SOV & Progress Billing

User Personas: Admin | Project Manager

Schedule of Values (SOV) and Progress Billing give you one connected workflow: build the project billing breakdown, track progress by billing period, and generate Pay Applications from it. Every Progress Billing locks to a snapshot of the SOV, so your billing history stays consistent even as the contract changes underneath it.

You will need the appropriate Progress Billing permissions to use the features below. See the Permissions table at the end of this article.

Use the links below to jump to a topic:

• Schedule of Values
  • Open the SOV
  • Manage line items
  • Approved Change Orders
  • Configure columns and custom columns
  • Log Features
  • Version History
• Progress Billing
  • Open the Progress Billing log
  • Create a Progress Billing
  • Enter work progress
  • Retainage and retainage defaults
  • Progress Billing statuses
  • When the SOV changes under a Draft
  • Stored Materials
  • Summary tab
  • PDF, Excel, and Email
• Pay Applications from Progress Billing
  • Generate a Pay App
  • The Continuation Sheet
  • Update a linked Pay App
• Billing Rules and Guardrails
• Permissions
  • Schedule of Values
  • Progress Billing and Pay Apps
• FAQ
  • Why can I not add a Progress Billing?
  • Why can I not edit a Progress Billing?
  • Why are some SOV line items locked from deletion?
  • Why do custom columns not appear in PDFs?
  • Why did a newly approved Change Order not appear on an existing Progress Billing?
  • Why does stored material not bill again when it is installed later?
  • Why did my Pay App status change when I entered a date?
  • Where can I see email activity?
• Appendix: Progress Billing Calculations

Schedule of Values

The Schedule of Values is the master billing worksheet for the project. There is one SOV per project and it is created automatically, so there is no separate setup step.

Open the SOV

1. Open the project
2. In the slide-out menu, select Progress Billing
3. Select Open Schedule of Values at the top right of the Progress Billing log

The SOV opens with four tabs: General Info, SOV, Billing and Activity. The SOV tab is the working grid.

With only the View permission, the SOV opens read-only. A Read Only chip displays at the top, editable fields are locked, and the Add Row, Save and Add Progress actions are hidden.

Manage line items

Line items define the project's billing breakdown.

To add a line item:

1. On the SOV tab, select + Add Row, at the top right of the grid or inside a group header
2. Enter values for Item No., Group, Description of Work and Scheduled Value

To edit a line item, select the cell and type the new value. To delete one, select the row's delete icon and confirm.

Line items used in a billed Progress Billing are locked from deletion, shown by a lock icon at the end of the row. This protects your billing history.

Approved Change Orders

Approved Change Order Requests are added to the SOV automatically, in the Approved Change Orders group pinned at the bottom of the grid. 

When you approve a COR, the system adds a line item with the approved amount as the Scheduled Value, updates that line item if the approved amount changes later, and removes it if approval is revoked.

You can also select + Add Change Order from the group header to create a COR directly from the SOV. See Change Order Requests.

Configure columns and custom columns

Select the gear icon next to Add Row to open the Configure panel. 

From there you can:

• Override item numbers, to number line items manually for owner or contract specific numbering.
• Add a custom column, by typing the name and selecting + Add. Custom columns appear in uppercase to match the standard headers.
• Show or hide a column, using the eye icon.
• Include or exclude a custom column from future Progress Billings, using the dollar-sign icon.
• Reorder columns, by dragging the handle beside a column name or dragging the header in the grid.
• Remove a custom column, using the trash icon, then confirming.

Standard columns such as Description of Work and Scheduled Value cannot be renamed or removed.  Column visibility is saved per browser, so it may not follow you between devices.

Log Features

Button	Purpose
	Opens a print-ready version with two display options:  Schedule of Values with Progress Schedule of Values without Progress.
	Views the audit trail and summary of changes to the SOV.
	Export SOV as Excel downloads: eSUB-[PROJECT-NUMBER]-ScheduleOfValues.xlsx with line items grouped, subtotals, a grand total and the current column order.  Import SOV from Excel updates the SOV in bulk from a spreadsheet. The dialog reviews the detected changes: added in green, edited in orange and deleted in red, with checkboxes so you choose what to apply.  Approved Change Orders are protected during import. Item numbers supplied in your import file are preserved when you apply the changes.
	Sends the SOV as a PDF, an Excel attachment, or both. Recipients are tracked in the project Mailbox, and default recipients can be set under Project Settings, in the Progress Billing distribution lists.
	Creates a new Progress Billing from the SOV.
	Saves the current version of the SOV as entered.

Custom columns are not included in PDFs. If a custom column carries information the recipient needs, send the Excel export instead, or send both.

Version History

The SOV keeps a permanent audit trail. A new version is created whenever:

• A Change Order is approved or removed.
• A Progress Billing is created.
• A Pay Application is created.
• A new editing session begins after another user's changes.

To view it, select View Versions on the top toolbar. Each entry shows:

• The version number
• A status chip (Active, Approved COR, Pay Application, or Progress Billing)
• A summary of changes (items added, removed, or changed)
• Dollar difference
• Timestamp. 

