What is the difference between work completed this period and to date?

This period is the increment; to date is the running total. Work completed this period is only what was finished since the last application, the new progress being billed now. Work completed to date is the cumulative total of every period added together, which is what the owner and architect check against the physical work in place. A pay application shows both on each line of the continuation sheet: the to-date figure proves how far the line has come, and the this-period figure, the difference from last time, is what actually drives the new money being requested.

How are stored materials billed?

Materials bought and safely stored but not yet installed can be billed before they go into the work, which is why the pay application tracks them as a separate column from installed work. Billing stored materials lets a contractor recover the cost of expensive, long-lead items, such as switchgear or curtain wall, without waiting until they are installed to get paid. Owners usually require proof the materials exist, are properly stored and insured, and are protected from loss, often a paid invoice and photos, because they are paying for goods that are not yet part of the building.

How do you calculate the net amount due on a pay application?

Add work completed to date and stored materials to get the total completed and stored. Subtract retainage to get the total earned less retainage. Then subtract everything already certified on previous applications, and what is left is the net amount due this period. On our example: $5.4M completed plus $0.3M stored is $5.7M; less ten percent retainage ($0.57M) is $5.13M earned less retainage; less $4.50M in previous certificates leaves $0.63M due. The arithmetic is simple, but each figure has to tie back to the continuation sheet, or the application will not reconcile.

Construction Glossary · Billing & Pay Apps

Work Completed& Net Amount Due

The arithmetic at the heart of every pay application. A handful of lines turn the work done into the exact check the contractor takes home this period.

Definition

On a construction pay application, work completed to date plus stored materials builds the total completed and stored. Subtract retainage and everything already paid, and what remains is the net amount due: the actual check the contractor receives for that period.

From earned to the check

Application 8 on our $12.0M project: $5.7M completed and stored, carved down by retainage and prior payments, leaves $0.63M due this period.

Line by line

Line	Amount
Work completed to date	$5.4M
+ Stored materials	$0.3M
= Total completed & stored	$5.7M
− Retainage (10%)	($0.57M)
= Total earned less retainage	$5.13M
− Previous certificates	($4.50M)
= Net amount due this period	$0.63M

Two columns worth watching

This period vs to date

Each line shows both the cumulative work to date and the new increment this period. The to-date figure proves progress; the this-period figure drives the money.

Stored materials

Long-lead items bought and safely stored can be billed before installation, in a separate column, usually against proof the goods exist, are insured, and are protected.

How POD computes the net due

When POD reads a pay application, it pulls work completed, stored materials, retainage, and previous payments from the form and carries the net-due arithmetic itself, so the current payment is a checked figure rather than one taken on faith. The completed-and-stored total is the same number that feeds earned value, which is how a billing document becomes a thread in the project's cost story.

Construction billing methods guide

Frequently asked questions

Billing and earning are not the same

What you bill and what you have earned can drift apart. That gap is over- and under-billing, and it is where cash-flow trouble hides.

Over/Under Billing Back to the Glossary