How to fill out a construction application for payment
A plain-English, line-by-line walkthrough of the pay application and its continuation sheet (schedule of values) — with a worked monthly example you can copy.
The two documents you're actually filling out
A construction progress bill is two pages working together. The application and certificate for payment is the one-page cover sheet — the summary and the signatures. The continuation sheet behind it is your schedule of values: every scope of work, broken into lines, showing exactly how much you've earned and how much is left.
General contractors send this package up to the owner (or the owner's architect) each month; subcontractors send the same thing up to the GC. It's the construction industry's standard way to bill progressively against a fixed contract instead of invoicing lump sums. Fill it out cleanly and you get paid on time. Fumble the retainage math or forget a change order and your draw stalls in review.
Below is the process, top to bottom, using one project followed across two billing periods. Round numbers throughout so the math is easy to trace. Want the blank form first? Grab the free pay application template.
Step 1 — Build the schedule of values
Before you bill a dollar, break the contract into lines. Each line gets a scheduled value — your price for that scope. The golden rule: the sum of every scheduled value must equal the original contract sum. If your contract is $500,000, your schedule of values totals $500,000. Not $499,000, not $501,000.
Use real cost codes, not vague buckets. "General conditions, foundation, framing, roofing, MEP rough-in, drywall, finishes" is reviewable. "Phase 1 / Phase 2" is not, and it gets your application kicked back. Here's our example project, a $500,000 contract:
| Line / description | Scheduled value |
|---|---|
| General conditions | $50,000 |
| Foundation | $100,000 |
| Framing | $150,000 |
| Roofing | $80,000 |
| MEP rough-in | $70,000 |
| Finishes | $50,000 |
| Total (= contract sum) | $500,000 |
Step 2 — The continuation sheet, column by column
The continuation sheet is where the work happens each month. For every line on your schedule of values you fill in these columns:
Scheduled value
Your fixed price for that line. Doesn't change month to month (unless a change order adds a line).
Work completed — previous
The cumulative dollar value earned on this line through last month. Copied straight from last month's application.
Work completed — this period
The dollar value of work you put in place this billing period only.
Materials presently stored
Value of materials delivered and on site but not yet installed. Back it with invoices.
Total completed & stored
Previous + this period + stored. The cumulative total earned on this line to date.
% — balance to finish — retainage
Percent = total ÷ scheduled value. Balance to finish = scheduled value − total. Retainage = the withheld percentage.
Month 1 — the first draw
It's the first period, so "previous" is zero everywhere. Say we finished general conditions startup and the foundation, framed about a third, and have $20,000 of roofing material delivered to the site but not yet installed:
| Line | Sched. value | Prev. | This period | Stored | Total | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General conditions | $50,000 | $0 | $15,000 | $0 | $15,000 | 30% |
| Foundation | $100,000 | $0 | $100,000 | $0 | $100,000 | 100% |
| Framing | $150,000 | $0 | $50,000 | $0 | $50,000 | 33% |
| Roofing | $80,000 | $0 | $0 | $20,000 | $20,000 | 25% |
| MEP rough-in | $70,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 0% |
| Finishes | $50,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 0% |
| Totals | $500,000 | $0 | $165,000 | $20,000 | $185,000 | 37% |
Total completed & stored to date = $185,000. That's the number that drives the cover sheet.
Step 3 — Apply retainage
Retainage is money the owner holds back until the job is substantially done — commonly 5% or 10%. The number-one mistake here: people apply retainage to this period's billing only. It applies to the cumulative total completed and stored to date.
At 10% retainage on our Month 1 total of $185,000:
- Total completed & stored to date: $185,000
- Retainage held (10%): $18,500
- Total earned less retainage: $166,500
Because this is the first draw, there are no previous certificates to subtract — so the current payment due is $166,500.
Step 4 — The cover sheet (application & certificate)
The cover sheet is just a tidy summary of the continuation sheet totals plus the running history. The standard lines, in order:
| Cover sheet line | Month 1 | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Original contract sum | $500,000 | The signed contract |
| Net change by change orders | $0 | Approved change orders to date |
| Current contract sum | $500,000 | Contract sum + net change orders |
| Total completed & stored to date | $185,000 | Continuation sheet total column |
| Retainage | $18,500 | 10% of total completed & stored |
| Total earned less retainage | $166,500 | Total completed − retainage |
| Less previous certificates | $0 | Sum of prior payments due |
| Current payment due | $166,500 | Earned less retainage − previous |
| Balance to finish (incl. retainage) | $333,500 | Current contract sum − earned less retainage |
Sign the contractor's certification, attach the continuation sheet plus any required lien waivers and stored-material invoices, and send it up. The owner or architect certifies an amount and you get paid.
