Building a schedule of values that gets you paid

A schedule of values breaks your contract price into lines you'll bill against every month. Build it the way the work actually happens: separate lines for each major product, material separated from labor so delivered material can be billed, and honest lines for mobilization and closeout. The lines must add up to the contract exactly, follow the GC's format, and get approved before your first pay application.

By Michael Reddy, IntelBid

After this lesson you can

Break a flooring contract into billable schedule of values lines
Split material and labor so stored and delivered material can be billed
Get the schedule approved before the first pay application

What a schedule of values is, is in the glossary. This lesson is how to build one for a flooring job that bills cleanly every month.

What makes a good schedule of values?

It follows the work. Lines match how the job is installed — by product, and by area or phase if the job is phased.
Material and labor are separate for major products, so material delivered or stored can be billed before it's installed (see stored materials).
Lines are small enough to bill progress, but not so many that each pay application becomes a project.
It adds up to the contract exactly — including accepted alternates.
It isn't front-loaded. Inflating early lines gets the schedule rejected and delays your first payment.

A schedule of values for a $104,645 flooring contractWorked example · illustrative numbers

Contract: $104,645 (proposal Version 3)
Products: Carpet tile, LVT, rubber base and transitions
Other scope: Floor prep, attic stock and closeout

Mobilization, submittals and insurance: $2,500.
Carpet tile — material $38,000, labor $12,400.
LVT — material $22,300, labor $11,845.
Rubber base and transitions: $9,600. Floor preparation: $4,800.
Attic stock and closeout documents: $3,200.
Check: 2,500 + 38,000 + 12,400 + 22,300 + 11,845 + 9,600 + 4,800 + 3,200 = $104,645.

Eight lines that add up to the contract, bill material when it arrives, and hold a real closeout line — so part of the contract is clearly tied to finishing the paperwork. Illustrative split.

How should change orders appear?

Approved change orders are added as their own lines — “CO #1 — moisture mitigation, Rooms 101–110” — not blended into existing lines. That keeps the original contract visible, makes each change traceable, and matches how GCs and owners track changes on their side.

Getting it approved

Use the GC's format
Many GCs use an AIA G703 continuation sheet or their own template. Build yours in it.
Submit it early
Send it right after the subcontract is signed, not with your first bill.
Be ready to explain the split
If the GC questions a line, show how it ties back to your estimate.
Lock it
Once approved, the values don't change — progress is billed against them, and changes arrive as change order lines.

How do you create a schedule of values as a subcontractor?

Break the contract into lines by product or area, separate material from labor for major items, add honest mobilization and closeout lines, make sure the total equals the contract, and submit it in the GC's format for approval before the first pay application.

Should a schedule of values separate material and labor?

For major products, usually yes. It lets you bill for material when it's delivered or stored, where the contract allows, instead of waiting for installation.

How are change orders added to a schedule of values?

As new, separate lines for each approved change order, rather than by changing the values of the original lines.

Key points

Lines follow the work: product, material vs. labor, mobilization, closeout.
The total equals the contract; the values don't change after approval.
Approved change orders become their own lines.

In IntelBid · Won project → SOV tab

The SOV is the contract

A won project's SOV tab in IntelBid holds your scheduled values as the contract. Every pay application bills progress against those lines, so you always see what's been billed, what's left and what's held in retainage — line by line.

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About the author. Michael Reddy builds IntelBid, bid management software for commercial flooring subcontractors. These lessons come from the bid desk: how the work is priced, won and paid for.