Draw Schedule for a $500,000 Job
Each progress draw
$100,000.00
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 amount500000 $
- Deposit at signing10 %
- Number of progress draws after the deposit4
- Final payment at completion10 %
- Retainage held from each draw0 %
Each progress draw$100,000.00
| Deposit at signing | $50,000.0010% |
|---|---|
| Draw 1 | $100,000.00cumulative $150,000.00, 30% of contract |
| Draw 2 | $100,000.00cumulative $250,000.00, 50% of contract |
| Draw 3 | $100,000.00cumulative $350,000.00, 70% of contract |
| Draw 4 | $100,000.00cumulative $450,000.00, 90% of contract |
| Final payment at completion | $50,000.0010% |
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 | $200,000.00 |
| 3 draws | $133,333.33 |
| 4 draws | $100,000.00 |
| 5 draws | $80,000.00 |
| 6 draws | $66,666.67 |
What else matters here
Half a million at four draws is $50,000 down, $100,000 a draw and $50,000 at the end. The arithmetic is simple and the schedule is not one you should sign.
At this size draws are normally monthly and tied to a schedule of values rather than to four milestones. The schedule of values breaks the contract into line items with a dollar figure against each, and each month you bill the percentage complete of each line. That is what a lender and a commercial owner will expect to see.
Use this page to sanity check the cash, not to write the contract. If four draws of $100,000 would leave you carrying a month of payroll, subs and material against a single payment, the real schedule needs more draws and smaller ones.
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 $500,000 job?
Monthly draws against a schedule of values, rather than four equal draws. The four draw split shown here is $50,000 down, $100,000 a draw and $50,000 at completion.
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.
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.