Step 5 — Month 2, including a change order
The second draw is where people slip. Two things change. First, last month's totals become this month's "previous." Second, the owner approved a $30,000 change order to add a deck — so you add a new line to the schedule of values for it. Don't bury change-order work inside an existing line; give it its own line so it can be billed by percent like everything else.
Say in Month 2 you finished framing, installed the stored roofing plus the rest, knocked out MEP rough-in, and built half the deck. The continuation sheet now carries the $30,000 deck line, so the current contract sum is $530,000. Walk it down the cover sheet:
| Cover sheet line | Month 2 |
|---|---|
| Original contract sum | $500,000 |
| Net change by change orders | $30,000 |
| Current contract sum | $530,000 |
| Total completed & stored to date | $430,000 |
| Retainage (10%) | $43,000 |
| Total earned less retainage | $387,000 |
| Less previous certificates | $166,500 |
| Current payment due | $220,500 |
Note the roofing material that was "stored" last month moves into "work completed" once installed — you never bill it twice. And because retainage rides on the cumulative total ($430,000 × 10% = $43,000), the held-back amount grows naturally as the job progresses.
The mistakes that get applications rejected
Schedule of values doesn't tie to the contract
If the lines don't sum to the contract sum, the whole application is suspect. Reconcile it before you bill.
Retainage applied to the wrong base
It comes off the cumulative total completed and stored — not this period, not the contract sum.
Change orders never hit the schedule of values
An approved change order needs its own line and an updated current contract sum, or your percentages and balances are wrong.
Stored materials double-billed
Move value from "stored" to "completed" as it's installed. Leaving it in both columns bills it twice.
"Previous" doesn't match last cert
This period's "previous" column must equal last period's "total." Reviewers check this first.
Front-loading the early lines
Padding general conditions to get paid faster invites scrutiny and erodes trust with the owner. Bill what's real.
Let the software do the math
All of this is bookkeeping a computer should be doing. In FieldsDesk you build the schedule of values once; from then on the previous columns carry forward automatically, retainage and balance-to-finish calculate themselves, approved change orders drop in as new lines, and the totals roll straight up to the cover sheet. You enter the work completed this period — that's it. The AI-assisted pay application can even draft a plain-language owner summary to go with the draw.
Switching from another tool? The import wizard pulls your vendors, contacts, cost codes, and jobs from a Buildertrend, Procore, or CoConstruct CSV/Excel export so you're not rebuilding schedules of values by hand. Coming from one specific tool? See the Buildertrend alternative page.
More to read: grab the free pay application template, browse the resources library, or dig into billing in the docs.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between the application for payment and the continuation sheet?
The application for payment is the one-page cover and certificate that summarizes the request — contract sum, change orders, total earned less retainage, previous payments, and the current amount due. The continuation sheet is the detailed schedule of values behind it: one line per scope showing scheduled value, work completed, materials stored, percent complete, retainage, and balance to finish.
How do you calculate retainage on a pay application?
Retainage (commonly 5–10%) is withheld from the cumulative total completed and stored to date, not from the current period alone. Multiply the running total earned by the retainage rate to get total retainage held, then subtract that from total earned to get total earned less retainage.
Can I bill for materials stored on site but not yet installed?
Usually yes, if the contract allows it. Put stored materials in their own column on the continuation sheet, back them with supplier invoices, and move that value into "work completed" as the materials get installed — so you never bill for them twice.
How are change orders shown on the application for payment?
Approved change orders are added as new lines on the continuation sheet, each with its own scheduled value so it can be billed by percent complete. On the cover sheet, the net change-order total is added to the original contract sum to produce the current contract sum.
Does FieldsDesk fill out the application for payment for me?
Yes. FieldsDesk builds the continuation sheet from your schedule of values, carries previous periods forward, calculates retainage and balance to finish, rolls everything to the cover sheet, and can draft an owner-ready summary. You enter the work completed this period and it handles the math. Try it free.
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