Templates

A free submittal log template, organised by spec section

An Excel submittal log with the columns LODE builds from your specifications: section, type, submittal number and revision, reviewer, ball in court, action and a days-in-review formula. Download it; nobody asks for your email.

Conor McMichael · Architect. Founder, LODE

Last updated Oct 10, 2026

Download the Excel template

lode-submittal-log.xlsx. No email, no sign-up.

What is in it, and who it is for

A submittal log is the list of everything the specifications require the contractor to submit for review, and what happened to each one. It is organised by spec section because that is where the requirement lives: 08 11 13 asks for shop drawings of the hollow metal frames, so the log has a row for it, and the row carries the submittal through received, reviewed, stamped and returned.

Twelve columns. The section and a description in the section’s words. The type, from a list, because shop drawings and product data are reviewed differently. A submittal number that carries the revision, so a resubmittal is recognisably the same item. Received, reviewer, ball in court and due. The action, from the list of stamps most offices use: no exceptions taken, make corrections noted, revise and resubmit, rejected, for record only. Returned, a days-in-review formula, and a notes column for what the reviewer said.

It is the shape of the register in LODE, where the log is built from the compiled specifications rather than typed. How submittals work in LODE.

The columns

The same columns LODE keeps for you, in the order the register shows them. Each one is there for a reason.

Spec section: The CSI section that requires it. The log is organised by section because the specs are.
Description: What is being submitted, in the words of the section.
Typelist: Shop drawings, product data, samples and the rest, so the reviewer knows what is coming.
Submittal no. / rev: Section number, sequence and revision: 08 11 13-01 R1 is the resubmittal of 08 11 13-01.
Received: The day it arrived. The review clock starts here.
Reviewer: Who is reviewing it: the architect, or the consultant it was routed to.
Ball in courtlist: Who holds it right now.
Due: Received plus the review period in the contract.
Actionlist: The stamp: no exceptions taken, make corrections noted, revise and resubmit, rejected, or for record only.
Returned: The day it went back. Blank while it is in review.
Days in reviewformula: Days since received, or received to returned once stamped. Calculated.
Notes: What the reviewer said, in one line.

Preview

The header row and the sample rows the file opens with, rendered from the column definitions the file is built from.

Spec section	Description	Type	Submittal no. / rev	Received	Reviewer	Ball in court	Due	Action	Returned	Days in review	Notes
08 11 13	Hollow metal doors and frames	Shop drawings	08 11 13-01 R0	2026-03-04	Architect	Contractor	2026-03-18	Revise and resubmit	2026-03-13	9	Frame anchors at CMU not shown; see 3/A601
08 11 13	Hollow metal doors and frames	Shop drawings	08 11 13-01 R1	2026-03-20	Architect	Architect	2026-04-03
08 71 00	Door hardware	Product data	08 71 00-01 R0	2026-03-09	Consultant	Consultant	2026-03-23

Submittal Log sheet, 12 columns. The second sheet, How to use this log, links back here.

Where this spreadsheet breaks

It was built by reading the specs by hand

Someone sat with the project manual and typed a row for every submittal paragraph in every section. On a mid-sized project that is an afternoon, and the afternoon produces a list that is missing whatever the reader skimmed past in Division 23.

Addendum 2 changes Division 08

The hardware section is reissued, the sets renumbered, a product deleted. The log still has the old rows, nobody is sure which ones changed, and the contractor submits against the section they have, which is not the one you have.

Resubmittals become new rows

R1 of the frame shop drawings gets its own row because the stamp on R0 needs to stay visible, and now the log counts two submittals where the project has one, and the days-in-review number restarts instead of accumulating.

The returned package is in someone’s email

The log says Revise and resubmit on 13 March. The marked-up drawings that explain why went back as an attachment, and the person who sent them has left the firm.

Frequently asked questions

What is a submittal log?

The register of every submittal the specifications require, shop drawings, product data, samples and the rest, with its status as it moves from the contractor through review and back. The architect’s log records what was received, who reviewed it, the action taken and when it was returned.

Who prepares the submittal log?

The contractor prepares a submittal schedule under AIA A201-2017 §3.10.2, listing what will be submitted and when. The architect keeps the log of what actually arrived and what happened to it. The two should agree on the list of items and rarely do without effort, which is why building the list from the specifications matters.

How long does the architect have to review a submittal?

The period in the contract, usually set in Division 01 and often two weeks; A201-2017 asks for reasonable promptness so as to cause no delay. The days-in-review formula in the template counts from received to returned so the number is visible before it becomes an argument.

What is the difference between a submittal schedule and a submittal log?

The schedule is the contractor’s plan: what will be submitted and when, prepared early in the job. The log is the record: what was submitted, when, who reviewed it and what they said. This template is a log; the schedule is a different document.

What do the review actions mean?

No exceptions taken: proceed. Make corrections noted: proceed, incorporating the comments, no resubmittal needed. Revise and resubmit: do not proceed; correct and submit again. Rejected: does not conform; submit something else. For record only: received and filed, not reviewed for conformance. Offices word their stamps differently; the template’s list is editable in the data validation.

In LODE

Built from the specs, kept current by them.

LODE compiles the specifications the same way it compiles the drawings, section by section, addendum by addendum. The submittal log is built from those sections, so there is nothing to type and nothing to skim past, and when an addendum reissues 08 71 00 the log’s rows move with it. A resubmittal is the same record with another round on it; the clock accumulates; the returned package is filed with the submittal.

The contractor submits through a link with no seat. With DOC on, DOC Review takes the first pass against the section the submittal answers to.

Submittal Registerseeded from spec sections

08 11 13Hollow Metal Doors and FramesSub 014Approved

08 71 00Door HardwareSub 019In review

05 52 13Pipe and Tube RailingsSub 021Revise & resubmit

The register writes itself from Division sections — nothing to type, nothing to forget

Let the specs build the log.

We'll be in touch when early access opens.

Feature

Construction administration

RFIs that cite their sheets, a submittal log built from the specs, ball-in-court with a clock.

Learn

What is a conformed set?

The bid set with every addendum folded in: what goes into it, who prepares it and when, and how it differs from the IFC and record sets.