Slip-and-fall claims are one of the biggest risks in commercial snow removal. Someone falls in a parking lot or on a sidewalk, a claim is filed against the property owner, and the snow contractor gets pulled in. The claim may arrive months or years after the storm, when nobody remembers what happened that night. What protects you is what you wrote down at the time. This post covers the records a contractor should keep from every visit and how to keep them organized. It is general guidance, not legal advice. Talk to your insurance agent and an attorney about your own contracts and your state.
Start with the contract scope
The first question in many claims is what you were responsible for. Did your contract cover the parking lot only, or sidewalks too? Were you responsible for salting, or only plowing? What was the trigger depth? Were you required to return after the storm to treat refreeze, or only when called?
Write the scope clearly in every contract and keep a copy with the client record. Avoid promising things you cannot deliver, like "keep the property free of ice at all times." Many contractors and their insurers prefer language that ties service to specific triggers and requests. Have an attorney review your standard contract, because the wording matters, and the rules differ by state.
Record every visit with a time
For each visit, you need a record of when you were there. The time the operator marks the property done in the crew app gives you that. Clock-in and clock-out times and the crew phone's location during the shift support it. Each pass on a long storm should be its own visit with its own time.
If a claim says someone fell at 7:30am, and your records show the walk was plowed and salted at 5:15am, that is important. If your records show nothing between the end of the storm and noon, that is important too. Either way, you want to know what actually happened, and only records made at the time can tell you.
Keep a copy of the signed or approved version of each contract, not just your template. If you change the scope for a customer during the season, like adding walks in January, record the change in writing with the date so the record shows what you were responsible for on any given night.
Photos are the strongest evidence
A photo taken at the time of service shows the condition of the property better than any description. Train operators to take at least one photo at every property after service, showing the cleared and treated area. For commercial properties with walks, a photo of the main entrance walk is especially valuable, since that is where many falls happen.
Photos should be clear and wide enough to show the area, not close-ups of pavement. Taking them from the same spot each visit makes it easy to compare. Completed alerts can send the photo to the customer too, which means the property manager also has a record that the walk was clear at that time.
Salt logs and weather notes
Your salt records show what you applied, where and when. Combined with photos and times, they show that you treated the property as your contract required. Record the product and amount and the area treated, such as the lot, walks or entrances, on every application. See the salt records post for what to log.
Also note conditions. A short crew note like "freezing rain, salted entrances twice" or "temperature dropping, refreeze likely, advised manager" can matter later. If you warned a property manager about conditions or recommended an extra treatment that was declined, record that too.
Keep customer communication
Texts and emails with customers are part of the record. A property manager who asked you to skip salt on a certain night, declined an extra treatment, or reported that a lot was full of cars when you arrived has given you information that may matter in a claim. With two-way texting, replies come into the office and stay with the client.
Encourage customers to put requests in writing, by text or email, rather than by phone. When they do call, have the office add a note to the property afterward. A note made the same day, saying who called and what they asked for, is far more useful than someone's memory a year later.
Organize records so you can find them
A claim may arrive long after the storm. You need to be able to pull up everything about a property for a given date: the visit times, photos, salt applications, crew notes, customer messages and the contract. If those are scattered across operators' phones, paper logs and the office email, finding them is hard, and some will be gone.
Keeping everything attached to the property in one system makes it a lookup instead of a search. The chemical report can be printed or sent with a property's treatment history. Ask your insurer or attorney how long to keep records. Time limits for claims vary by state and can run for years. The snow removal software overview shows where visit records, photos and salt logs live together.
Refreeze and return visits
Many falls happen not during the storm but after it, when meltwater refreezes overnight. A lot that was plowed and salted at 4am can be dangerous by the next evening if temperatures drop. Your contract should say whether you return for refreeze automatically, only when called, or not at all.
Whatever the contract says, record what happens. If you return to treat refreeze, log it as a visit with a time, photos and the salt applied. If you are called and come out, note who called and when. If you advise a manager that refreeze is likely and recommend another treatment, and they decline, put that in writing and keep it. Those records show that you met your obligations and that the decision not to treat was the property's, not yours. Ask your attorney how your contract language affects refreeze responsibility in your state.
Ready to Run a Tighter Snow Removal Operation?
IndustryBossPro gives you everything in this guide — and every other tool your business needs — from $59/month.