Draw Schedule for a $750,000 Job
Each progress draw
$150,000.00
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 amount750000 $
- Deposit at signing10 %
- Number of progress draws after the deposit4
- Final payment at completion10 %
- Retainage held from each draw0 %
Each progress draw$150,000.00
| Deposit at signing | $75,000.0010% |
|---|---|
| Draw 1 | $150,000.00cumulative $225,000.00, 30% of contract |
| Draw 2 | $150,000.00cumulative $375,000.00, 50% of contract |
| Draw 3 | $150,000.00cumulative $525,000.00, 70% of contract |
| Draw 4 | $150,000.00cumulative $675,000.00, 90% of contract |
| Final payment at completion | $75,000.0010% |
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 | $300,000.00 |
| 3 draws | $200,000.00 |
| 4 draws | $150,000.00 |
| 5 draws | $120,000.00 |
| 6 draws | $100,000.00 |
What else matters here
Seventy five thousand at signing, four draws of $150,000, seventy five thousand at completion. Eight draws pays $75,000 a time and is much closer to how a job this size is actually billed.
A contract at this value is billed against an approved schedule of values, and the word doing the work in that sentence is approved. The breakdown has to be submitted and accepted before the first application goes in, and until it is accepted there is nothing to bill against. Contractors lose the whole of payment number one this way: the work is done, the application is ready, and the schedule of values is still being marked up.
Submit it in the first two weeks, before there is anything to argue about, and treat the review as a negotiation rather than a formality. The owner's representative will look for front loading and for lines too vague to measure, so go in with a breakdown that anticipates both. Once it is accepted it governs every application for the rest of the job, and changing it later needs agreement you will not get easily, so the version you get approved is the version you live with.
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 $750,000 job?
Ten percent at signing, ten percent at completion and the rest across the progress draws, which at four draws is $150,000 each and at eight is $75,000. Contracts this size normally bill monthly against a schedule of values instead of fixed milestones.
When should the schedule of values be submitted?
Within the first two weeks and before the first application. Nothing can be billed until it is approved, and an unapproved breakdown is the usual reason payment number one is a month late on a job of this size.
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.