Progress billing software
Bill the period, not the whole job
Progress billing is arithmetic with a deadline attached. Percent complete per line, retainage withheld, prior certificates subtracted, change orders included only once approved — and every figure has to reconcile with last month or the application comes back. BuiltSum does that part so the 20th is an hour, not a weekend.
The monthly cycle, handled
Roll forward, do not retype
This period's work becomes last period's, previous certificates update themselves, and the balance to finish follows. The single most common source of a rejected application is a hand-carried number that no longer agrees.
Retainage that behaves
Withheld per line at your contract's rate, with a separate rate for stored materials where the contract allows one, tracked as a running balance so you always know what is being held and by whom.
Certified, not just emailed
Send a link the architect or GC can open and certify with their name and the date. The record lives with the application instead of in someone's inbox.
Start free, no account: build the schedule of values, then bill it with the pay application generator. Check what your state allows you to be held at with the retainage calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is progress billing in construction?
Billing for the portion of a contract completed during a period rather than invoicing at the end. Each schedule-of-values line is billed at its percent complete, retainage is withheld, previously certified amounts are subtracted, and the balance is the current payment due. On most commercial jobs it happens monthly, against a cut-off date set by the general contractor.
How is percent complete determined?
By observation, and it has to survive someone else's. The reviewer walks the work and decides whether your claim is plausible, so lines have to be granular enough to verify — 'interior finishes 62%' invites a discount, while 'level 4 finish, second floor: 80%' can be checked. Bill what is actually in place, because a claim that fails review costs a full payment cycle.
What makes progress billing go wrong?
Three things, in order: arithmetic that does not reconcile with the prior period, retainage applied at the wrong rate or to the wrong base, and change orders billed before they are approved. Each one gets the application returned, and a returned application is roughly thirty days of cash — which is why this software rounds at the line level and rolls periods forward automatically rather than asking you to retype last month's numbers.
Do I need a schedule of values first?
Yes, and it should be approved before the first application. The SOV is the map every subsequent bill is measured against; changing it mid-job undermines the percent-complete argument. Build one free here, then bill against it every month.
Every plan bills. None of them caps your projects.
Progress billing, retainage and certification links from $49/mo — and free for one active project.
Start free