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Progress Invoice Template

A progress invoice bills the share of a contract completed during a period, usually a month, measured against a schedule of values: the contract price broken into lines such as demolition, framing, electrical and finishes. For each line it shows the scheduled value, the work completed before, the work completed this period and the total to date, then subtracts retainage and previous billings to reach the amount due now. Approved change orders are added as their own lines. That running arithmetic is what owners, general contractors and lenders check before they approve payment, so it matters more than the layout. Commercial clients often require their own pay-application form, and many use the American Institute of Architects' G702 (Application and Certificate for Payment) and G703 (Continuation Sheet), which are copyrighted AIA documents licensed through AIA Contract Documents; this template is not a copy of them. The download is an editable HTML invoice with invoice number, dates, a line table, totals and the progress fields below. Fill it in your browser, then print it or save it as PDF.

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Download the HTML file to edit its fields, then print or save as PDF. Totals are entered manually.

What This Template Includes

  • Contract reference and period covered (application number and period to)
  • Original contract sum
  • Approved change orders to date, by number
  • Contract sum to date
  • Schedule of values: scheduled value for each line
  • Work completed in previous periods, by line
  • Work completed this period, by line
  • Total completed to date and percentage complete
  • Materials stored on site, if the contract allows billing for them
  • Retainage percentage and amount withheld to date
  • Previous billings or payments, net of retainage
  • Current amount due
  • Balance to finish, including retainage
  • Lien waiver reference (sent as a separate document)

How to Create Your Progress Invoice

  1. 01

    Describe your work

    Type a plain English description of the services you provided, the client, and the amount.

  2. 02

    AI generates your invoice

    InvoiceQuickly's AI drafts the client, line items, dates, and totals for you to review before saving.

  3. 03

    Review, download, and send

    Check every detail, download the PDF, or use Pro to email the PDF directly to your client.

Recommended Payment Terms

Progress billing follows the contract's payment schedule: typically one application per month with a fixed cut-off date, reviewed by the owner, architect or general contractor before payment, often on net 30 terms or the timing set by the prime contract. Agree the schedule of values before the first invoice, because every later invoice is measured against it. State the retainage percentage and when it is released, usually at substantial or final completion, and invoice the release separately with your final lien waiver. On federal contracts, retainage may be withheld only when progress is unsatisfactory, may not exceed 10 percent of the approved estimate and must be released promptly on completion (FAR 32.103); states set their own limits for public and private work. For California home improvement contracts, a payment schedule must be headed 'Schedule of Progress Payments' and may not collect for work not yet done or materials not yet delivered (Contractors State License Board).

Need help writing payment terms? Read our guide to invoice payment terms for best practices and templates.

Tax Information

A progress invoice does not change how the work is taxed; the contract type, the state and the kind of project do. Under some contract types the contractor pays tax on materials when buying them and charges the customer none; under others, some or all of the charge is taxable. In Texas, for example, nonresidential repair and remodeling is taxable on the total charge, apart from separately stated building permit fees, while residential remodeling under a separated contract is taxed only on the materials charge (Texas Comptroller publication 94-116). Check your state's rules before the first application, and apply them to each period's billing consistently. InvoiceQuickly applies one tax percentage per invoice to the discounted subtotal and copies saved tax IDs to new invoice PDFs; add professional licence numbers in notes if required.

Industry context (2026)

Progress billing exists because construction contracts are long, and the contractor would otherwise finance months of labor and materials. The American Institute of Architects publishes the forms many commercial projects use: according to AIA Contract Documents, G702 and G703 'provide convenient and complete forms on which the contractor can apply for payment and the architect can certify that payment is due', and the G703 continuation sheet breaks the contract sum into portions of the work according to a schedule of values prepared by the contractor, showing work completed and stored to date, retainage, previous payments, change orders and the current payment requested. These are licensed documents, so use the official versions when a contract requires them. Retainage is regulated: on federal contracts it may be withheld only for unsatisfactory progress, capped at 10 percent of the approved estimate and released promptly on completion (FAR 32.103), and states set their own rules. In California, home improvement contracts with a payment schedule must label it a 'Schedule of Progress Payments' and may not collect for work not yet done (CSLB Industry Bulletin 22-14). Sources accessed 27 October 2026; general information, not legal advice.

