Billing

Progress billing your GC signs without a phone call.

The contract is a schedule of values. Each application bills the percent complete on every line, holds retention to the penny, and prints a worksheet a general contractor can check line by line — so the conversation is about the work, not the math.

01Schedule of values

The contract is a schedule of values, line by line.

A job's contract is broken into scheduled-value lines — framing, drywall, tape, ceilings — that sum to the contract amount. Every application bills against those lines, so the general contractor sees the same breakdown each month and there is one agreed structure, settled once.

  • Contract split into scheduled-value lines
  • Each line: scheduled value, completed, balance
  • The lines sum to the contract amount
  • Change orders extend the same schedule
02Progress billing

Bill the percent complete — and show your work.

Each application records the percent complete on every line, and the worksheet does the arithmetic: completed to date, retention withheld, balance to finish. Here application 07 bills a $1,125,000 contract — $791,300 complete, $79,130 held at ten percent, $712,170 net due.

Every column foots to the total a GC will check, so the worksheet answers the question before it is asked.

FORM AR-02Billing worksheet — 26-1077application 07
ItemScheduled%CompletedRetention 10%Balance
Metal framing$420,00090%$378,000$37,800$42,000
Drywall hang$310,00070%$217,000$21,700$93,000
Tape & finish$185,00050%$92,500$9,250$92,500
Acoustical ceilings$142,00030%$42,600$4,260$99,400
Insulation$68,00090%$61,200$6,120$6,800
Total$1,125,000$791,300$79,130$333,700

Net due this application: $712,170 (completed less 10% retention)

03Retention

Retention held to the penny, released at closeout.

Retention accrues on every application at the contract rate — ten percent on the worksheet above — and sits as a tracked receivable, not a number in someone's head. At closeout the held retention becomes a Retention Invoice, so the last money on the job is billed on purpose instead of quietly left on the table.

04Change orders

Change orders that land in the contract, not a side list.

An approved change order extends the schedule of values and the contract amount it bills against — it does not live on a separate spreadsheet that reconciles at closeout. A change order can be split across projects, and each project's share flows into that project's contract value and its job cost — so the same change order that raises what you can bill also raises what you are costing against.

05Receivables

Billing register and aging, from posted applications.

Every application posts to receivables, so the billing register and the AR aging read from the same data the GC signed — not a re-keyed copy. Billed, retained and paid are separate columns, so what is out, what is held and what has been collected are each visible at a glance.

  • Billing register by job and period
  • AR aging by general contractor and job
  • Billed, retained and paid tracked separately
06FAQ

What AR and the GC ask about billing.

Does the worksheet follow the AIA G702/G703 model?
It uses the same continuation-sheet structure a GC reads — schedule-of-values line, scheduled value, work completed to date, retainage and balance to finish. Whether an application prints on an AIA-style form or your GC’s own template is set up per contract; the arithmetic underneath is the same either way.
Can a change order be a credit?
Yes. A deductive change order lowers the scheduled value and the contract amount, exactly as an additive one raises them. The schedule of values stays the single source of truth for what the contract is worth today.
How is retention tracked — a separate account?
Retention is a distinct receivable balance per job, accrued on every application at the contract rate. It is not netted into the open invoice and forgotten; at closeout the held amount is released as a Retention Invoice you actually send.
Different retention rates per contract?
The rate is set per contract, and per line where the contract calls for it. Where a job steps retention down at a milestone, you adjust the rate on the applications after that point — the worksheet carries the change forward.
Can I see billed versus paid, not just billed?
Yes. Billed, retained and collected are separate columns, so you can see what has been billed, what is being held back, and what has actually come in. The aging shows what is overdue against each GC and job.
Do these numbers get re-entered for accounting?
No. Every application posts straight to receivables in the same system, so the billing register and the GL read one set of numbers — see accounting.

Bill the way your GC reads it.

Bring a live contract's schedule of values; we'll build an application on your lines and your retention rate. Flat pricing, no per-seat meter — see pricing.