Draw Schedule for a $25,000 Job
Each progress draw
$5,000.00
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 amount25000 $
- Deposit at signing10 %
- Number of progress draws after the deposit4
- Final payment at completion10 %
- Retainage held from each draw0 %
Each progress draw$5,000.00
| Deposit at signing | $2,500.0010% |
|---|---|
| Draw 1 | $5,000.00cumulative $7,500.00, 30% of contract |
| Draw 2 | $5,000.00cumulative $12,500.00, 50% of contract |
| Draw 3 | $5,000.00cumulative $17,500.00, 70% of contract |
| Draw 4 | $5,000.00cumulative $22,500.00, 90% of contract |
| Final payment at completion | $2,500.0010% |
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 | $10,000.00 |
| 3 draws | $6,666.67 |
| 4 draws | $5,000.00 |
| 5 draws | $4,000.00 |
| 6 draws | $3,333.33 |
What else matters here
Twenty five thousand gives $2,500 at signing, four draws of $5,000 and $2,500 at completion. At three draws it is $6,666.67 a time.
The question nobody asks is how many draws this job should have, and the answer is not a fixed number. It comes from how long the job runs. A useful rule is one draw for every two to three weeks on site, because that is roughly how often your own money goes out the door in payroll and material.
A $25,000 kitchen that takes four weeks does not need four draws, it needs two. A $25,000 job spread over three months because it is waiting on a custom order needs more, not fewer, and the draws should land where the spending lands. Count the weeks first, then pick the number of draws, then find a visible milestone near each one. Doing it in the other order is how you end up with a milestone that is three weeks from the last one and a payroll run in between.
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 $25,000 job?
A 10 percent deposit of $2,500, four progress draws of $5,000 each, and a $2,500 final payment at completion.
How many draws should a job have?
Roughly one for every two to three weeks on site. The number comes from the length of the job, not from the dollar value, because what the schedule has to keep up with is your own payroll and material spend.
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.