Draw Schedule for a $10,000 Job
Each progress draw
$2,000.00
10% deposit at signing, four equal progress draws, 10% final payment at completion, no retainage held.
When the figures look right, the payment schedule downloads as a real PDF with your business details on it, built inside your own browser. Nothing you type is uploaded anywhere.
How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Contract amount10000 $
- Deposit at signing10 %
- Number of progress draws after the deposit4
- Final payment at completion10 %
- Retainage held from each draw0 %
Each progress draw$2,000.00
| Deposit at signing | $1,000.0010% |
|---|---|
| Draw 1 | $2,000.00cumulative $3,000.00, 30% of contract |
| Draw 2 | $2,000.00cumulative $5,000.00, 50% of contract |
| Draw 3 | $2,000.00cumulative $7,000.00, 70% of contract |
| Draw 4 | $2,000.00cumulative $9,000.00, 90% of contract |
| Final payment at completion | $1,000.0010% |
The draw schedule this produces
| Deposit at signing | 1 |
|---|---|
| Progress draw 1 | 1 |
| Progress draw 2 | 1 |
| Progress draw 3 | 1 |
| Progress draw 4 | 1 |
| Final payment at completion | 1 |
Number of progress draws compared
More draws means smaller amounts more often, which is usually easier to collect and always easier to survive.
| Number of progress draws | Each progress draw |
|---|---|
| 2 draws | $4,000.00 |
| 3 draws | $2,666.67 |
| 4 draws | $2,000.00 |
| 5 draws | $1,600.00 |
| 6 draws | $1,333.33 |
What else matters here
A thousand at signing, four draws of $2,000, a thousand at completion. That is the four draw shape applied to a $10,000 job, and on most jobs this size it is more structure than the work needs.
Ten thousand dollars of work is usually one to three weeks on site, and a schedule with six payment events on a two week job creates paperwork rather than protection. Two draws of $4,000 is the shape most small contractors settle on here: $1,000 down, $4,000 at the halfway milestone, $4,000 at the next one, $1,000 when the customer signs off.
The one thing worth writing carefully at this size is what completion means. Big jobs have an inspection to point at. A bathroom refresh or a fence run has nothing official at the end, so the contract has to say it: all work in the scope performed, site cleaned, and a walkthrough list agreed on a named day. Without that sentence, the final $1,000 is owed whenever the customer decides it is.
What this calculator assumes
- Several states cap the deposit a residential contractor may take, some at 10 percent and some at a flat dollar figure. Check your own state before you write a bigger number here.
- Draws should follow milestones you can point at, not dates. "On completion of rough in inspection" is collectable. "On 15 October" is an argument.
- A final payment under 10 percent gives the customer no reason to sign off, and one over 20 leaves you funding their job.
Questions people ask
What is a normal draw schedule for a $10,000 job?
A 10 percent deposit of $1,000, four progress draws of $2,000, and a $1,000 final payment. On a short job two draws of $4,000 is just as common and easier for both sides to track.
Is a draw schedule worth it on a small job?
Yes, but keep it short. The purpose is that neither side is ever far out of pocket, and on a one or two week job you achieve that with a deposit, one or two draws and a final payment. More events than that on a small job is friction with no benefit.
Should draws be on dates or on milestones?
Milestones you can point at. On completion of rough in inspection is collectable because either the inspection happened or it did not. On 15 October is an argument, because the customer will say the work is not where it should be and they will sometimes be right.
The payment schedule calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.