costs, tenant-funded costs, and any remaining balance are reconciled for internal review
• Required invoices, lien waivers, warranties, manuals, permits, inspection records, and completion documents are saved
• Open deficiencies are resolved or clearly assigned with a follow-up owner and date
• The final completion or acceptance steps required by the applicable agreements are documented
• The property team has the maintenance, warranty, and vendor-contact information it needs after turnover

If a question remains about the final allowance balance, overage, accounting treatment, or tenant obligation, keep the project in a review status. Resolve it under the controlling agreements and with the appropriate advisers before recording a final outcome.

Archive a Record Someone Else Can Use

An archived TI project should be easy to retrieve when a tenant renews, a warranty claim appears, a property is refinanced, or a new manager needs context.

Store the final project record with its key documents and a short closeout summary: approved allowance, final allowance draws, major approved changes, completion date, unresolved items if any, and the location of warranties and permits. Link the project to the lease abstract so the next reviewer can move from the governing lease terms to the operating history without searching multiple systems.

For the lease-side foundation, use a commercial lease abstract checklist to keep the dates, notices, and obligations that shape the project accessible to the people doing the work.

A Simple Monthly TI Project Review

For active projects, a short weekly or monthly review is usually enough if the record is current. Review the approved scope, open decisions, changes awaiting approval, upcoming draws, missing vendor documents, inspection items, and forecast versus allowance.

The goal is not more reporting. It is to spot the next decision while there is still time to make it deliberately.

PigJet helps commercial landlords keep lease details, project documents, approvals, and operating follow-up organized in one place. See how PigJet helps commercial landlords stay on top of tenant and property work.