From the version's 3-dot menu you can open the document that triggered it, or view the SOV as it stood at that point.

Progress Billing

A Progress Billing captures billing progress for a specific period. Each one locks to a snapshot of the SOV as it was at the moment of creation, so later SOV changes do not reach back and alter existing Progress Billings.

Open the Progress Billing log

1. Open the project
2. Select Progress Billing from the slide-out menu.
   • The Progress Billing tab is selected by default; use the Pay Apps tab to see Pay Applications.

The log columns are Number, Date, Period, Completed and Stored, Retainage, Amount Due, Pay Application, Status, and Progress to Date. The To Date row pinned at the bottom carries the running totals.

Create a Progress Billing

1. On the SOV, select Add Progress on the top toolbar
2. In the Generate Progress Billing dialog, choose a Period preset or enter custom From and To dates
3. Review the Current Contract Total, Current SOV Version and Items to Bill summary
4. Select Generate Billing

Generating a new Progress Billing Locks the previous one from further editing. Make every final adjustment to the prior period before you generate the next one, because reopening it afterwards may not be possible.

On generation the system creates a new SOV version snapshot, copies the line items into the Progress Billing and links the two. 

The Progress Billing line item structure cannot be changed afterwards, which is what keeps the billing history intact.

Enter work progress

The Work Progress tab is where you enter completion and stored-materials values for the period.

SOV-derived columns are locked: Item No., Group, Description of Work, Scheduled Value, Completed From Previous Pay App, Billed To Date.

You can edit :Work Completed (toggle between This Period and To Date in the column header), % This Period, Materials Presently Stored, Retainage This Period, and Due This Period.

Work Completed and Percent Complete calculate from each other: enter a This Period value and the To Date value updates, and the reverse. Select Save Draft to save.

Work Completed To Date cannot be less than previously completed work, and total completed cannot exceed the Scheduled Value. Rows with errors are highlighted with inline messages in the Description column, and Save Draft stays disabled until they are resolved.

Due This Period is normally calculated automatically. If you manually override it, the grid shows an indicator and an option to return to the calculated value.

Retainage and retainage defaults

Retainage This Period is entered as a percentage on the Work Progress tab, and the amount calculates from the work completed and stored this period. See the Appendix for the exact formula.

You do not have to set that percentage on every billing. A default retainage rate can be configured at company level and at project level, and a new Progress Billing picks the default up automatically. A new project also inherits the company default.

Default retainages apply to NEW Progress Billings. Changing a default retainage does not reach back into a Progress Billing that already exists, so set the rate before you start billing a job rather than after.

Progress Billing statuses

Status	Meaning
	In progress and editable. Only one Draft can exist per project at a time.
	A Pay Application has been generated from it. It returns to Draft only if the linked Pay App is deleted, where deletion is allowed.

Billed Progress Billings also display informational chips when a Pay App is linked:

• Pay App Created, meaning a Pay App was generated.
• Locked by Pay App, meaning the linked Pay App has moved past Draft or Revise and Resubmit, so the Progress Billing is read-only.

When the SOV changes under a Draft

A Progress Billing is a snapshot. If the SOV changes after one is created, for example because a Change Order is approved, that change does not flow into the existing Progress Billing on its own.

While a Progress Billing is still in Draft, the system can detect that a newer SOV version exists and let you bring your draft up to that version. This is always an explicit action you take, never an automatic background sync, so a draft you are part way through will not shift under you. Once a Progress Billing reaches Billed, it is permanently locked to its snapshot and cannot be updated to a newer SOV version at all.

If a Change Order is approved after you have billed a period, its line item appears on the Next Progress Billing rather than the one already billed. That is the snapshot working as intended, not a missing change order.

Stored Materials

Materials Presently Stored is the value of materials on site but not yet installed. Stored amounts roll over to the next Progress Billing, and the system tracks Materials Previously Stored so the same dollars are not billed twice when those materials are installed later.

Example:

• Month 1: $5,000 of pipe is stored on-site and billed as stored material.
• Month 2: The pipe is installed. The $5,000 moves from “stored” to “installed” but is not billed again, since it was already billed when stored.

A warehouse icon appears in the Materials Presently Stored cell when the value includes previously stored materials; select it for a breakdown of previously stored and installed amounts. 

To install from stored materials:

1. Select the install icon in the Materials Presently Stored cell.
2. Enter the amount installed.
3. Confirm.

Summary tab

The Summary tab gives a top-level billing summary for the period, in three groups:

• Contract Values: Scheduled Value, Cost Impact by Change Orders, Revised Scheduled Value.
• Previous Period: Materials Previously Stored.
• This Period: Materials Stored This Period, Completed and Stored This Period, Retainage This Period with its rate, Amount Earned Less Retainage, and Balance to Finish Including Retainage.

PDF, Excel, and Email

View PDF offers three display options:

• Progress Billing — This Period
• Progress Billing — To Date
• Progress Billing — Continuation Sheet

Excel export downloads eSUB-[PROJECT-NUMBER]-ProgressBilling.xlsx. 

