How Gleeson Powers Protects Revenue & Accelerates Cash Flow Using Clearstory

From small, scopes to long-running projects, Gleeson Powers operates across a wide range of jobs and asset types. As a Firestopping contractor that also performs fireproofing, air and vapor barrier, and waterproofing work, the team is brought in wherever buildings demand precision, coordination, and responsiveness. That flexibility is a strength, but it also comes with complexity.

“We work with lots of different stakeholders,” says Director of Finance Frank Trojano. “Healthcare, life science, smaller fit-outs, longer-duration projects. We might be working directly for a GC, for another trade, or even directly for an owner. Sometimes all on the same project.”

That reality means a steady stream of Change Orders and field-directed work tracked on a time and material (T&M) basis. Across multiple contracts, multiple stakeholders, and multiple approval paths, the dollars tied to out-of-scope work can add up quickly.

And in practice, managing Change Orders and T&M slips traditionally meant operating within long-established industry workflows. Each contract carried its own expectations, logs, and documentation requirements that lived in spreadsheets, email chains, and stacks of signed paper tickets.

“If we were on a job with ten different contracts, that meant ten different Change Order logs,” Trajano says. “A lot of paper, a lot of Excel logs being sent around, and a lot of effort just trying to make sure everything lined up.”

That effort was constant. Logs had to be updated, T&M slips reconciled, and documentation gathered whenever GCs, owners, or internal teams needed clarity on where things stood.
“We used to print out all the slips and manually check them against what was called in as T&M,” he says. “We’d have a stack of paper this high on the desk, sorting them by job, making piles for different contracts.”

Pricing required moving between ERP systems and Excel logs. Change Order logs had to be reconciled manually. And without consistent visibility, alignment with GCs often happened later than anyone wanted.

Then Clearstory entered the picture as a solution on projects where Gleeson Powers was already working alongside General Contractors who had adopted the software.

“As a firestopping contractor, we’re working with a lot of stakeholders, and Clearstory helps us leave less money on the table because we can see what’s outstanding and forecast our cost exposure with confidence.”

Frank Trojaro

Director of Finance, Gleeson Powers

Faster Approvals and Stronger GC Relationships

Purpose-built to help Specialty Contractors reduce risk and get paid faster on out-of-contract work, Clearstory’s core product is a shareable, cloud-based Change Order Log that creates instant alignment between stakeholders with powerful tools like a mobile app for digital T&M Tags, built-in Change Order templates, instant pricing, and more.

While there was some initial skepticism around introducing new technology on the jobsite, Clearstory quickly proved its value by allowing crews to capture out-of-scope work in real time, collect electronic signatures, and give both the field and the office instant visibility. That visibility extended into pricing and Change Order management. Instead of juggling disconnected systems and side spreadsheets, Gleeson Powers now moves Change Orders and T&M Tags through a single, real-time log.

“With Clearstory, you have one source of truth,” Trajano says. “Everything lives in one place, so our speed and material pricing improved tremendously. Between project management and finance, we’ve saved at least four hours a week per person just on paperwork alone.”

For General Contractors, that same log created instant alignment. “They’re aware of our costs right away,” Trajano says. “If there’s a question, it gets talked about much quicker. There are no surprise Change Orders at the end of a job, and closeout moves much faster.”

As Director of Finance, Trajano now has clear visibility into how out-of-contract work moves from the field through pricing and approval. Clearstory has improved Gleeson Powers’ ability to forecast outstanding Change Order and T&M costs, while accelerating approvals and cash flow.

“I can see the costs we have outstanding across all projects,” he says. “I know what’s been signed, what hasn’t, and can follow up immediately. It speeds up everything from pricing the work to getting it approved and paid.”

Gleeson Powers is using Clearstory with owners too, particularly on work tied to POs and service contracts where teams can leverage Clearstory’s Allowances feature. “They love seeing the log and knowing exactly where they are,” Trajano says. “They’re managing the budget, so having that visibility helps them stay on top of costs, and it helps us keep everything clean and organized.”

As usage has expanded, Clearstory has become the standard way Gleeson Powers manages out-of-contract work across projects of all sizes.“We’ve added more licenses for our field teams because it works,” Trajano says. “Everyone’s using it for a reason.”

For a specialty contractor navigating constant change across diverse projects, Clearstory provides what manual workflows never could: real-time alignment, protected revenue, and confidence that every Change Order and T&M Tag s accounted for, from the field to final closeout.