Why Your Snow Removal Contract is Worthless Without Per-Event Logging

The most expensive part of a Canadian winter for a commercial property manager is not the snow removal invoice. It is the slip-and-fall claim that arrives six months later, accompanied by a lawyer's letter, demanding to know exactly what was done that day.

The claim might be legitimate. It might be opportunistic. It almost certainly cannot be defended unless you have one specific thing in your file: per-event snow logging.

What "Per-Event Logging" Actually Means

Most commercial snow contracts say something like "as needed during winter events." Some are slightly more specific: "plow at 2 cm trigger, salt all surfaces." Both are essentially worthless when a claim shows up, because neither produces evidence that the work happened.

Per-event logging means that for every individual snow event the property experienced, the vendor produces a record showing:

• The trigger time (when the storm crossed the threshold)
• The dispatch time (when the truck left the yard)
• The arrival time on site
• Surfaces serviced (parking lot? sidewalks? entry zones?)
• Quantity of salt or de-icer applied (in kilograms or bags)
• The departure time
• Photos of the surfaces after service

That is the document. It is what your insurer's lawyer asks for in the first 48 hours after a claim is filed. It is the difference between settling the claim for nominal cost and losing it.

Why Most Snow Contracts Do Not Produce This

Three reasons.

The vendor does not have the systems. Most snow vendors are running on text messages, voicemails, and a paper log in the truck cab. When the lawyer asks for the log six months later, what arrives is a vague summary written from memory. That summary loses the case.

The contract does not require it. Property managers often inherit snow contracts from their predecessors and never read the deliverables clause. There is no clause requiring per-event logging because the vendor never offered it.

The vendor is afraid of the data. A real per-event log includes the times that look bad as well as the times that look good. Some vendors avoid creating that paper trail on purpose, because they would rather be vague when a question comes up than pinned to specific times.

What to Ask Your Vendor

Before next winter, ask your snow vendor one question:

"After every snow event, can I see a log with the trigger time, dispatch time, arrival time, surfaces serviced, salt applied, and post-service photos?"

If the answer is "we send a monthly invoice with a summary," you do not have per-event logging. You have an invoice. You will not win the slip-and-fall case with an invoice.

A real commercial snow vendor produces the log automatically as part of every event. They send it within 24 hours. They keep it on file for the duration of your contract plus seven years. The cost of that level of service is slightly higher per event. The cost of not having it is one slip-and-fall settlement that wipes out a decade of savings.

You are not paying for snow to be moved. You are paying for evidence that snow was moved. The two are not the same.