Free cross-trade document templates

Some paperwork belongs to no single trade. A plumber, a roofer and a landscaper all remove waste, all occasionally work in someone else's building under a permit, and all need a general record sheet that does not assume a particular type of job. That is what this category holds.

Waste is the one most small firms get wrong without realising. If you carry away waste produced by your work, you are transporting controlled waste, and you generally need to be registered as a waste carrier with the Environment Agency in England or the equivalent regulator in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. When waste changes hands you must complete a waste transfer note, describe the waste accurately, and keep the record for at least two years — three years for hazardous waste consignment notes. Fly-tipping prosecutions regularly reach the original tradesperson through paperwork, or through its absence, because duty of care follows the waste. The template here gives you a compliant transfer note you can complete on site.

Permits to work matter as soon as you are on a commercial, industrial or managed site. Hot works permits for anything involving a flame, grinder or hot air gun, with the fire watch period afterwards; isolation permits for electrical and mechanical work; and general permission-to-proceed records. Many facilities managers will not let you start without one, and having your own version ready looks considerably more professional than filling in theirs while the client waits.

The general job record rounds out the set — a flexible sheet for site visits, surveys and quick attendances that do not warrant a full job pack but should still leave a trace.

All files are editable Word documents, A4, written for UK regulation. Add your business details and carrier registration number once and reuse them across every trade you work in.