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Construction daily report template: what to record every day, an example and a free download

A daily report records what happened on site each day: who was there, what they did, what arrived, what was inspected, what went wrong. On a good job nobody reads it. On a job that ends in a dispute over delays, back-charges or an injury, it is the most important document there is — because it was written that day, by someone who was there. This template captures a day as one row per trade, so the reports add up: man-hours by trade, delays by cause, safety events by month.

Updated · 7 minute read

Key takeaways
  • Written the same day, by someone who was there.
  • One row per trade, with headcount and hours.
  • Every delay with its cause and a reference.
  • Facts and quantities, not opinions.

What a daily report should record

A filled-in example

Tuesday, October 6, 2026 at Maple Street Medical Office:

TradeWorkers × hoursMan-hoursWork performedDelays / issues
Metro Interiors (drywall)8 × 864Hung 1,200 SF board, level 2 east—
Eastline Plumbing3 × 824Rough-in restrooms 201–204Waiting on RFI 31 (wall chase depth)
Voltline Electric4 × 624Pulled feeders to panel 2ALift down 2 h — rental replaced

The plumber's RFI delay is recorded the day it happens, with the RFI number. If RFI 31 takes three weeks, this row and the ones after it are the proof.

CalculatorWhat a lost day costs

Making daily reports worth keeping

Man-hours by trade feed labor forecasting, and safety events feed the safety metrics.

How to fill it in

  1. Fill one row per trade on site each day; repeat the date, job and weather on each row.
  2. Enter headcount and hours each; man-hours calculate.
  3. Describe the work performed with locations and quantities — 'hung 1,200 SF board, level 2 east'.
  4. Record every delay with its cause the same day; a delay not written down is hard to claim later.
  5. Filter by trade or date range to answer 'how many man-hours did the drywall sub put on level 2?'.
Checklist
Construction daily report template in Excel, filled in with example rows — columns: Date, Job, Weather, Temp high (°F), Trade / company, Workers, Hours each, Man-hours…
The construction daily report template as it opens in Excel: example rows in italics, calculated columns shaded.
Free template · Construction daily report template (Excel & CSV)An Excel workbook with drop-downs, validation and formulas built in — or the same columns as a CSV for Google Sheets and Numbers.
Download Excel (.xlsx)
What this template captures

Everything a daily report needs to stand up later as a record — the date, weather, every trade on site with headcount and hours, what they did and where, equipment, deliveries, inspections, delays, safety events, visitors and photos — with man-hours calculated.

18 columns: 15 you fill in, 2 picked from drop-down lists, so every row uses the same values and 1 calculated by formula and filled down 200 rows, so nothing is worked out by hand. In the Excel version, 4 columns reject entries of the wrong type (a date column only takes dates, an amount column only numbers), the header row stays frozen with filters on it, and the workbook opens on an Instructions sheet that lists every column below.

Every column, and how it is captured
ColumnTypeWhat goes in it
DateDateDate of the entry.
JobTextJob number exactly as in your accounting system (e.g. J-1104), so rows join to job cost.
WeatherDrop-downConditions that affected the work; pick the one that matters most. Options: Clear / Cloudy / Rain / Snow / Wind / Extreme heat / Extreme cold.
Temp high (°F)NumberEnter a number.
Trade / companyTextOne row per trade or company on site.
WorkersNumberHeadcount for that trade today.
Hours eachNumberHours worked per worker.
Man-hoursCalculatedCalculated: [Workers] × [Hours each]
Work performedTextWhat was done today, specifically (quantities where possible).
AreaTextWhere it was done.
Equipment on siteTextFree text.
DeliveriesTextFree text.
InspectionsTextFree text.
Delays / issuesTextAnything that stopped or slowed work, and who caused it — the evidence for a delay claim.
SafetyDrop-downThe most serious safety event for that trade today. Options: None / Near miss / First aid / Recordable.
VisitorsTextFree text.
PhotosTextPhoto file names or a link to today's folder.
Reported byTextSuperintendent or foreman filing the report.

See it on real-looking numbers

Constructelligence is a construction intelligence platform: it reads your ERP, project and field systems read-only and does this arithmetic every week, for every job. The demo runs it on a sample eight-job portfolio.

Try the demoJoin the private beta

Frequently asked questions

What should be included in a construction daily report?

The date and weather, every trade on site with headcount and hours, the work performed and where, equipment, deliveries, inspections, delays and their causes, safety events, visitors and photos, and who filed the report.

Who fills out the daily report?

Usually the general contractor's superintendent, with foremen of each subcontractor filing their own daily reports to the GC.

Why are daily reports important in construction?

They are the contemporaneous record of what happened on site. In delay claims, disputes over back-charges and safety investigations, a report written the same day carries far more weight than anything reconstructed later.

How long should construction daily reports be kept?

At least as long as the contract's warranty and claim periods and your state's statute of limitations for construction claims, which can be several years — many contractors keep them permanently in digital form.

CI
Written by the Constructelligence teamConstruction finance and software. Worked examples use the sample demo portfolio; formulas are standard practice. Reviewed September 2026.
Construction labor forecasting: from burn rate to machine learningHow to forecast construction labor hours and cost: productivity factors, earned hours, straight-line vs learning-curve vs machine-learning forecasts, and how to test which one to trust.Construction safety metrics: TRIR, DART, LTIR and EMR, calculatedThe construction safety metrics owners and insurers ask for — TRIR, DART and lost-time rates on the 200,000-hour basis, the experience modification rate (EMR) and what it costs — plus leading indicators.The three-week look-ahead schedule: build it, run it, measure itHow to build and run a three-week look-ahead schedule in construction: pulling work from the CPM schedule, clearing constraints, the weekly meeting, and measuring percent plan complete (PPC).

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