Know what’s approved
on every project

Submittals, RFIs and approvals fly back and forth in email all day.

The short answer

How do you organize construction submittals and RFIs?

Make one folder per project, and inside it one folder per trade, like Electrical or Plumbing. Keep submittals and RFIs for that trade inside. Name each file with spec section, number, revision and review action, like 265100-S-014-R2-Lighting-Approved.pdf, so you can tell what the architect decided without opening anything.

  • Project first, then trade
  • Put spec section, number, revision and review action in every file name
  • Keep every revision, with the approved one marked

The problem

Is this submittal approved or not?
On a job site, the wrong answer to that question gets expensive fast.

Jordan Lee · Electrical subcontractor

Revised lighting submittal attached. Please review.

Downloads

Lighting_rev2.pdf

Lighting_rev2_FINAL.pdf

Submittal 14.pdf

Documents arrive from every direction.

Subcontractors email submittals. The architect sends back stamped copies. RFIs go back and forth. They all end up in someone’s inbox.

Sam Okafor · Site superintendent

Which lighting submittal was approved? The supplier is waiting on my order.

Downloads

Lighting v1

Lighting v2

Lighting approved?

Then someone orders from the wrong version.

Two versions of the same submittal are in the folder. Nobody is sure which one the architect approved.

And the mistake lands on site.

Wrong material, wrong model, a delay while it is replaced. It is a filing problem that becomes a construction problem.

Ordering from an unapproved submittal can mean costly rework.

A clear folder is cheap insurance against that.

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How it works

Tell Filex how your projects are set up. It files every document.

Say how your jobs are laid out, and Filex reads each PDF and files it by project and trade.

01

Upload what comes in

Add submittals, RFIs and stamped returns as PDFs as they arrive. Scan names like scan_0044 are fine.

02

Filex reads and files each one

It finds the project, trade, spec section, document number, revision and the review action on the page, names the file, and files it under that project and trade.

03

See what is approved

Ask for “approved electrical submittals” or “RFIs on Harbor Tower” and get the list straight away.

What you get

Every project’s paperwork sorted,
and easy to search.

Documents land under the right project and trade, and you can ask for any status or trade by name.

Projects & subcontractors

Every document filed under its project, linked to the subcontractor.

Filex reads the project, subcontractor and architect named on each document and links them. Open a subcontractor to see everything they have submitted.

Lighting_rev2.pdf

Submittal: Lighting Fixtures

  • Project: Harbor Tower
  • Submitted by: Lee Electric
  • Reviewed by: Okafor Architects
  • General contractor: Whitfield Builders

Found on page 1: “Approved”

Groups

Every document for a trade, or a status, in one place.

Ask for “Harbor Tower electrical” or “all approved submittals” and Filex gathers every match into one group. New documents join automatically.

Describe a group…

Reminders

RFI response dates find you before work is held up

Many RFI forms print a “response requested by” date. Filex reads dates printed on the document and reminds you ahead of time, with the RFI one tap away. Dates that live only in your log are not picked up.

Coming up

  • 24JunRFI-009 response requested by — Panel locationHarbor Tower · Electricalin 3 days
  • 2JulRFI-011 response requested by — Slab openingHarbor Tower · Structuralin 11 days
  • 8JulRFI-014 response requested by — Duct clearanceElm Street · HVACin 17 days

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Complete guide

The complete guide to organizing construction submittals and RFIs

The folder setup that matches how jobs run

People on a job ask about one project and one trade at a time: what is approved for electrical on Harbor Tower? So build your folders the same way. Project first, then trade.

Keep submittals and RFIs for a trade together in that trade’s folder. You rarely want one without the other.

  • Level 1: the project
  • Level 2: the trade, like Electrical (Division 26) or Plumbing (Division 22)
  • Submittals, RFIs and stamped returns from the architect of record together inside

How to name submittals and RFIs

Start with the spec section, then the submittal number, the revision, a short name and the review action. The number is how everyone on site refers to it, and the action is what they need to know.

