A submittal log template is a spreadsheet that tracks every submittal a construction project requires: the spec section it comes from, what has to be submitted, who owes it, and where it stands. Download the free Excel template below. No email required.
The template has 13 columns. Every one earns its place; delete any of them and someone downstream will ask you for it by Friday.
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Submittal No. | Your numbering, one number per row, never reused. Sequential is fine; some teams prefix by division. |
| CSI Section | The six-digit MasterFormat section that requires the item, like 03 30 00 or 08 71 00. |
| Section Title | The section name as the spec book prints it, so a reviewer does not need the code memorized. |
| Submittal Description | What is actually being submitted, in one sentence a reviewer can verify against the spec. |
| Submittal Type | PD, SD, SA, QC, or CO. The legend sheet spells them out. One row can carry more than one type. |
| Spec Reference | The paragraph that requires it, like 2.3.A. This is the column that settles arguments. |
| Responsible Party | Who owes the submittal: which sub, supplier, or the GC itself. |
| Status | Draft, Submitted, Approved, Approved as noted, or Revise and resubmit. |
| Date Required | When the submittal must be approved to hold the schedule, worked back from lead times. |
| Date Submitted | When it actually went out the door. |
| Date Returned | When review came back. The gap between these two columns is your reviewer's turnaround record. |
| Review Result | What the reviewer stamped, so resubmittals are traceable. |
| Notes | Substitutions, hold points, long-lead warnings, and anything the next person needs to know. |
Take joint sealants. The spec book says, in section 07 92 00 paragraph 2.1.B, that the contractor shall submit product data and color samples for each sealant used in exposed joints. That single sentence becomes one row:
002 | 07 92 00 | Joint Sealants | Sealant product data and color samples for exposed joints | PD, SA | 2.1.B | Sealant sub | Draft
Notice what the row does. The description restates the requirement in plain words. The type column says a reviewer should expect both product data and physical samples. The spec reference points at the exact paragraph, so when the architect asks why a color board showed up, the answer is one lookup away. Do that for every section in the book and you have a submittal log. That is also the honest catch: on a real spec book, that is hundreds of sentences to find, read, and retype.
A template solves the formatting problem. It does not solve the reading problem. Filling this file means opening every CSI section, finding the submittals article, and typing one row per requirement without missing the warranty buried in part 3 or the mockup requirement hiding in a reference standard. On a 200-page spec that is a long week of a project engineer's time. On a 1,500-page spec it is the reason the log gets skimmed, and skimmed logs are how missing submittals end up on the punch list.
That reading-and-typing pass is the part SubPro automates. It reads the spec book, drafts the log with every row citing the spec page it came from, assembles the supporting packages where matches exist, and flags the rows that need a human call. Your team reviews instead of transcribes. The filled example log above is real output from a sample spec book, so you can judge the work before you talk to us.
The questions teams actually ask before putting a log template on a real job.
A submittal log is the master list of every submittal a construction project requires: shop drawings, product data, samples, certificates, and closeout documents. Each row records the spec section that requires it, who owes it, when it is due, and where it stands in review.
Nothing, in practice. Register is the more formal spec-book word, log is what most field teams say. Both mean the tracked list of required submittals. Some teams use register for the contract-required list and log for the working tracking sheet, but the columns are the same.
On most jobs the general contractor's project engineer or project manager owns the log, and each subcontractor owes the entries for its scope. On smaller jobs the sub who self-performs keeps a log for its own trade. Whoever owns it, one person should own it, or two versions will drift apart by the second week.
It scales with the spec book. A 200-page commercial spec often lands between 150 and 250 rows once every section's submittals article is read closely. Big institutional work runs far higher. If your log has 40 rows for a full building, sections are probably being skimmed.
Yes. In Google Sheets use File, then Import, and upload the XLSX. The table formatting and the legend sheet carry over. The template also opens in LibreOffice and Excel back to 2010.
From the template to the workflow that fills it.
The plain-language guide to the log this template holds.
How SubPro drafts the first pass so nobody types 200 rows.
The free companion checklist, spec book to handoff.