Free schedule of values pay application template
A working Excel pay application: the application-for-payment summary and the continuation sheet, with the retainage, stored-materials, and balance-to-finish formulas already wired so the sheet does the math your reviewer will check.
Download the free template (.xlsx)
Free download. No signup, no email required.
What is inside the workbook
Two linked sheets that mirror the standard progress-billing format, with every derived cell computed by formula.
Application summary sheet
The application summary page: contract sum, net change orders, total completed and stored, the two retainage lines, earned less retainage, previous certificates, and current payment due — all formula-driven.
Continuation sheet
The schedule-of-values grid: scheduled value, previous applications, this period, materials presently stored, total completed and stored, percent, balance to finish, and retainage per line.
Retainage math built in
Separate rates for completed work and stored materials feed the summary automatically, so a mid-job rate change or a materials-only rate is one cell edit, not a rebuild.
Stored materials column
Materials presently stored carries its own column and flows into total completed and stored, matching how reviewers expect Column F to behave when material gets installed.
Change order summary
An additions/deductions block that rolls approved change orders into the contract sum to date, keeping the revised contract honest.
Totals that cross-check
The continuation sheet totals tie to the summary page by formula, so the two sheets cannot quietly disagree — the first thing an owner’s reviewer looks for.
How to use it
Five minutes to set up, then each month is fill-in-the-period.
Enter the project header once
Owner, contractor, project, application number, period-to date, and the two retainage rates. The rates drive every downstream retainage cell.
Load your schedule of values
One row per SOV line with its scheduled value. The rows should match the SOV attached to your contract exactly — reviewers compare them. New to SOVs? Read the schedule of values guide first.
Each period, fill in the work
Enter work completed this period and materials presently stored per line. Previous-application values carry from your last submission.
Let the formulas do the summary
Total completed and stored, retainage held, earned less retainage, and current payment due compute on the summary sheet. Check them against your own expectation before submitting.
Move stored materials when installed
When stored material gets installed, move its value out of the stored column and into work completed this period, so nothing double-counts in the total.
A note on contract forms: this is a working template in the standard application-and-continuation-sheet structure, in our own layout. Many owners accept a functionally equivalent application; some contracts require a specific licensed form from a publisher. Check your contract before substituting.
When the spreadsheet stops scaling
A template like this is exactly right for a handful of jobs. The failure mode is volume: five projects billing monthly means five workbooks whose previous-application columns must be carried forward by hand, retainage balances tracked on the side, and an AR invoice keyed separately into accounting — every one a chance for the pay app, the ledger, and the WIP schedule to disagree.
SitewideOps generates the whole application from the project's schedule of values: schedule of values pay applications with retainage on work and stored materials, previous certificates carried automatically, the AR invoice drafted on issue, and billings rolling straight into WIP. The template gets you through this month; the platform makes next month automatic.
Not accounting advice. This describes common practice. How these rules apply to your contracts, your revenue recognition policy, and your financial statements is a determination for your CPA.
Frequently asked questions
No. It is a working Excel template in the standard pay application structure — the same math, in our own layout. Some contracts specifically require a licensed form from a publisher, so check your contract language first.
Yes, with separate rates for completed work and materials presently stored, matching the two retainage lines on the standard application. Both feed total retainage held, earned less retainage, and current payment due by formula.
Enter material delivered but not yet installed in the materials-presently-stored column for its SOV line. When it is installed, move the value into work completed this period so the total completed and stored never counts it twice. Our stored-materials guide covers the documentation owners require.
The application summary carries the contract sum, total completed and stored, retainage, and current payment due — the page that gets signed and certified. The continuation sheet is the detail behind it: the schedule of values broken out line by line with each line’s progress. Its totals are what the summary summarizes.
Yes — no signup and no email required. It is built by SitewideOps, whose platform generates the same application automatically from a project’s schedule of values, with retainage and stored materials handled.
Generate the whole pay application instead
SitewideOps builds schedule of values pay applications straight from your schedule of values — retainage, stored materials, previous certificates, and the AR invoice included.
Anyone interested gets a free 21-day demo account: the full product, every feature, no credit card.