Email sends the Progress Billing PDF, with an optional Excel attachment, to recipients drawn from the Progress Billing distribution lists under Project Settings.

Pay Applications from Progress Billing

Pay Applications are generated directly from a Progress Billing. The values flow from the Progress Billing snapshot, and key fields are locked on the Pay App so the totals cannot drift away from the billing history.

This section covers the two actions you perform from a Progress Billing. For everything else about Pay Applications, including the full status list, the calculations, the PDF display options and how to email one, see Pay Applications.

Generate a Pay App

1. Open the Progress Billing
2. Select Save and Generate Pay App on the top toolbar
3. Review the Generate Pay Application Draft dialog, which shows:
   • The contract value
   • The current period's values that will populate the Pay App
4. Add internal notes if preferred
5. Select Proceed to Pay Application
6. Complete any required Pay App fields
7. Select Save

After saving, you land on the Pay Application view. Closing it returns you to the originating Progress Billing.

A Pay App generated from a Progress Billing names its source in the Pay Applications log and on the Pay App view, with a link back to that Progress Billing. A manually created Pay App shows a Manually created Pay Application tag in the same place instead. That tag is how you spot, at a glance, which Pay Apps on a job are outside the Progress Billing workflow.

On a Pay App generated from a Progress Billing, the Scheduled Value Amount, Net Change by Change Orders and progress totals are locked to the parent snapshot.  A Change Order approved after the Progress Billing was created does not flow into that Progress Billing or its Pay App.

The Continuation Sheet

Generating a Pay App from a Progress Billing is what makes the continuation sheet available on that Pay App. When you generate its PDF, an Include Progress section appears naming the source Progress Billing, with an Attach Continuation Sheet checkbox selected by default. That appends the Progress Billing's line-item breakdown to the Pay Application PDF, so the certificate and the detail behind it travel together as one document.

A manually created Pay App has no Progress Billing behind it and therefore no continuation sheet. This is one of the concrete reasons to generate Pay Apps from Progress Billing rather than by hand. For the rest of the Pay App PDF options, see Pay Applications.

Update a linked Pay App

While the linked Pay App is in Draft or Revise and Resubmit, you can update the Progress Billing and push the changes across.

1. Open the Progress Billing
2. Update the progress values
3. Select Save and Update Pay App on the top toolbar
4. Review the dialog showing the value changes
5. Add internal notes if preferred
6. Select Update Pay Application

Once the Pay App moves past Revise and Resubmit, to Pending, Approved, Partially Paid or Paid, the Progress Billing locks to read-only so edits cannot conflict with billing already submitted.

Billing Rules and Guardrails

Progress Billing enforces strict rules to keep the financial record consistent. The short version is below. For the full set, including what each blocked action means and how to work around it, see Progress Billing Rules and Guardrails.

Permissions

The Progress Billing permission group controls SOV, Progress Billing and Pay Application access.

Schedule of Values

Progress Billing and Pay Apps

If a user cannot see an action described in this article, review their Progress Billing permissions. Administrators can adjust them from User Permissions.

FAQ

Why can I not add a Progress Billing?

Either the SOV has no line items, or another Draft Progress Billing already exists. Add line items, or finalize or delete the existing draft. See Progress Billing Rules and Guardrails.

Why can I not edit a Progress Billing?

It may be locked by permissions, by billing status, by the sequence rules, or by the linked Pay App's status. If that Pay App is Pending, Approved, Partially Paid or Paid, the Progress Billing is read-only.

Why are some SOV line items locked from deletion?

Line items used in a billed Progress Billing are locked to protect billing history.

Why do custom columns not appear in PDFs?

PDFs do not include custom columns. Use the Excel export when custom columns matter.

Why did a newly approved Change Order not appear on an existing Progress Billing?

Progress Billings are snapshots. A Change Order approved after one was created is not added to it, and appears on the next Progress Billing instead. The same applies to custom columns added to the SOV later. See When the SOV changes under a draft.

Why does stored material not bill again when it is installed later?

Material stored in a prior period was already billed. When it is installed, the system tracks Materials Previously Stored and excludes that amount from the current period. See Stored Materials.

Why did my Pay App status change when I entered a date?

Pay App status is driven entirely by the date fields on the Pay App, so populating one advances the status. Entering a Date Approved moves the Pay App to Approved, for example. For the full date-to-status mapping see Pay Applications.

Where can I see email activity?

On the Activity tab of the SOV, the Progress Billing or the Pay Application, and in the project Mailbox and Outbox, subject to permissions.

Appendix: Progress Billing Calculations

Progress Billing values are calculated from SOV values, previously billed amounts, this-period work, stored materials and retainage.

Manual override. Due This Period can be manually overridden. When overridden, the grid shows an indicator next to the value and an option to revert to the calculated amount. Due This Period is locked when the billable amount is zero or negative.

Stored materials and double-billing protection. Materials Previously Stored is tracked separately so the same dollars are not billed twice when stored materials are later installed. See Stored Materials for the worked example.