FREE CALCULATOR
Progress Billing Calculator
Calculate your current amount due based on work completed, stored materials, retainage held, and prior billing. See how change orders affect your revised contract value and what you can bill this period.
Contract Value
The initial contract amount before any change orders.
Total value of all approved change orders added to the contract.
Work Completed
Value of labor and materials installed through this billing period.
Value of materials on-site but not yet installed.
Retainage & Prior Billing
Percentage withheld from each billing until milestones are met.
Total amount already billed in prior billing periods.
Retainage released from prior periods, typically at milestones.
Results
Enter your contract values and work completed to see results.
Commercial Contractor Example
A commercial electrical subcontractor on a $485,000 project submits their third progress billing. Here is how the numbers work out:
Retainage %
10%
Previously Billed
$195,000
Retainage Released
$0
Billing summary for this period:
Current Amount Due
$54,255
Current Retainage Held
$27,695
Total Retainage Held
$27,695
You earned $276,950 total. After $27,695 in retainage and subtracting $195,000 previously billed, your current amount due is $54,255.
How This Works
What this calculator does
This calculator helps you determine what you can bill on a progress billing. It takes your earned value, subtracts retainage and prior billing, and shows your current amount due.
What retainage means
Retainage is a percentage of your earned value that the owner or GC holds back until project milestones or completion. It protects them and creates a cash gap for you until released.
Why prior billed matters
Progress billing is cumulative. Your current amount due is what you have earned minus what you have already been paid. Prior billed ensures you do not double-bill for work already invoiced.
Why This Matters
Progress billing keeps cash flowing—but only if you bill correctly.
Every billing period, you need to know what you earned, what is being held in retainage, and what you have already collected. Miss any of these and you either under-bill (leaving money on the table) or over-bill (creating compliance issues).
Quoteloc helps you price and manage contracts upstream. When your quotes are accurate, your change orders are tracked, and your contract value stays current, progress billing becomes straightforward math instead of a guessing game.
How Progress Billing Works
Progress billing means billing in stages based on completed work and stored materials. Instead of waiting until project completion, you submit invoices at regular intervals—typically monthly—reflecting the value of work performed to date.
Each billing period accounts for what you have earned minus what you have already collected. Prior billed amounts reduce your current amount due—this prevents double-billing for the same work across multiple periods.
Retainage is withheld from your earned value until later release, usually at substantial completion or final payment. This creates a cash gap you need to plan for. Use our retainage calculator to understand how different retainage rates affect your cash flow.
Stored materials can be included in your earned value if they are on-site, properly documented, and approved per your contract terms.
How to Calculate Current Amount Due
The current amount due is what you can bill this period. It follows a straightforward formula that accounts for earned value, retainage, and prior payments.
The Formula
Step 1: Calculate earned to date. Add your work completed to date plus stored materials to date. This represents total value you have delivered.
Step 2: Calculate retainage held. Multiply earned to date by your retainage percentage. This is what the owner or GC holds back.
Step 3: Subtract retainage from earned. This gives you your net earned value—what you would be owed if you had never billed before.
Step 4: Subtract previously billed. This removes amounts you already collected in prior periods, leaving only what is due now.
If retainage was released: Add back any retainage released from prior periods. This happens at milestones or completion.
This calculator handles all four steps automatically. Enter your contract value, work completed, stored materials, retainage percentage, and prior billed amount to see your current amount due.
Progress Billing vs Pay Application
Progress Billing
The method of billing in stages based on completed work. It is the approach—billing incrementally rather than at completion. Progress billing can be used with or without formal documents.
Pay Application
The formal request package submitted to request payment. It typically includes supporting schedules, breakdowns, and documentation that back up the amounts being billed. Build one with our SOV pay app builder.
In practice, you use progress billing as your method and submit a pay application as your formal request each billing period.
Common Progress Billing Mistakes
Forgetting prior billed amounts
Failing to subtract what you already collected leads to over-billing. Always track cumulative payments and verify against prior applications.
Ignoring retainage
Billing gross earned value without accounting for retainage creates payment disputes. Know your retainage rate and factor it in every period.
Missing approved change orders
Billing against the original contract value without including approved change orders under-represents your earned value. Track changes and update your revised contract. Calculate impacts with our change order calculator.
Billing stored materials without documentation
Including stored materials that lack proper documentation or project approval causes payment delays. Ensure materials are on-site, insured, and approved per contract requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is progress billing?
Progress billing is a method of invoicing for construction work in stages based on completed work and stored materials, rather than billing the full amount at project completion. It allows contractors to receive payment incrementally as work progresses.
How do you calculate a progress payment?
Calculate earned to date (work completed plus stored materials), subtract retainage held, then subtract previously billed amounts. The result is your current amount due for this billing period.
What is retainage in construction billing?
Retainage is a percentage of earned value withheld by the owner or general contractor until project milestones or completion—typically 5-10%. It protects the project but creates a cash gap for contractors until released.
What does previously billed mean?
Previously billed is the cumulative total of all amounts you have invoiced and collected in prior billing periods. It must be subtracted from earned value to prevent billing for the same work twice.
Can stored materials be included in progress billing?
Yes, stored materials can be included if they are on-site, properly documented, insured, and approved per your contract terms. They become part of your earned to date and are subject to retainage like installed work.
What is the difference between progress billing and an invoice?
Progress billing is the method of billing in stages based on work performed. An invoice is the actual document requesting payment. Progress billing determines what you bill; the invoice is how you request it. For simpler billing without retainage, see our time and materials invoice builder.
How often should progress billing be submitted?
Most contracts specify monthly billing cycles, but the interval depends on your contract terms. Always bill within the timeframe and format your contract requires to avoid payment delays.
ONE BILLING PERIOD VS STRONGER CONTRACT CONTROL
This calculator shows one billing period.
Quoteloc helps you upstream—before billing even starts. Accurate quotes, governed change orders, and clear contract value mean fewer surprises when it is time to submit your pay application.
THE PROBLEM
Manual tracking per period
Contract value drifts
Retainage surprises
WITH QUOTELOC
Clear contract value
Tracked change orders
Accurate billing basis
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