YOUR BEST WORK IS HELD IN SOMEONE ELSE'S ACCOUNT.
Retainage is 5 to 10 percent of every pay application withheld until project completion or substantial completion. On a $2M project at 10 percent retainage, $200K of earned money is held for the duration of the project, sometimes 12 to 18 months. Across a $5M subcontractor's portfolio, total retainage held at any time is typically $250K to $500K. That's working capital that's earned, documented, and unavailable.
Retainage doesn't show in your bank statement, and it barely shows in most subcontractors' financial thinking. It's real money, it's earned, and the GC holds it at zero interest until they decide to release it. A $5M subcontractor who doesn't track retainage systematically often has $300K+ of earned money nobody is collecting. The balance isn't a rounding error either. It's usually the largest pile of collectible cash in the business, and it stays there because no one person owns the job of getting it back.
Rather talk it through first? Book a 20 minute call. Nothing gets sold on this call.
Want Josh to build it with you? Cash Flow Intervention, $497 one time. A 90 minute session that fills in the 13 week forecast with your real numbers and makes the billing changes on the call.
WHAT IT MEANS.
Retainage is a percentage, typically 5 to 10 percent, of each pay application that's withheld by the GC until the project reaches substantial completion or final completion.
Retainage isn't free money held for safekeeping. It's working capital you're lending to the GC at zero interest. The contract doesn't call it a loan and nobody books it as one, but that's the effect on your balance sheet every month the balance stays open.
WHY THE MONEY STAYS PUT.
The rate never gets negotiated
Standard retainage is 10 percent. On larger projects or with strong GC relationships, 5 percent is achievable, and some contracts allow retainage reduction from 10 percent to 5 percent once a project is 50 percent complete. That language has to be negotiated before signing. Once the contract is executed it's not available, so the rate you agreed to without reading it's the rate you're stuck with for the whole job.
Nobody knows the balance
Retainage doesn't appear on the bank statement, so it drops out of the financial thinking of the business. If you can't say how much retainage you're owed across your portfolio right now, you don't have a retainage management process. A $5M subcontractor in that position often has $300K+ of earned money nobody is collecting.
It doesn't release itself
Punch list items, final inspections, and the certificate of substantial completion are each a trigger for retainage release that requires your follow up. A subcontractor who waits for the GC to start the release is leaving money on the table. The GC has no deadline pressure on this, so nothing moves until you move it.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
A $5M subcontractor with $350K in retainage held at 8 percent cost of capital is financing the GC's project for $28K per year, at no benefit to themselves. Over a 5-year career with consistent retainage balances, that's $140K of invisible financing cost. Retainage isn't free money held for safekeeping. It's working capital you're lending to the GC at zero interest.
Typical retainage held at $5M in revenue is $250K to $500K. The average hold period on commercial projects is 12 to 18 months. The interest you earn on withheld retainage is 0 percent, which makes it the cheapest money the GC has access to and the most expensive money you've tied up.
THE TABLE IS AT RUN ON CFOS.
Run On CFOS read the retainage statutes for all 50 states and DC on October 17, 2026: 73 of 102 private and public rows cite a retainage statute from the state's official text, 14 found no retainage statute, and 15 aren't verified yet.
Source: Run On CFOS, Retainage laws by state, updated October 17, 2026. The full table and the data are published there. Cite as: Run On CFOS. Retainage laws by state. 2026. Sulphur Prairie Operations, LLC. https://runoncfos.com/retainage-by-state. CC BY 4.0.
RESEARCH FROM OTHER SOURCES.
These figures come from another company's survey, not from SPM's clients. Each one cites the report and the page.
Billd's 2026 National Subcontractor Market Report found 89 percent of business owners negotiate their contracts, and that liquidated damages, payment terms, retainage, scope and project schedules were negotiated most often.
Source: Billd, 2026 National Subcontractor Market Report, page 17 (survey of 623 respondents, published May 13, 2026).
WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT.
Standard retainage is 10 percent. On larger projects or with strong GC relationships, 5 percent is achievable. Some contracts allow retainage reduction from 10 percent to 5 percent once a project is 50 percent complete. Negotiate that language before signing, because it's not available after.
Every active and recently closed project gets a retainage tracking line: contract amount, retainage rate, total retainage held, and expected release date. The balance goes into the WIP schedule where it's visible every month. If you don't know the number today, that's the first thing to fix.
Punch list complete, final inspection scheduled, and certificate of occupancy issued are each a checklist item rather than a hope. A follow up call goes out 30 days after substantial completion instead of waiting for the GC to start the process. Lien rights stay preserved through release, so no unconditional lien waiver gets signed until the retainage is in the bank.
THE OUTPUTS, NAMED.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Three tiers, priced by your trailing twelve month revenue. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No hourly billing. No payroll. The one-time onboarding fee is right here in the table.
Built for subs doing $1M to $12M. Above $12.5M we quote.
| Last 12 months revenue | Core | Strategic | Platinum | One-time onboarding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | $1,900 | $3,100 | $3,300 | $2,500 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 | $4,100 | $5,300 | $4,500 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 | $5,900 | $8,300 | $6,000 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 | $7,600 | $11,800 | $7,500 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 | $8,900 | $14,900 | $9,000 |
| Above $12.5M | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted |
The onboarding fee covers migrating your books back to the start of your last taxable year and getting you fully operational in 60 days. It's billed once, with your first invoice. It's the same for all three tiers, and it moves with your revenue band. Your first month is prorated, and your monthly engagement starts on the first of the first full month.
Just want the setup? Onboarding only is the same onboarding work with no monthly service after it, one time, at the onboarding fee plus $2,000. Start a monthly engagement later and $2,000 counts toward it. It starts at $4,500, and the price for every band is on the pricing page.
The three tier columns are the whole price. Which one fits depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No payroll. No hidden line items. The onboarding fee is right here in the table.
- Online software only: QuickBooks, Sage, Viewpoint and similar. No VPN or hosted desktop.
- Not in any tier: payroll, pay applications, collections on receivables.
- Pricing valid through 2027.
CFO work. Your own bookkeeper keeps doing the books.
You stop guessing.
You get the CFO work. Job costing built against the way you estimate, a 13 week cash forecast, monthly WIP, and a meeting every month that ends in decisions and never in a report.
Your bookkeeper still does the books.
Core, plus bookkeeping and bank reconciliations, plus job costing and WIP software set up and managed for you. Use your own online accounting software or we supply it, one price.
Every job shows its margin while it is still open.
Everything in Core, plus the bookkeeping and bank reconciliations done for you, and the job costing and WIP software set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed every month. Use your own online software, or move to ours and we cover it.
A bookkeeper we choose does the books and reconciliations. No payroll.
Strategic, plus a controller who handles payables and receivables the way an in-house controller would. You approve every payment.
You approve, and the money side gets handled.
Everything in Strategic, plus a controller we choose who handles your bills and receivables for you the way an in-house controller would. They call vendors, pay the bills and keep the accounting current. We plan the cash flow first, and you approve every payment because it is your money.
A controller we choose does the payables and receivables. No payroll, no pay applications, no collections.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
