THE SCHEDULE OF VALUES DETERMINES YOUR CASH FLOW. NEGOTIATE IT.
The schedule of values determines cash flow timing for the entire duration of a construction project. A GC drafted SOV underbills early phases like mobilization, rough in, formwork, and material procurement, then back loads value to later milestones. The result is a cash hole in the first 30 to 60% of the project that the subcontractor funds out of operating cash.
The whole negotiation happens before the subcontract gets signed. Once it's executed the SOV is fixed, and asking to front load billing afterward is asking to overbill, which is a different conversation and one most GCs refuse. That's why the SOV belongs in the bid review rather than in the accounting department. Every point of value moved from a late milestone to an early one is cash you don't borrow, and on a twelve month job that difference runs for the full twelve months rather than for one billing cycle.
WHAT IT MEANS.
A schedule of values is a document that breaks a construction subcontract into individual line items, each with a dollar value, used to calculate payment on each pay application.
The SOV is a cash flow document rather than a billing form. It's the document that determines when you get paid for work you've already performed, which makes it the single most consequential piece of paper in the subcontract after the price itself.
WHY THE GC'S DRAFT COSTS YOU CASH.
GC drafted SOVs favor the GC
The GC's draft minimizes early billing, which keeps more cash in the GC's accounts longer, and maximizes back end billing, where you've completed the most work and have the most leverage to get paid. That's rational behavior from the GC's side. Accepting it without negotiating is rational too, for the GC. For the subcontractor it means funding the GC's cash position out of your own working capital for the first half of the project.
Early phases cost the most cash
Mobilization, material procurement, rough in, formwork, and underground work all happen in the first 30 to 40% of a project's timeline, and they're also the most cash intensive phases, because labor and material costs go out before any significant billing event. If those phases carry 15% of contract value in the SOV but represent 35% of actual costs, you're funding a 20 point cash hole for the first third of the project.
You can't negotiate after signing
Once the subcontract is signed the SOV is fixed. A request to front load billing after signing is a request to overbill, which is a different conversation entirely and one the GC will almost always refuse. The entire SOV negotiation window is pre execution, and missing that window costs real money on every billing cycle for the full duration of the project.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
Mobilization should carry 3 to 10% of contract value and be billable at job start, with 5 to 10% of contract value billable at job start across the whole SOV. Trade targets run 5 to 8% for civil, 5 to 8% for concrete, 5 to 10% for electrical, 5 to 8% for mechanical and plumbing, 3 to 6% for masonry, and 5 to 10% for underground utility.
If the early phases represent 35% of your actual cost, they should carry close to 35% of contract value in the SOV rather than 15%. That single alignment is what removes the cash hole in the first 90 days, and it's the ask that carries the most weight because it's arithmetic rather than preference.
Before signing you have whatever leverage the GC's need for your trade gives you. After signing you have none, because changing the SOV means amending the contract and the GC has no obligation to agree to it.
FOUR MOVES, BEFORE YOU SIGN.
Whoever writes the first SOV sets the terms of the conversation. Submit your own draft before the GC submits theirs, built off the cost timing in your estimate, so the negotiation starts from your allocation and not from theirs.
Every line item reflects when the cost gets incurred, which is why a GC can agree to it on the merits. A mobilization line exists because mobilization costs money before any work bills. Framed that way, the GC is arguing against your cost structure rather than declining a favor.
Set the floor before you start: a mobilization line item of at least 3% of contract value, a material procurement line for long lead items billable at deposit or delivery, and early phase milestones like rough in, formwork, and underground weighted at actual cost percentage and not at an allocation that suits the GC.
Cleanup and demobilization belong on their own last line rather than buried in a final completion milestone. The GC benefits from the opposite of every ask on this list, so expect pushback on all of them, especially on competitive bid work. On negotiated work, or on a project where the GC wants your trade specifically, there's real leverage to use before you sign.
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, and no add-ons.
| Last 12 months revenue | Monthly fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $1M | $1,900 to $2,900 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 to $3,900 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 to $5,700 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 to $7,100 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 to $8,500 |
| $12.5M to $15.5M | $7,400 to $11,000 |
| $15.5M to $18.5M | $9,400 to $13,500 |
| $18.5M+ | Quoted individually |
Range reflects the three tiers below. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No payroll. No hidden line items.
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 rather than a report.
Your bookkeeper keeps doing the books.
You stop touching the books.
Everything in Core, and we run the bookkeeping and the controllership as well. Nobody in your office is answering coding questions or chasing a reconciliation at month end.
We do the books. No payroll.
Every job shows its margin while it's still running.
Everything in Executive, plus the job costing and WIP platform set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed for you every month. You never have to learn it.
We do the job costing.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
