Never Read A 60 Page Document Again

Insurance policies

This is the one that got me. Found a gap that would have cost real money.

Here's my insurance policy.

Tell me in plain English:
1. What is actually covered
2. What is specifically NOT covered
3. My real deductible, including any separate ones for specific things
4. Anything that would surprise a normal person reading this
5. Anything that voids coverage

Quote the page for each answer so I can check you.
Where the wording is genuinely ambiguous, say so instead of guessing.

That last line matters. Push it to admit uncertainty and it will.

Contracts before you sign

Here's a contract I'm being asked to sign.

Compare it to what's normal for this kind of agreement and tell me:
1. Anything UNUSUAL compared to a standard version
2. What I'm actually agreeing to, in plain English
3. How I get out of it and what that costs
4. What happens if they don't hold up their end
5. The 3 clauses I should push back on

Quote the section for each.

"What's unusual" beats "explain this contract" every single time. Normal clauses aren't the risk. The weird one is.

This is not a lawyer. For anything with real money or real liability on it, this makes you a smarter client at the attorney's office. It doesn't replace the visit.

Supplier price sheets

Here's this quarter's price sheet and here's last quarter's.

Show me everything that changed.
Sort by biggest percentage increase.
Flag anything that went up more than 10%.
Tell me which changes hit my costs hardest based on the fact that I buy [what you buy most].

Ten seconds. People eat price increases for a year because nobody compares the sheets.

Your own bank statements

Here are 3 months of statements.

Find every recurring charge, sorted by annual cost.
Flag anything that looks like two companies doing the same job.
Point out anything that changed amount partway through.

Everybody finds something. Usually a few hundred a year, sometimes a lot more.

Bid documents and RFPs

Here's a bid document.

Tell me:
1. What are they REALLY asking for, underneath the language
2. Every requirement I have to meet to not get disqualified
3. Every deadline and date
4. What they're going to score this on
5. Anything in here that should make me walk away

That last one saves more money than the rest combined. Some bids aren't worth winning.

Warranties

Here's a warranty.

What voids it?
What's covered and for how long?
What do I have to do to keep it valid?
What's the claim process and what proof do I need?

Ask this before something breaks, not after.

Photos work too

This surprises people. You can point it at a picture.

• A pile of receipts → you get a categorized spreadsheet back
• A photo of a space or a problem → it writes up the scope, in order
• Handwritten notes → typed out clean, even bad handwriting
• A part you can't name → it tells you what it is and where to buy it
• A whiteboard after a meeting → an action list with names on it
• An error on your screen → what broke and what to do about it
• A competitor's flyer → why yours isn't converting

Same move every time. Take the picture, drag it in, ask a specific question.

The one habit that makes all of it better

After it answers, ask this:

How confident are you in that, and what would change your mind?

It's weirdly honest about being uncertain, but only if you ask. It would rather hand you a confident answer than volunteer that it's shaky.

What to check before you trust it

It misreads things. Not often, but it happens, and it happens most on numbers and dates.

Anything you're about to act on, verify against the actual document. It'll quote you the page. Go look at the page.

For a quick read on a supplier sheet, fine, trust it. For the deductible you're about to tell a customer about, go look.

That's not a knock on the tool. That's just how you use it like an adult.

The honest summary

You're not reading 60 pages ever again. You're asking 60 pages a question and then checking the two answers that matter.

That's a completely different job, and it takes four minutes.

— Jordan