Schedule of Values Template

What a schedule of values is, and who reads it

A schedule of values is the contract sum broken into line items that can each be measured for progress. It is usually submitted with, or before, the first pay application, and once the GC or owner accepts it, every application for the rest of the job bills against those lines. Three people read it closely: the GC's project manager, who checks that it adds up and that no line is padded; the owner's lender or architect, who certifies percentages against what they see on site; and your own bookkeeper, who has to reconcile what you billed to what you earned. Write it for all three.

On the form, a contract block carries the original contract sum, the net of approved change orders and the contract sum to date. The table lists the lines with a scheduled value, the percent of contract each represents and a notes column for the basis of the value. A change order section, subtotals and a single total row make the tie-out visible on paper. The schedule of values guide walks through the reasoning line by line.

How to break the contract into lines

Follow the sequence of the work. For a mechanical subcontract that means mobilization and submittals first, then underground, then rough-in by system, then equipment, distribution and controls, and finally fixtures, testing and closeout. Each line should meet three tests:

• Measurable — you can state a percent complete for it after a site walk without argument. "Ductwork & distribution" is measurable by floor; "HVAC" is not.
• Billable in reasonable increments — a $200 line is not worth the row; a $150,000 line will be 40% complete for three months and invite scrutiny. Split it.
• Traceable to the estimate — the sum of the lines equals the contract sum, and you can show how each value was derived if asked. The workbook's percent column makes a padded line obvious at a glance.

Use the notes column to pre-empt questions: which portion of an equipment line is the equipment itself (so stored-material billing is understood), which lines are billed by area, and which are billed on a deliverable like the balancing report.

A worked example

The completed example is the schedule for a $486,200.00 mechanical subcontract on a medical office building, revised in September to add two approved change orders. Twelve lines cover the original scope, from $14,600.00 for mobilization and submittals (2.97% of the contract) through the two largest lines — $96,500.00 for four rooftop units (19.63%) and $88,700.00 for ductwork and distribution (18.04%) — down to $5,700.00 for closeout, manuals and training. The change order section adds CO-001 at +$7,350.00 for a relocated rooftop-unit curb and CO-002 at −$1,980.00 for a deleted water heater installation, for a net of $5,370.00.

The original schedule subtotals to $486,200.00 (98.91%), the change orders to $5,370.00 (1.09%), and the total scheduled value is $491,570.00 — exactly the contract sum to date in the header. The same lines, in the same order, appear on page 2 of the pay application template's completed example, where application no. 3 bills them for August.

Schedule of values vs. estimate vs. pay application

• Estimate — internal pricing by cost type (material, labor, equipment, subs) with overhead and margin. Construction estimate template.
• Schedule of values — external, the contract sum by billable phase, no cost or margin shown. Built from the estimate, accepted by the GC, revised by change orders.
• Pay application — the monthly bill against the schedule: previous, this period, stored, total, retainage. The Billing Tracker sheet in this workbook does that math per line; the pay application template adds the certificate page.
• Budget / job cost — the same lines tracked against actual cost, which is a different question from what you have billed. Construction budget template.

Front-loading and the other mistakes GCs look for

• Front-loading — weighting mobilization or early rough-in above its cost to improve cash flow. A little is customary; a mobilization line above 5% of the contract gets questioned on most jobs.
• Lines that do not tie — a schedule that totals $486,200.00 against a contract that is now $491,570.00 after change orders. The tie-out cell exists for this.
• Closeout too small to bill — a $1,000 closeout line on a half-million contract means the last 10% of the job earns nothing while retainage sits.
• Lumping systems together — one "plumbing" line for underground, rough-in and trim, which will be argued at 30%, 60% and 90% complete.
• Forgetting to re-issue — billing a change order on the pay application without ever adding it to the accepted schedule.

When change orders arrive, price them on the change order template, add the approved amount here as a line, and bill it on the next application. If you are running more than a job or two, BuildWorkPro's pay applications seed the schedule from your accepted bid and keep it tied to the contract sum for you.