Schedule of values

Definition

The line-item breakdown a subcontractor submits with each payment application.

Why It Matters

Nearly half this trade's receipts arrive as work subcontracted in from another contractor, so most of the revenue is billed through pay applications and not invoices. A front-loaded schedule finances the early weeks of a job and leaves a hole at the end, and the buyer inherits that hole along with the contract. Ask for the schedule and the percent complete on every open job and compare the billed line against the cost line, one job at a time.