What it's for
This workbook pairs a schedule of values template with the Application for Payment it feeds. You list the job line by line, and the summary takes off retainage and earlier payments to show what's due.
It's a progress billing template for jobs paid in installments against a contract sum. A general contractor bills the owner with it. For a subcontractor pay application, put the general contractor under OWNER. The file holds one application, so save a copy each billing period.
What's inside
Three sheets, each protected with no password so formulas can't be typed over. Pale yellow cells are yours to fill in. Every other figure calculates, including those on bright yellow bands.
Application for Payment is the page the owner gets: your letterhead, bands for CONTRACT, WORK AND MATERIALS TO DATE, RETAINAGE, PAYMENT and CHECKS, and the signature and notary blocks.
Schedule of values has 30 lines. You fill in ITEM, DESCRIPTION OF WORK, SCHEDULED VALUE, FROM PREVIOUS APPLICATION, THIS PERIOD and MATERIALS PRESENTLY STORED. COMPLETED AND STORED TO DATE adds the last three. PERCENT and BALANCE TO FINISH measure that against the scheduled value, and RETAINAGE applies the summary's two rates to the line.
The summary reads the schedule's Totals row: Work completed to date adds the previous and this-period totals, and Materials presently stored, not yet installed is the stored total.
About this template holds three steps, a note on the example figures, the version (v2, 2026-09-24) and links.
How to fill it in
- On Application for Payment, type over the yellow letterhead and fill in APPLICATION NO., PERIOD TO, DATE, OWNER, PROJECT and CONTRACT (TITLE AND DATE).
- On Schedule of values, replace or clear the five example lines: any left in are counted. Give each part of the work a line and its SCHEDULED VALUE.
- FROM PREVIOUS APPLICATION is the work billed on the line in every earlier application, not the last one alone. THIS PERIOD is this application's work. Next time, add this period into the previous column and start fresh.
- MATERIALS PRESENTLY STORED is the line's materials stored but not yet installed. Once they're installed, bill them under THIS PERIOD and take them out of stored.
- The four amount columns take numbers only, with a minus sign allowed for a deductive change or a correction; a word gets "Enter a number. Use a minus sign for a credit or deduction." A blank counts as zero.
- On the summary, enter the Original contract sum: a word gets "Enter a number, 0 or more." The Net change by approved change orders also takes a minus sign, for a deductive change order; count only change orders both parties have signed, and add each one to the schedule too.
- Type your contract's rates, with the percent sign, beside Retainage on completed work and Retainage on stored materials. Each applies to the whole amount to date, with no step-down. The file doesn't check rates against any law: see retainage laws by state for state rules and retainage in construction for how retainage works.
- Enter Less previous payments certified: the certified total of every earlier application. It takes numbers only.
- Read the CHECKS. Each reads "No" when the figures are fine and starts with "Yes:" when something needs a look.
- Billed more than the contract sum to date? flags "Yes: check for unapproved change orders".
- A credit rather than a payment? flags "Yes: previous payments exceed the amount earned less retainage".
- Schedule of values total differs from the contract sum to date? flags "Yes: the schedule of values does not add up to the contract sum to date". It catches an easy mistake: a change order raises the contract sum but never reaches the schedule.
- Sign under SIGNATURE. Fill in the notary block beside it only if your owner requires one.
The worked example
The file opens on the retainage calculator's worked example, and its figures match the calculator's to the cent. Each example line starts "Example:", and the About tab says to replace the figures with your own. The 10% rates are the calculator's example, not a rate to use.
| Description of work | Scheduled value | From previous application | This period | Materials presently stored | Completed and stored to date | Percent | Balance to finish | Retainage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: sitework | $20,000.00 | $20,000.00 | $20,000.00 | 100.00% | $0.00 | $2,000.00 | ||
| Example: concrete and foundations | $40,000.00 | $40,000.00 | $40,000.00 | 100.00% | $0.00 | $4,000.00 | ||
| Example: framing | $60,000.00 | $30,000.00 | $15,000.00 | $45,000.00 | 75.00% | $15,000.00 | $4,500.00 | |
| Example: plumbing, HVAC and electrical | $50,000.00 | $10,000.00 | $10,000.00 | $10,000.00 | $30,000.00 | 60.00% | $20,000.00 | $3,000.00 |
| Example: interior finishes | $80,000.00 | $0.00 | 0.00% | $80,000.00 | $0.00 | |||
| Totals | $250,000.00 | $100,000.00 | $25,000.00 | $10,000.00 | $135,000.00 | 54.00% | $115,000.00 | $13,500.00 |
| Application for Payment | Amount |
|---|---|
| Contract sum to date | $250,000.00 |
| Work completed to date | $125,000.00 |
| Materials presently stored, not yet installed | $10,000.00 |
| Total completed and stored to date | $135,000.00 |
| Percent complete | 54.00% |
| Retainage on completed work, at 10.00% | $12,500.00 |
| Retainage on stored materials, at 10.00% | $1,000.00 |
| Total retainage held to date | $13,500.00 |
| Total earned less retainage | $121,500.00 |
| Less previous payments certified | $90,000.00 |
| Current payment due | $31,500.00 |
| Balance to finish, including retainage | $128,500.00 |
The $90,000.00 of previous payments is the $100,000.00 billed before this period, less the 10% held. The schedule's $115,000.00 balance to finish is the contract not yet billed. The summary's $128,500.00 adds back the $13,500.00 of retainage, which is still unpaid. All three checks read "No".
Frequently asked questions
Does the file do the math?
Yes. Every calculated figure is a live formula.
Does it work in Google Sheets or Numbers?
Both open .xlsx files. This one has no macros, and its formulas use only IF, AND, ROUND and SUM.
Can I add lines to the schedule of values?
Yes. Unprotect the sheet (there's no password), insert rows between two of the 30 lines so the totals include them, and copy the four calculated cells into each new row.
Can I put my logo on it?
Yes. Insert it where each sheet says YOUR LOGO. Those rows are 36 pt (half an inch) tall, so a logo sized to them fits without dragging a row taller. To remove the YOUR LOGO text, choose Review > Unprotect Sheet (there is no password), then protect the sheet again.
Is this the AIA G702 and G703?
No. The layout and labels are our own, not AIA G702 or G703. If your contract requires the AIA forms, check the arithmetic here first, then fill them in.
Is it legal advice?
No. The file only does arithmetic on your figures. It doesn't decide your retainage rate, which change orders are approved or whether to notarize.