Draw Schedule for a $200,000 Job
Each progress draw
$40,000.00
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 amount200000 $
- Deposit at signing10 %
- Number of progress draws after the deposit4
- Final payment at completion10 %
- Retainage held from each draw0 %
Each progress draw$40,000.00
| Deposit at signing | $20,000.0010% |
|---|---|
| Draw 1 | $40,000.00cumulative $60,000.00, 30% of contract |
| Draw 2 | $40,000.00cumulative $100,000.00, 50% of contract |
| Draw 3 | $40,000.00cumulative $140,000.00, 70% of contract |
| Draw 4 | $40,000.00cumulative $180,000.00, 90% of contract |
| Final payment at completion | $20,000.0010% |
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 | $80,000.00 |
| 3 draws | $53,333.33 |
| 4 draws | $40,000.00 |
| 5 draws | $32,000.00 |
| 6 draws | $26,666.67 |
What else matters here
Twenty thousand at signing, four draws of $40,000, twenty thousand at completion. Put 10 percent retainage against the same schedule and each draw pays $36,000 instead, with $16,000 released at closeout.
At this value the draw stops being an invoice and becomes a package, and a draw is late far more often because the package was incomplete than because anyone refused to pay. What the person approving it usually needs is the application itself with the amount and the period, the backup showing what was completed, dated photos, lien waivers from the subs and suppliers covering the previous payment, and a signed copy of every change order included in the total.
Ask for that list in writing before the first application, from the person who actually processes it rather than the one who signed the contract. Then build it into a template and send the same package every time. An application that has to go back for one missing waiver does not resume where it stopped, it goes to the bottom of the next cycle, and on a monthly cycle that single missing document costs thirty days.
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 $200,000 job?
A 10 percent deposit of $20,000, four progress draws of $40,000 each, and a $20,000 final payment at completion. With 10 percent retainage the draws pay $36,000 and $16,000 is released at closeout.
What has to be submitted with a draw request?
Usually the application, backup showing what was completed, dated photos, lien waivers covering the previous payment, and signed change orders. Ask for the exact list in writing before the first application, because a missing document sends the whole package back a cycle.
How big should the final payment be?
Ten to twenty percent. Under 10 percent and the customer has no real reason to sign off and release you. Over 20 percent and you are funding their job through the punch list, which is the slowest and most argumentative part of any project.
The payment schedule calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.