Schedule of Values.The document that bills the job.
A 2026 reference for the Schedule of Values in construction. How to build one, how to cost-load it for AIA G703, and how owners audit for front-loading.
A Schedule of Values is a line-item breakdown of the construction contract sum into measurable work items used for monthly progress billing. It is the required attachment to the AIA G703 Continuation Sheet that supports each AIA G702 Application for Payment. The sum of all SOV line items must equal the contract value for lump-sum work. The SOV is where owners audit for front-loading, where contractors plan cash flow, and where the entire monthly billing cycle gets translated from a single contract number into discrete pieces of work that get billed as they are completed.
Key terms at a glance
The Schedule of Values, the G703 form that carries it, the mobilization line that gets front-loaded, and the retainage column that decides cash flow. These four terms appear on every pay application.
SOV
AIA G702/G703 standard practiceSchedule of Values
- Formula or rule
- Sum of all line items = Contract Value
- What it measures
- Line-item breakdown of contract sum for billing
- Healthy range
- 30-80 items ($1-10M); 100-500 items ($10M+)
G703
American Institute of Architects (AIA)AIA Continuation Sheet
- Formula or rule
- Scheduled + Stored - Retainage = Net Due
- What it measures
- Monthly billing detail per SOV line item
- Healthy range
- Updated every pay period
Mob.
Industry norm; FAR Part 32 for federalMobilization Line Item
- Formula or rule
- % of Contract Value
- What it measures
- Pre-construction setup costs (bonds, site office, etc.)
- Healthy range
- 1-5% of contract value; below 3% for federal
Ret.
Contract terms; state prompt-pay statutesRetainage
- Formula or rule
- % withheld per pay period
- What it measures
- Owner-withheld portion of each payment
- Healthy range
- Typically 5-10% until substantial completion
How to build a Schedule of Values
Five steps that produce a defensible, audit-ready SOV. The same process applies whether the contract is $1 million or $100 million. Only the granularity changes.
- 1
Mirror the cost code structure
Organize the SOV by CSI MasterFormat divisions and project cost codes.
Each major CSI division becomes a section header. Each work package becomes a line item. Tie every line back to a project cost code so the SOV is traceable from contract to billing to job-cost reporting. The same structure that drives your estimating system should drive your SOV. If the two diverge, billing and cost reporting will never reconcile.
- 2
Set granularity to project size
Target 30-80 line items for $1-10M projects; 100-500 for $10M+.
Too few line items hide where the money is going and make front-loading easier to disguise. Too many line items create administrative burden every pay period without improving owner insight. Adjust to the contract type. Lump-sum projects need enough detail to support front-loading review. Cost-plus and GMP projects often need more granular line items because the SOV doubles as the cost-tracking framework.
- 3
Separate general conditions, contingency, fee, and stored materials
Break out the support costs that owners audit first.
General conditions should be broken into its components: supervision, temporary utilities, project insurance, performance and payment bonds, dumpsters, temporary fencing, and project trailer. Contingency belongs on its own transparent line, not hidden inside other items. Contractor fee gets its own line. Materials stored on-site get separate line items distinct from installed work, with a separate column on G703 for stored-but-not-installed value.
- 4
Cost-load each line item to sum to contract value
For lump-sum, total must equal contract value exactly.
Mobilization stays at or below 5 percent of contract value. Avoid pricing early-phase items above comparable later-phase items by the same trade. The same trade pouring foundation walls and pouring slab on grade should show similar unit rates unless scope justifies otherwise. Document any line that deviates from a normal unit rate so the owner has a paper trail during SOV approval. If the contract is cost-plus or GMP, the SOV is open-book and the total reflects the GMP ceiling.
- 5
Format for AIA G703 and submit for approval
Lay it out in G703 columns and get owner sign-off before the first pay app.
The G703 Continuation Sheet has columns for item number, description, scheduled value, work completed previous, work completed this period, materials presently stored, total completed and stored, percent complete, balance to finish, and retainage. Submit the full SOV in this format for owner approval before the first pay application. Once approved, the SOV becomes the controlling billing document for the life of the project. Changes after approval require a change order or owner consent.
Worked example: $4.2M commercial office shell
A real-world SOV walkthrough: 42 line items across 9 CSI divisions, owner audit, and the negotiated outcome. The same pattern applies on any lump-sum project.
A general contractor submits the initial Schedule of Values for a $4.2 million commercial office shell. The SOV contains 42 line items organized into 9 CSI divisions. General Conditions total 6.8 percent of contract value. Mobilization is initially priced at $250,000, which is 6.0 percent of contract value. Sitework and foundation line items are priced about $120,000 higher than comparable unit rates from the estimating workbook would support. The total SOV sums to $4.2 million.
The owner audit identifies mobilization above the 5 percent industry norm and flags the unit-rate variance on sitework and foundation lines. The contractor agrees to re-price mobilization at 1.2 percent ($50,000) and to bring sitework and foundation unit rates in line with the estimating workbook. The reallocated $200,000 redistributes across mechanical, finishes, and the punch list line, which moves from 0.5 percent to 1.8 percent of contract value. Final approved SOV: $4.2 million total, mobilization at 1.2 percent, no front-loaded unit rates, punch list adequately funded.