Worked example

Worked example (illustrative figures): a general contractor has a $148,000 fit-out contract with 10% retainage. Schedule of values: general conditions $18,000; demolition $12,000; framing and drywall $46,000; electrical $38,000; finishes $34,000. Change order CO-1, extra data cabling, $6,500, is approved, so the contract sum to date is $154,500. Work completed in periods 1 and 2 was $50,500, billed net of retainage at $45,450 and paid. Period 3 adds: general conditions $6,000; framing and drywall $18,400 (90% to date); electrical $15,200 (65% to date); finishes $6,800 (20%); CO-1 $3,250 (50%). That is $49,650 this period and $100,150 completed to date (64.8% of $154,500). Retainage to date is 10% of $100,150 = $10,015; earned less retainage $90,135; less previous billings $45,450; current amount due $44,685, which equals $49,650 less 10%. Balance to finish including retainage: $154,500 − $100,150 + $10,015 = $64,365. Tax is 0% here only because this is an illustration; set it from your state's rules. In InvoiceQuickly, which has no retainage feature or negative lines, each schedule line is billed net: 'Framing and drywall, 40% this period (90% to date), gross $18,400 less 10% retainage $1,840', 1 × $16,560.00, and likewise $5,400.00, $13,680.00, $6,120.00 and $2,925.00 for the other lines, totalling $44,685.00, with the schedule above in the notes.

Common mistakes to avoid

Front-loading the schedule of values

Assigning inflated values to early tasks gets cash in sooner but is spotted by experienced owners and lenders, and can get applications rejected. Price each line at its real value.

Billing work not in place

Billing a percentage you expect to reach by payday, rather than what is complete at the cut-off, invites reductions and, for California home improvement work, breaks the rule against payment ahead of work done.

Losing track of retainage

Showing only this period's retainage makes the release hard to check. Carry the retainage withheld to date on every invoice.

Change orders merged into existing lines

Raising a schedule line's value to absorb a change order breaks the link to the change order log. Add each approved change order as a new line.

Applications that don't reconcile

If completed to date, less retainage, less previous billings does not equal the amount due, the reviewer stops there. Check the arithmetic before sending.

Invoicing Tips

  • 1Agree the schedule of values first, with enough lines that each can be measured: 'Electrical, rough-in' and 'Electrical, trim and devices' are easier to certify than one 'Electrical' line.
  • 2Bill only work actually in place, plus stored materials if the contract allows it. Over-billing early periods ('front-loading') is the quickest way to have an application rejected.
  • 3Add each approved change order as its own schedule line with its number, so the original contract and the change order log both still reconcile.
  • 4Show retainage on every invoice as a running total, not just this period's amount. The final invoice then asks for an exact, checkable release.
  • 5Keep the cut-off date fixed (for example the 25th) and send the application on the same day each month, with conditional lien waivers for you and your subcontractors.
  • 6Reconcile before you send: total completed to date minus retainage minus previous billings must equal the current amount due.

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a progress invoice?

It is an invoice for the portion of a contract completed during a billing period, measured against a schedule of values. It shows the contract sum, change orders, work completed before and during this period, retainage withheld and previous billings, and asks for the difference. It is common in construction and other long contracts.

How do you calculate a progress billing amount?

Add up the work completed to date across all schedule lines and approved change orders, subtract retainage on that total, then subtract what was billed in previous periods. For example, $100,150 completed to date, less 10% retainage of $10,015, less previous billings of $45,450, leaves $44,685 due now.

What is the difference between a progress invoice and a milestone invoice?

A progress invoice bills whatever percentage of each line was completed in the period, usually monthly. A milestone invoice bills a fixed share of the contract when a defined event is reached, such as an approved prototype or a delivered stage. Progress billing is typical in construction with retainage; milestone billing suits projects with clear deliverables.

Do I have to use AIA G702 and G703?

Only if your contract or client requires them. They are copyrighted documents from the American Institute of Architects, licensed through AIA Contract Documents, and many commercial owners and lenders ask for them. Smaller and residential clients usually accept a progress invoice that shows the same arithmetic in your own format.

How is retainage shown on a progress invoice?

As a percentage of work completed, held back from each payment and tracked as a running total. Show the retainage withheld to date, subtract it from the work completed to date, and invoice its release when the contract says, usually at completion, together with your final lien waiver.

Can InvoiceQuickly create progress invoices?

Partly. There is no progress-billing, schedule-of-values or retainage feature, and line prices cannot be negative. You can bill each schedule line at the net amount due this period, with the gross amount and retainage written in the description, and put the full running schedule in the notes, which hold up to 5,000 characters and print on the PDF. It does not produce AIA pay applications, lien waivers or job costing.