Draw Schedule for a $60,000 Job
Each progress draw
$12,000.00
10% deposit at signing, four equal progress draws, 10% final payment at completion, no retainage held.
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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 amount60000 $
- Deposit at signing10 %
- Number of progress draws after the deposit4
- Final payment at completion10 %
- Retainage held from each draw0 %
Each progress draw$12,000.00
| Deposit at signing | $6,000.0010% |
|---|---|
| Draw 1 | $12,000.00cumulative $18,000.00, 30% of contract |
| Draw 2 | $12,000.00cumulative $30,000.00, 50% of contract |
| Draw 3 | $12,000.00cumulative $42,000.00, 70% of contract |
| Draw 4 | $12,000.00cumulative $54,000.00, 90% of contract |
| Final payment at completion | $6,000.0010% |
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 | $24,000.00 |
| 3 draws | $16,000.00 |
| 4 draws | $12,000.00 |
| 5 draws | $9,600.00 |
| 6 draws | $8,000.00 |
What else matters here
Six thousand at signing, four draws of $12,000, six thousand at completion. At six draws each one is $8,000.
Jobs this size usually carry two or three subcontractors, and that changes what the schedule has to do. It is no longer just about your own cash, it is about whether money comes in faster than it has to go out. If your subs invoice on completion of their scope and expect payment in two weeks, and your draws arrive three weeks after the matching milestone, you are the bank on every phase of the job.
Line the two up before you sign anything. Write your draw milestones so each one lands on or just before the point where a sub or a supplier becomes payable, and make your subcontract terms net 30 from your receipt of the corresponding draw rather than net 30 from their invoice. That is a normal and defensible term, and it is far better to have the conversation at the subcontract stage than in week six with an unpaid framer on the phone.
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 $60,000 job?
A 10 percent deposit of $6,000, four progress draws of $12,000 each, and a $6,000 final payment at completion.
How do draws line up with paying subcontractors?
Money in should arrive before money out. Put each draw milestone on or just before the point a sub becomes payable, and set subcontract terms that run from your receipt of the matching draw rather than from the sub's invoice date.
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.