What is a construction schedule of values?
A construction schedule of values, often shortened to SOV, allocates the total contract amount across defined portions of work. Each line has a scheduled value, and future payment applications use those lines to show what was completed previously, what was completed this period, eligible stored materials, retainage, and the remaining balance.
The SOV is a billing map, not a construction schedule and not the internal job-cost budget. It explains how contract value will be earned and requested. The construction schedule explains when work should occur. The job-cost budget tracks what the contractor expects to spend.
Reconciliation rule:
Current scheduled values = current approved contract sum. Current completed-and-stored value = prior accepted value + supportable new value. Current payment due = cumulative earned value − contract-required retainage − prior certified payments, subject to the required form and approval process.
Schedule of values versus estimate versus invoice
Estimate or bid
Builds the proposed price from quantities, rates, labor, material, equipment, subcontractors, overhead, profit, allowances, and exclusions.
Schedule of values
Reorganizes the agreed contract price into measurable billing components. It may resemble the estimate, but it serves a different review and payment purpose.
Invoice or pay application
Requests payment under the contract. A complex construction pay application usually includes more support than a standard invoice, such as continuation detail, retainage, stored materials, and approved changes.
Schedule of values fields to include
Item number
A stable row or cost-code reference used across billing periods.
Description of work
Specific scope, phase, trade, assembly, or location a reviewer can identify.
Scheduled value
The contract value allocated to that line item. All rows must reconcile to the current contract sum.
Previous work
Cumulative work completed and accepted before the current billing period.
Current work
Additional value earned during the current billing period.
Stored materials
Eligible, documented materials not already counted as installed work, handled exactly as the contract requires.
Completed and stored
Cumulative value earned to date for the line item.
Percent complete
Completed-and-stored value divided by scheduled value when that calculation matches the required form.
Balance to finish
Scheduled value less completed-and-stored value, adjusted according to the required form.
Retainage
Contract-defined amount withheld from eligible work or materials.
Approved change orders
Executed, billable contract changes added as traceable rows or handled in the format the agreement requires.
Eight-step schedule of values workflow
Read the contract and billing instructions first
Confirm the required form, line-item structure, billing cutoff, submission deadline, review chain, retainage rule, stored-material requirements, supporting documents, and change-order treatment. The owner, general contractor, architect, lender, or public agency may require a specific format. Build to that requirement instead of converting your numbers after the first pay application is due.
Break the signed scope into measurable work items
Start with the executed contract scope and current drawings—not an old estimating template. Divide the work by trade, phase, location, assembly, or deliverable so a reviewer can observe and approve partial progress. Avoid one vague line for an entire project, but do not create hundreds of tiny rows that cannot be maintained consistently.
Assign realistic, balanced scheduled values
Allocate labor, material, equipment, subcontractor, project support, overhead, and profit according to the agreed pricing structure. Show legitimate mobilization, bonds, permits, supervision, or temporary facilities when the contract permits them. Do not inflate early activities or bill value that has not been earned merely to improve short-term cash flow.
Reconcile every line to the current contract sum
Add the scheduled values and compare the total with the executed contract amount. After approved change orders, reconcile the revised schedule to the current contract sum. Keep pending or disputed changes outside billable contract value unless the agreement expressly allows another treatment.
Submit the breakdown for review before billing
Send the proposed schedule through the required approval path before the first payment application. Resolve requests for more detail, cost-code alignment, location breakdowns, or unbalanced values early. Preserve the accepted baseline and version date so later billing does not drift between spreadsheets.
Update progress from field evidence
For each billing period, separate previously completed work, current-period work, and eligible stored materials. Use site observations, daily reports, photos, delivery tickets, invoices, inspection records, and subcontractor billing as applicable. Report the value actually earned under the contract rather than using a broad guess for percent complete.
Apply retainage and prior payments consistently
Follow the contract and applicable law for retainage, including whether rates differ for work and stored materials or change at a milestone. Reconcile cumulative earned value, retainage, prior certified amounts, and the current request. Never calculate the new invoice in isolation from the prior approved application.
Add approved changes and close every billing period
Reflect approved change orders as traceable line items or contract-permitted adjustments, then update the contract total and balance to finish. Archive the submitted and approved version, note reviewer changes, and begin the next cycle from the last accepted figures—not from a parallel copy.
Schedule of values example
This simplified $120,000 example demonstrates the reconciliation trail only. It is not an AIA form, a recommended line-item allocation, or a retainage recommendation. Use the project’s contract, required documents, and accepted values.
Scheduled values
Mobilization/permits $6,000; materials $24,000; demolition/prep $12,000; rough-ins $18,000; installation $30,000; finishes $14,000; closeout $4,000; overhead/profit $12,000. Total: $120,000.
Previous completed work
$20,000 accepted on the prior payment application.
Current completed work
$22,000 supported by the current field progress review.
Stored materials
$8,000 eligible under this example’s assumed contract requirements and not counted as installed work.
Completed and stored to date
$20,000 + $22,000 + $8,000 = $50,000.
Example retainage
Assumed 5% for this example only: $50,000 × 5% = $2,500. The actual rate and treatment come from the contract and applicable law.
Prior certified payments
$19,000, representing the prior $20,000 earned less the example’s $1,000 retainage.
Current payment due
$50,000 earned − $2,500 cumulative retainage − $19,000 previously certified = $28,500.
Balance to finish
$120,000 scheduled value − $50,000 completed and stored = $70,000 before any later approved changes.
Schedule of values review checklist
The form, billing date, review path, backup, and notice requirements match the signed contract
Every line describes measurable work and uses the reviewer’s required breakdown or cost codes
Scheduled values are balanced, supportable, and not improperly front-loaded
The schedule total equals the current contract sum, including only approved changes
Previous work matches the last accepted payment application exactly
Current work is supported by field progress and is not counted again as stored material
Stored materials satisfy location, title, insurance, invoice, photo, or delivery requirements that apply
Retainage, prior certificates, current request, and balance to finish reconcile before submission
Common schedule of values mistakes
Using one broad line such as “construction labor and materials” that cannot support partial approval
Copying estimate cost rows directly without adapting them to the contract’s billing structure
Inflating mobilization or early-phase values beyond the supportable contract allocation
Changing prior-period numbers instead of beginning with the last accepted application
Billing stored material without the required proof or counting it again after installation
Adding pending or verbal changes to the contract sum before they are billable under the agreement
Applying retainage differently across rows, forms, or billing periods without a documented basis
The contract, required form, and local law control
Schedule-of-values approval, payment applications, retainage, stored materials, lien waivers, notice deadlines, prompt-payment rights, certified payroll, and change-order billing vary by contract, project, and jurisdiction. This guide is operational education, not legal, accounting, or contract advice. Use the required forms and obtain qualified local guidance for the actual job.
Keep the source records organized in QuoteAnvil
QuoteAnvil can help you build the itemized estimate, keep the customer and approved scope connected to the job, document approved changes and field progress, and create invoices from clear line items. If a project requires a formal SOV, AIA document, lender draw, or other pay-application package, prepare and submit that required document separately.
Preserve explicit quantities, units, rates, sections, and customer approvals
Keep project notes, photos, daily logs, selections, and changes with the job
Use approved change records instead of rewriting the original scope silently
Compare estimate, invoice, and actual job-cost records without claiming formal pay-app generation
Start progress billing from a clear scope record
Build itemized estimates, document approved changes, connect field records to the job, and keep invoice lines reviewable in QuoteAnvil.
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