Guides
Payments and valuations in construction
Payments and valuations in construction cover the commercial cycle between doing the work and being paid for it: valuing the work completed, applying for payment, invoicing, tracking what is owed, and releasing retention at the end. It is the part of the job where paperwork, contract terms and cash flow meet.
The mechanics differ by market: UK contractors value and apply, US contractors bill against a schedule of values on AIA forms, and both hold retention. The discipline underneath is the same, and this hub indexes everything Archdesk has published on it.
Below you will find the billing guides, the retention and change order material, the cash flow reads, and free templates for the schedule of values and the change order log.
The product pages for this topic
Four Archdesk products carry the payment cycle, from application to cash in the bank.
Payment applications
Prepare, submit and track applications for payment on every project.
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Invoicing
Raise and manage construction invoices from the same system that holds the costs.
See the productPayment tracking
Track what has been applied for, what is due and what has been paid across every job.
See the productMilestone payments
Set up milestone-based payment schedules and follow each one through to payment.
See the productStart here
The billing fundamentals, in one guide with templates.
Payment applications and billing
The paperwork between work done and money in: applications, schedules of values and lien waivers.
- The 2026 guide to AIA billing (G702 and G703)How AIA progress billing works and how the G702 and G703 forms fit together.
- The US guide to the construction schedule of valuesBuilding and maintaining a schedule of values that keeps progress billing clean.
- The 2026 guide to construction lien waiversHow lien waivers work and where they sit in the payment cycle.
Retention and retainage
The money held back, and how to get it released.
Change orders and variations
Scope changes are where payment disputes start, so they earn their own shelf.
- The 2026 guide to construction change ordersPricing, agreeing and billing change orders without giving margin away.
- FIDIC variation orders in the GCCVariation orders under FIDIC contracts, written for GCC projects.
- Top construction change order software reviewedSix change order tools reviewed side by side.
Cash flow
What the payment cycle does to the bank balance, and how to stay ahead of it.
- Solving construction cash flow problemsThe recurring causes of construction cash flow trouble, and the fixes that hold.
- Cash flow as the number one risk in constructionWhy cash flow is the risk that closes contractors, and how to manage it.
- Fixing cash flow in UK constructionThe 2026 liquidity picture for UK contractors and what to do about it.
- Embedded finance and the long payment waitWhat embedded finance changes about long payment waits in construction.
- The guide to construction work-in-progress reportingReading WIP reports: the bridge between cost, billing and revenue.
- Real-time WIP reporting and construction lendingWhy lenders care about WIP reporting, and what up-to-date reporting changes.
Templates and tools
Free, ready-to-use starting points for the billing paperwork.
- Free schedule of values templateA ready-to-use schedule of values template for progress billing.
- Free change order log templateA ready-to-use log for tracking every change order from request to billing.
- Construction change order calculatorA calculator for pricing construction change orders before you commit.
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