SOV by contract type
The SOV looks different depending on the contract. Lump-sum SOVs are about front-loading detection. Cost-plus SOVs are about cost tracking. Unit-price SOVs combine the SOV with a rate schedule. T&M uses an SOV only for the fixed-fee portion.
| Attribute | Lump Sum | Cost-Plus / GMP | Unit Price | T&M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOV total must equal | Contract value exactly | GMP ceiling (open-book) | Estimated total + unit schedule | Fixed-fee portion only |
| Owner review focus | Front-loading detection | Cost tracking vs ceiling | Unit rates + quantity assumptions | Markup transparency |
| Cost-coding | Mirrors CSI MasterFormat | Mirrors job-cost codes 1:1 | Combined with unit-rate schedule | Less common; fee portion only |
| Front-loading risk | High (mobilization, sitework) | Low (open-book pricing) | Moderate (unit balancing) | Low (time-based billing) |
| Audit difficulty | Moderate (unit-rate variance) | Low (open-book invoices) | Moderate (quantity true-ups) | Low (timesheet review) |
| Change order impact | New SOV line added | Cost rolled into open-book | Quantity adjusted, unit rate held | Hours adjusted at agreed rate |
| Typical granularity | 30-500 line items | 50-1,000+ line items | 20-150 unit categories | 5-20 fee lines |
Five signals owners use to detect front-loading
Front-loading is the classic SOV audit finding. Owners look for these patterns during initial approval and on every pay application that follows.
- 01
Mobilization above 5 percent of contract value
Industry norm caps mobilization at 1-5 percent. Federal contracts often hold it to 2-3 percent. A mobilization line above 5 percent without a documented justification is the most common front-loading flag and the first item negotiated down during SOV approval.
- 02
General Conditions disproportionate to project duration
General conditions should scale with project duration and crew complexity. A 12-month project with general conditions at 12 percent of contract value warrants scrutiny if comparable projects ran 6-8 percent. Break general conditions into supervision, temp utilities, insurance, bonds, and trailers so each can be reviewed independently.
- 03
Early-phase items over-valued relative to schedule weight
Sitework, excavation, and foundation line items that consume 25 percent of contract value but only 15 percent of the schedule duration are the classic front-loading pattern. Owners cross-check the SOV against the resource-loaded schedule to catch this. The dollar weight of each line should track its physical weight in the schedule.
- 04
Same trade with markedly different unit rates across line items
A masonry contractor showing $18 per square foot for early-phase walls and $11 per square foot for later-phase walls is a front-loading signal unless scope variance justifies the gap. Audit unit rates by trade across the full SOV. Significant variance without documented scope difference is the strongest indicator of front-loading.
- 05
Punch list line item missing or under-valued
A missing punch list line or one valued below 1 percent of contract is a common signal. Contractors who front-load early-phase items often under-value the punch list line because they expect to absorb closeout costs into their fee. Owners hold retainage longer when the punch list line is suspiciously low.
Owner audit checklist for the SOV
Owner reps and project managers use checklists like this during SOV approval and again every pay period. Run your own SOV against it before submission.
Industry benchmarks for SOV line items
Reference numbers used by owner reps, lenders, and federal cost engineers when reviewing a Schedule of Values. Sources include AGC, CFMA, FAR Part 32, and AACE International.
Frequently asked questions
The Schedule of Values lives in a spreadsheet. The G703 Continuation Sheet lives in a separate template. Daily field progress lives in a third place. Stored materials get tracked on a fourth. By the time pay day rolls around, somebody spends two days reconciling everything by hand. Plan of Day is voice-first construction reporting that captures daily progress from the field, ties each field observation back to its SOV line item, and feeds the cost-loaded SOV, stored materials log, and G703 worksheet in one place. POD's intelligence engine flags unit-rate variance and front-loading patterns before the pay application hits the owner's desk. The numbers reconcile because they came from the same source.
Further reading
Construction Billing Methods Compared
Lump-sum, cost-plus, GMP, unit-price, and T&M billing methods explained with how each interacts with the Schedule of Values.
Earned Value Management in Construction
How the cost-loaded SOV becomes the baseline for earned value reporting. CPI, SPI, and the relationship between SOV and schedule.
Critical Path Method (CPM) in Construction
Why the resource-loaded schedule must stay in sync with the cost-loaded SOV. Float analysis and progress reporting.
Construction Daily Report Guide
How field progress reports feed monthly SOV billing. The connection between daily work-completed entries and pay applications.
Sources
- AIA Contract Documents (G702 Application for Payment and G703 Continuation Sheet) — standard forms governing SOV-based progress billing on AIA-family contracts.
- AACE International (Recommended Practice 22R-01 and cost-engineering guidance) — direct labor productivity measurement, contingency standards, and cost-loading methodology.
- Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) Schedule of Values guidance — industry guidance on line-item granularity and pay application practice.
- FAR Part 32 (Federal Acquisition Regulation, Contract Financing) — federal progress payment rules and SOV cost-substantiation requirements.
- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Schedule of Values requirements — SOV cost categories and reporting structure for federal-aid highway projects.
- CSI MasterFormat 2024 — Construction Specifications Institute classification system used to organize SOV line items.
- Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) — industry practice for mobilization, general conditions, and cash flow management.