Create a Subcontractor Payment application for Release of Retention

Objective

Background

The first step in releasing retainage on a project is to create a subcontractor payment application. There are two ways to create an invoice in the Progress Billings tool: 

• The upstream contractor (the party paying for the work) can create the invoice and submit it on behalf of the downstream contractor (the party being paid for the work). See Create a Progress Billing on Behalf of an Invoice Contact.
• The upstream contractor can send the downstream contractor an invitation to submit a subcontractor payment application for the billing period (see Send an 'Invite to Bill' to an Invoice Contact). Then the downstream contractor can complete the steps in Submit a New Progress Billing as an Invoice Contact.

The steps below summarize how to create and submit a progress billing to release retainage.

Things to Consider

• Required User Permissions:
  • To set and release retainage when editing a progress billing before, during, or after the current billing period, 'Admin' level permissions on the project's Commitments tool.
    OR
  • To release retainage when editing a progress billing during the current billing period only, 'Standard' level permissions on the project's Commitments tool and you must be the designated 'Invoice Contact' on the commitment. Invoice contacts are automatically added to the 'Private' drop-down list on the commitment. If you have these permissions, see these tutorials: Send an 'Invite to Bill' to an Invoice Contact and Submit a New Progress Billing as an Invoice Contact. 
    OR
  • Read about the alternative permissions option: Show/Hide  
    • Some Procore customers choose to grant external users access permissions to the project's Commitments tool to allow them to create payment applications. The following options is available, but NOT recommended: 
      • 'Read Only' level permission on the project's Commitments tool and designated as an 'Invoice Contact' ​​​​​​on the purchase order or subcontract. If users are granted these permissions, they have permission to modify the retention amount to release on a payment application before a billing period's 'Due Date'. 
• Additional Information:
  • You can only create progress billings for commitments (i.e., purchase orders and subcontracts).  
  • If you are the invoice contact for the 'Contract Company' on the commitment, you have these options for submitting a progress billing:
    • Ask someone with sufficient access permission to Procore to create the payment application on your behalf.
      OR
    • Follow the steps in Submit a New Progress Billing as an Invoice Contact.
  • If there are multiple progress billings for a single billing period, you can only edit the billed amounts on the most recently created billing.
  • If the contractor will create a payment schedule once the invoice is approved, enter the amounts for the work you are claiming this period in the 'Proposed Amount' column of the progress billing detail. In order for this column to appear, the payment schedule feature must be enabled in the 'Configure Settings' page of the Progress Billings tool. See Configure Settings: Progress Billing. 

Prerequisites

Steps

1. Navigate to the project's Progress Billings tool. 
2. Click the Subcontractor tab.
3. Locate the progress billing to update in the table. Then click its Invoice # link to open it.
   This opens the progress billing in the project's Commitments tool. 

    Note

   You must have the required user permissions detailed above to view a progress billing in the project's Commitments tool. 
4. Under the Summary tab, verify that the information is as you want it. 
5. Click the Detail tab.
6. Click Edit.
7. Scroll to the Retention columns in the table.
8. Under the Retention - Released this Period section, enter an amount to show the retention being released this billing period.
9. Under the Retention - Currently Retained column, the system automatically updates the retention amount that is being withheld.
10. Optional. If the contractor will create a payment schedule once the progress billing is approved, enter the amounts for the work you are claiming this period in the Proposed Amount column.

     Note

    In order for the 'Proposed Amount' column to appear, the payment schedule feature must be enabled in the 'Configure Settings' page of the Progress Billings tool. See Configure Settings: Progress Billings.
11. Click Save.
12. Optional. If the payment application administrator requires you to include a signed copy of the PDF, complete the following steps:
    1. Choose Export > PDF.
    2. Sign the PDF.

        Tip

       How do you add a signature to a PDF? Depending on your specific business requirements, there are different options you can evaluate to determine the best option for you:

       • Wet Signature. You can print out the exported PDF file and add a physical signature. Then use a scanner or camera to capture the signed document and add it to your invoice as an attachment. 
       • Electronic Signature. You can add a digital or electronic signature to the payment application. There are a variety of third-party software vendors, such as DocuSign^© and Adobe® Acrobat™, that provide signature capabilities for PDF files. After you sign the document, add it to your payment application as an attachment. 
13. Click the Summary tab.
14. Click Edit.
15. In the Attachments section, upload any required backup documentation, such as lien waivers and the signed export PDF.
16. Choose from the following options:
    • If you are ready to submit the payment application to the contractor, click Submit for Review. This changes the payment application status to Under Review. 
    • If you are NOT ready to submit the invoice, click Save. This sets the invoice status to Draft.

       Important

      After submitting a progress billing, you can no longer edit it unless its status is changed to Revise & Resubmit.

See Also

• Configure Settings: Progress Billings
• Create a Progress Billing on Behalf of an Invoice Contact
• Create a Payment Programme