THE SOV IS YOUR CASH FLOW BLUEPRINT.
A schedule of values breaks your contract amount into line items that bill independently. Done right, the SOV recovers mobilization cost early, phases complex scopes so they bill as work progresses, separates stored materials so mill orders bill before installation, and back-loads retention-exposed items so the final finishes don't lock cash for the whole job. Done wrong, or accepted from the GC's template without modification, the SOV creates cash holes the rest of the project can't recover from. The SOV is set once, at contract signing. Get it right then or live with it for the duration.
Every monthly bill references the SOV, every percent-complete calculation comes off it, and every retention computation runs against it. That makes it the highest leverage 30 minutes in the whole job, and most subs spend those 30 minutes pasting the GC's template and writing in line items. Once the contract is executed the SOV locks unless both parties agree to amend it, which almost never happens mid-project. A poorly structured SOV then costs cash on every pay app for the next eight months, and nobody traces the shortfall back to the spreadsheet that caused it.
WHAT IT MEANS.
A schedule of values is the line item breakdown of your contract amount that sits underneath every G702 and G703 pay app, and each line bills independently as that portion of the work gets built.
WHERE THE SPREADSHEET COSTS YOU MONEY.
Mistake 1, single-line mega-scopes
One line that reads Electrical, $480,000 with no breakdown underneath it creates a percent-complete argument every single month. There's nothing discrete to verify against, so the GC's number and your number are both opinions. Verification is what gets a pay app approved quickly, and a single line removes the only thing that could have been verified.
Mistake 2, no stored-materials line on heavy-material scopes
A steel sub with $1.2M in mill orders due before erection, billing against an SOV with no stored materials line, finances that $1.2M out of working capital for ten weeks. The material is bought, insured, and sitting there, and none of it can be billed until it's installed. The line item is what turns the mill cycle into a billable event instead of a loan you made to the project.
Mistake 3, profit and overhead as a final line
A last SOV line that reads Profit & Overhead, $48,000 means your profit gets paid only at 100% completion, which is often 12+ months from bid and after retention release. The margin was earned across the whole job and it collects at the very end, so the business funds its own profit for a year. Structure those lines to bill proportionally with the work instead.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
GC contracts typically cap mobilization at 3 to 5% of contract value, and that cap is negotiable. Standard ranges run from 3% on simple scopes to 7% on heavy-mobilization work such as structural steel, complex MEP, and anything with significant material lead time. Push for 5 to 7% on complex scopes and bring documentation of what mobilization costs you.
A $300K electrical scope billed as one line creates percent-complete disputes. Split it into rough-in, trim, and finish, or by floor, phase, or building section, and each piece bills naturally as that work completes. Any single scope item over $100K is worth phasing, because granular SOVs bill faster when verification is easier.
Retention holds 5 to 10% of every line item until substantial completion, so money on finish-stage lines stays held longer than money on early-stage lines. Ask for reduced retention at 5% instead of 10% on properly bonded subs with clean payment history, and early release at 50% completion on long-duration work. Structuring finishes as smaller lines relative to earlier phases lowers total retention exposure without changing contract value.
The 30 minutes you spend setting the SOV up correctly saves 90 days of cash friction over the life of the job. Same contract, same GC, same scope, and a different cash flow profile, because the structure was set at hour zero instead of argued about at pay app four.
FIVE MOVES AT CONTRACT SIGNING.
Mobilization, shop drawing work, submittal work, and material lead-time deposits belong on visible SOV lines rather than buried inside general conditions. Where the scope carries major upfront commitments, meaning structural steel mill orders, custom fabrication, or long-lead transformers, push for a higher mobilization percentage or separate pre-construction lines. These are real costs you incur in the first 30 days on a project that benefits from them for its whole duration.
Split a large scope into rough-in, trim, and finish, or organize it by floor, phase, or building section. Each phase then bills as that specific work completes, and the percent-complete conversation becomes a walk rather than a debate. Granular SOVs bill faster because they're easier to verify, which is the whole reason to build one.
Major material orders that get delivered before installation, meaning rebar, structural steel, electrical gear, and mechanical equipment, need their own SOV lines. Without one, the material can't bill until it's installed and you finance the mill cycle yourself. Billing stored materials requires documentation, so certified invoices, proof of insurance, photo verification, and sometimes bonded storage, and most GCs allow it when the line exists.
Retention holds a percentage of every line until substantial completion, so the dollars sitting on finish-stage items stay held the longest. Structure the SOV so the final finishes are smaller line items relative to the earlier-billed phases. Total contract value doesn't change and total retention exposure drops, which is free money for a structural decision made at signing.
Some GCs require profit and overhead as separate SOV lines, and that's fine as long as they bill proportionally with the work completed rather than getting held to job close. Profit collected as the work progresses is profit funding the rest of the project. Profit collected at 100% completion is profit you loaned to the job for a year.
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, 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.
