Progress billing, pay applications and retainage
Two ways to bill a job as the work moves. A homeowner job bills a percent of each line of the accepted estimate. A commercial job with an architect or owner's rep runs pay applications on a schedule of values with retainage.
Open the order of the accepted estimate.
On the job, the Billing card shows the estimate, its order, invoices and payments. Tap the order, or Create order when the estimate was accepted and has none yet.
Tap Generate Invoice, then Bill by progress.
Each line shows its price, the percent Billed so far and what is left. Type the percent to bill now on each line, or fill in Same % on every line.
Create the invoice.
It is a draft until you send it. Tax and discount follow in the same proportion, and a line can never pass 100%. The invoice that brings every line to 100% takes the leftover cents, so the invoices add up to the order.
Bill the next stage later.
Generate Invoice now opens straight on what is left of each line.
The deposit is credited, not billed twice
A deposit the client paid with the estimate comes off the progress invoices as a line that reads Deposit received on Estimate, applied, until the deposit is used up. A deposit asked for and not paid yet is cancelled by the first progress invoice, so the client never gets both.
Pay applications with retainage
Open the job's Money tab and tap Pay applications & lien waivers, then New pay application. Fill in the owner, architect, contract date, period ending, the original contract and the approved change orders, net.
Add the Schedule of values: one line per item with its scheduled value, the work this period and materials currently stored. Set Work retainage (%) and Stored materials retainage (%). The sheet adds up completed and stored, retainage, balance to finish and the current payment due; the lines have to add up to the contract.
Issue document locks that version and makes the PDF; issuing does not bill or collect anything. When the architect or owner certifies it, tap Record certification with the certified amount and who certified it, then Invoice this pay app to turn it into an invoice. The next pay application starts from this one.
To release retainage, lower the retainage percent on the next pay application: what is released comes into the current payment due.
The PDF is our own form that follows the G702/G703 math. It is not an AIA-licensed document; when a contract demands the AIA original, fill that one with these numbers.
Lien waivers
New lien waiver uses the state where the property is: California, Florida and Texas get their statutory forms, conditional or unconditional, progress or final. Other states get a general form that says so. Copy signing link and send it yourself; the link works for 30 days.
Questions
Can I bill by percent and also send a full invoice?
No. An order billed in full has to have that invoice cancelled before it can be billed by progress, so the client is never billed twice.
Do approved change orders count?
On a pay application, enter them in Approved change orders, net. On a homeowner job the approved change order goes on the next draft invoice (see Send a change order).
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Questions? Write to hello@groundflag.com