Schedule of Values Template
Download a schedule of values template to break down contract amounts, track progress billing, stored materials, retention, approved changes, and balance to finish.
Break Construction Contracts into Clear Billable Values
A schedule of values divides a construction contract into individual activities, work packages, cost codes, or trade sections with an assigned value for each item. It gives contractors and subcontractors a consistent structure for measuring progress, preparing payment applications, tracking stored materials, calculating retention, and monitoring the remaining contract balance.
This Schedule of Values Template is designed for subcontractors, specialty contractors, main contractors, project managers, estimators, quantity surveyors, contract administrators, and commercial teams. It can be used for fixed-price contracts, progress billing, milestone payments, measured work, unit-rate work, approved change orders, and final account reconciliation.
What Is a Schedule of Values?
A schedule of values is a detailed breakdown of the total contract amount. Each row represents a defined portion of the work, such as mobilisation, rough-in, equipment installation, testing, finishes, commissioning, or closeout. The value of all rows should reconcile to the approved contract amount.
During each billing period, the contractor updates the previous work completed, current work completed, stored materials, retention, and balance to finish for every line item. This makes it easier to support progress invoices and payment applications with a consistent record of contract performance.
When to Use This Template
- Breaking down a fixed-price construction contract
- Preparing monthly or periodic payment applications
- Tracking percentage-complete billing
- Recording stored materials separately from installed work
- Managing retention by work package
- Adding approved contract changes
- Monitoring earned value and balance to finish
- Reconciling the final contract account
Who Should Use This Template?
This template is suitable for subcontractors, specialty contractors, general contractors, project managers, estimators, quantity surveyors, contract administrators, commercial managers, and accounts teams responsible for project billing and contract-value control.
It can be adapted for electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, concrete, structural steel, framing, drywall, painting, flooring, glazing, fire protection, waterproofing, demolition, excavation, landscaping, masonry, civil works, and other specialist construction trades.
What a Schedule of Values Should Include
| Schedule Section | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Project and Contract Details | Links the schedule to the correct customer, project, contract, subcontract, purchase order, and work package. |
| Line-Item Identification | Assigns an item number, cost code, trade, phase, location, and description to each portion of work. |
| Scheduled Value | Assigns an approved monetary value to every activity or work package. |
| Previous Work Completed | Records the value completed and billed before the current period. |
| Current Work Completed | Records the value earned during the current billing period. |
| Stored Materials | Tracks approved materials purchased for the project but not yet installed. |
| Total Completed and Stored | Combines work completed to date with eligible stored-material value. |
| Percentage Complete | Shows progress for each line item as a percentage of the revised scheduled value. |
| Balance to Finish | Shows the value remaining after completed work and stored materials are deducted. |
| Retention | Calculates the amount withheld and the net value eligible for payment. |
| Approved Changes | Adjusts the original value for approved additions and deductions. |
| Certification and Notes | Records approved values, deductions, supporting references, and review comments. |
How to Use the Template
- Enter the project, customer, contractor, contract, and purchase-order details.
- Break the scope into measurable activities, phases, cost codes, or work packages.
- Assign an approved value to each line item and confirm the total matches the contract.
- Record approved additions and deductions separately from the original value.
- Carry forward previous completed-work and stored-material values from the prior billing period.
- Enter current completed work using verified quantities, milestones, or percentages.
- Record eligible stored materials with the required supporting evidence.
- Review total completion, retention, and balance to finish for each line.
- Confirm no item exceeds its revised scheduled value.
- Lock the approved version and use it consistently for future payment applications.
An electrical subcontractor has a £280,000 contract for a warehouse fit-out. The schedule of values separates mobilisation, containment, cabling, distribution boards, lighting, fire alarm interfaces, testing, commissioning, and closeout. By the third billing period, £96,000 has been completed previously, £42,000 is completed in the current period, and £18,500 of approved switchgear is stored off site. The schedule calculates total earned value, percentage complete, retention, and the balance remaining for each work package.
Best Practices for Building a Schedule of Values
- Use line items that are detailed enough to measure and verify.
- Align descriptions with the contract scope, estimate, and work breakdown structure.
- Keep values proportionate to the labour, materials, equipment, and risk in each activity.
- Avoid loading excessive value into mobilisation or early-stage work.
- Separate major equipment, stored materials, testing, commissioning, and closeout where useful.
- Use the same item numbers and descriptions in every payment application.
- Record approved changes without rewriting prior-period values.
- Track previous, current, and total-to-date values separately.
- Review percentage complete against physical site progress.
- Protect approved formulas and prior-period data from accidental edits.
Common Schedule of Values Mistakes
- Using descriptions that are too broad to measure
- Failing to reconcile line-item totals to the contract value
- Changing item descriptions between billing periods
- Including unapproved change orders in the revised value
- Claiming more than 100% of a line item
- Double-counting stored materials and installed work
- Applying retention inconsistently
- Overvaluing early-stage or mobilisation activities
- Leaving commissioning, defects, or closeout work without value
- Overwriting previous-period data instead of carrying it forward
Frequently Asked Questions
Should a schedule of values equal the contract amount?
Yes. The total original scheduled value should equal the original contract amount. After approved additions and deductions, the revised schedule should equal the revised contract value.
How detailed should the schedule be?
It should be detailed enough for the customer or certifier to verify progress without creating unnecessary administrative work. Major phases, equipment packages, locations, milestones, and closeout activities are often useful breakdown points.
Can stored materials be included?
Yes, when the contract permits it and the required evidence is provided. Stored-material values should be tracked separately from installed work to prevent duplicate billing.
How are change orders added?
Approved additions and deductions can be assigned to existing line items or added as separate items. Keep the original value, change value, and revised value visible so the contract history remains clear.
How is percentage complete calculated?
Percentage complete is typically calculated by dividing completed work and eligible stored materials by the revised scheduled value. The calculation method should match the contract and customer requirements.
What happens when a line item reaches 100%?
No additional work value should be billed against that line unless an approved change increases its revised value. Retention may still remain withheld until the contract conditions for release are met.
Keep Contract Values and Progress Billing Aligned
A well-structured schedule of values gives contractors a reliable way to measure progress, support payment applications, manage retention, and monitor the balance remaining on each part of the job. Consistent line items also make billing easier to review across the life of the project.
An XLSX workbook provides a practical way to maintain the schedule and carry values forward from one billing period to the next. As work progresses, SimplySub can help subcontractors organise estimates, jobs, change orders, purchase orders, time records, expenses, invoices, documents, and job-cost information.