When a submittal comes back Revise and Resubmit, keep the earlier revision and add the new one as R2. Never overwrite, so you can always see what was decided, and when.

  • Pattern: 265100-S-014-R2-Lighting-Approved.pdf
  • RFIs: RFI-009-Panel-Location.pdf
  • Review actions: Approved, Approved-as-Noted, Revise-Resubmit, Rejected

How to track what is approved

The review action in the file name is the quickest check. Search a trade folder for “Approved” or ask Filex for approved electrical submittals. Sorting by name groups by spec section first, not by action.

A submittal log, whether in a spreadsheet or in a platform like Procore, tracks due dates and who holds the ball. Folders hold the shop drawings, product data and stamped returns themselves. Keep both, and use the folder as the proof.

Filex can remind you of a date printed on an RFI form, such as “response requested by”. Contract review periods kept only in the log stay in the log.

How contractors usually automate this

Most project teams start with a naming rule and a submittal log. It works until a busy week, when someone files by the way they remember it.

The next step is a rule that files each document by itself. Filex lets you describe that rule in plain words, then reads each PDF and files it.

  • By hand: an Excel submittal log plus a naming rule. Free, but the log and the folders drift apart
  • Script or platform workflow: an email-to-folder flow or a Procore-style setup, but someone maintains it on every job
  • Plain-words rule in Filex: say “file by project, trade and the stamp on the page”, then check the result

What this won’t do with your submittals and RFIs

It will not review a shop drawing, judge whether it meets the spec, or chase a subcontractor for a late resubmittal. It does not know if an RFI has been answered unless the answer is a document you filed. A page with no readable stamp may need a quick look from you.

It files what you add from the day you start. Sorting a finished project’s archive is a separate job.

Frequently asked questions

Answers about know what’s approved on every project

How should I organize construction submittals?

Make one folder per project and one per trade inside it, such as Electrical or Plumbing. Keep that trade’s submittals and RFIs together, and put the submittal number, revision and review action in every file name.

What should a submittal file name include?

The spec section, submittal number, revision, a short description and the review action, like 265100-S-014-R2-Lighting-Approved.pdf. That tells you what it is and what the architect decided, all without opening the file.

How do I keep track of revised submittals?

Keep every revision instead of overwriting. A Revise and Resubmit return becomes R2 when the new version goes in, so the approved copy is easy to spot and earlier ones stay as a record.

Should RFIs be filed with submittals?

Yes, in the same trade folder. RFIs and submittals for a trade are usually needed together. Put the RFI number and subject in the name, like RFI-009-Panel-Location.pdf, so it is easy to find beside the related submittal.

Can Filex read stamped approvals?

Filex reads printed text on PDFs and scans, including a review action such as Approved as Noted written on the page. A faint or cut-off stamp may not be readable, and you will need to file that one yourself.

Does this change my original documents?

No. It gives your documents a new file name and files them according to your rule, so scan_0044.pdf becomes a clear submittal name. It does not edit anything inside the PDF, and the contents stay exactly as they arrived.

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Split them in two. Give each subcontractor one company folder for papers that follow them to every job, like insurance, license and tax form. Give each job its own folder for papers that belong to that job, like the subcontract, change orders and invoices. Start every file name with the date and the document type.

Read more

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Every agreement, signed and findable

Make one folder per household, then split it into Signed and Drafts. Name each file with the date, what it is and its status, like 2026-03-12-Advisory-Agreement-Signed.pdf. Move the draft out of sight once the signed copy arrives, and when unsure, file it as a draft. Anyone on your team can then open a household and know which version counts.

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Every board meeting, filed by its date

Make one folder for each year and, inside it, one folder for each meeting date, like 2026-03-12. Put the agenda, the board packet and the minutes for that meeting together. Keep unapproved minutes in a drafts folder, and move the approved copy into the main folder once the board votes.

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Solutions

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PDFs

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TXT Files

Every TXT note and log read, named by its contents and filed by topic and date. Search by what’s inside, even years later.

Word Documents

Contracts, proposals and reports in Word, filed by client and date. Search by what a document says, not what someone named it.

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