Schedule of Values in Construction Projects Explained

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A schedule of values is a crucial tool in construction projects that helps contractors and owners track the progress of work and ensure accurate payment. It's essentially a list of tasks or activities that need to be completed, along with their corresponding values or costs.

The schedule of values is typically created at the beginning of a project and is usually organized in a specific format, which can include a list of tasks, their descriptions, and their estimated costs. This format helps to ensure that all parties involved in the project are on the same page and working towards the same goals.

In a typical construction project, the schedule of values can include tasks such as excavation, foundation work, framing, and finishing work, each with its own estimated cost.

What is a Schedule of Values

A Schedule of Values (SOV) is a detailed document used in construction projects to break down the total contract price into individual work items or cost categories.

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It's a roadmap for billing and payment throughout the project lifecycle, allowing builders to show how much work has been completed and how much is being billed for each item.

A typical Schedule of Values includes work line items, such as site prep, framing, electrical, plumbing, and finishes, each with a scheduled value per line item based on the original contract or subcontract.

The total contract value is listed at the bottom of the SOV, which should match the total contract amount.

Previous payments are tracked for each item, showing how much has already been billed and paid for each line item.

Current billing shows the amount being requested in the current payment application for each line item.

The balance to finish is the remaining unpaid value for each line item, calculated by subtracting the total completed to date from the total value.

A Schedule of Values helps builders keep every cost item under control, track the overall job costs, and ensure the whole team and clients are on the same page.

Here's a breakdown of the typical columns found in a Schedule of Values:

This helps ensure that the contractor is billing fairly and that project management teams can avoid financial surprises down the road.

Components and Calculation

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A schedule of values is a detailed document that breaks down the total contract price into individual work items or cost categories. It's used to track progress and ensure that contractors are billing fairly.

The schedule of values should include general project information, such as the project name and manager. It should also detail the work that needs to be done, including start and end dates, and the cost for each activity.

A typical schedule of values includes the following components:

  • Item number for each activity
  • Description of the work for each activity
  • Scheduled value or contracted amount
  • Work completed
  • Amount already billed against the scheduled value
  • Amount billed for this period
  • The value of materials presently stored
  • The value of work completed and the materials presently stored
  • The percentage of completion relative to the scheduled value
  • The balance to finish (the total completed and stored subtracted from the scheduled value)
  • Any retainage withheld

The schedule of values should be based on the approved budget or contract type, and each project or job should have a separate schedule of values. The contractor or vendor must create a separate schedule of values for each "extra" category, and it must be approved prior to the first payment application.

Who Prepares and When Required

The schedule of values (SOV) is a crucial document in construction projects. It's typically prepared by the general contractor (GC) when the contract is signed but the first payment application hasn't been submitted yet.

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The GC uses the contract scope and budget to break down the total value into logical, trackable pieces of work. They may coordinate with sub/vendors to ensure the values align with their scopes of work.

The following stakeholders may be involved in the process:

  • The client or their representative who reviews and approves the SOV before payments begin.
  • Architects or engineers (if applicable) who may be involved in the approval process, especially on AIA-managed projects.
  • Sub/vendors who provide input for their specific work sections, but rarely submit the full SOV themselves.

Who Prepares?

The person responsible for preparing the Schedule of Values (SOV) can vary depending on the project. In most cases, the general contractor (GC) is responsible for preparing and submitting the SOV.

The GC uses the contract scope and budget to break down the total value into logical, trackable pieces of work. They might coordinate with sub/vendors to ensure the values align with their scopes of work.

The client or their representative reviews and approves the SOV before payments begin. This is an important step to ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Architects or engineers may be involved in the approval process, especially on AIA-managed projects. They may have specific requirements or guidelines that need to be followed.

Here's a list of stakeholders who may be involved in the process:

  • General contractor (GC)
  • Client or their representative
  • Sub/vendors
  • Architects or engineers (on AIA-managed projects)

When Required

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A schedule of values (SOV) is a crucial document in construction projects, and it's essential to understand when it's required. Contractors use the SOV throughout the execution of a project, especially in large-scale commercial projects.

On progress billing projects, payments are made based on completed work, which is why an SOV is required. This ensures that payments are tied to specific components of the project.

For bank-financed construction, lenders require documentation of how funds are being used, making an SOV a necessity. This helps lenders understand how their money is being spent.

In larger or public-sector projects, detailed cost tracking is part of compliance, which means an SOV is often required. This helps ensure that costs are accurately tracked and reported.

Here are the specific situations where an SOV is required:

  • Progress billing projects
  • Bank-financed construction
  • Larger or public-sector projects

Once approved, the SOV becomes a standard part of each payment application, and every invoice will refer back to the line items and structure defined in this document.

Payment Management and Cash Flow

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A Schedule of Values (SOV) is a powerful tool for managing payments and cash flow on a construction project. It's a billing tool that breaks down the scope of work and assigns a specific value to each part, making it easy to request payments for completed work.

This helps owners and lenders ensure that payments are only released for completed work, minimizing the risk of overpaying upfront. Builders use the SOV to show how much work has been completed during a billing cycle and request payment accordingly.

The SOV is interconnected with other documents, including bid requests for sub/vendors, purchase orders, subcontracts, bills, and the schedule. These documents are used throughout the project workflow and can be added to invoices for timely payments.

A well-managed SOV can help project managers and accounting teams plan purchases, manage payroll, and schedule subcontractors with confidence. It gives them visibility into when money is expected to come in and how much is tied to each phase of work.

For more insights, see: How to Request Money on Venmo

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Here's a breakdown of the key documents that are interconnected with the SOV:

  • Bid requests for sub/vendors
  • Purchase orders
  • Subcontracts
  • Bills
  • Schedule

By using a cloud-based construction project management application, like CrewCost, you can create, manage, and update your SOV more easily. This can help streamline your billing process and improve cash flow.

An accurate SOV can also help protect you legally in case of disputes over payment. It provides transparency between contractors and owners, substantiating work completion and payment requests.

Best Practices and Tools

A comprehensive schedule of values (SOV) is essential for any construction project. It's a master list of all the tasks and activities required to complete the project, and it helps stakeholders understand the project's scope and timeline.

To create a good SOV, you must make it intuitive and easy to understand. This means including all the necessary details, such as the project's milestones and deadlines.

A good SOV must be comprehensive and serve its purpose. This is achieved by including all the necessary details, such as the project's milestones and deadlines.

Best Practices for Creating and Managing Your Cloud Resources

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A comprehensive schedule of values is intuitive when it serves its purpose.

To create and manage your cloud resources effectively, consider these best practices: a schedule of values must be comprehensive and intuitive.

Label and categorize your cloud resources for easy identification and management.

A schedule of values must be comprehensive and intuitive for it to serve its purpose.

Regularly review and update your cloud resource inventory to ensure accuracy and efficiency.

This will help you identify and address potential issues before they become major problems.

Implement a clear and consistent naming convention for your cloud resources to simplify searching and organization.

This will help you quickly locate and manage your cloud resources.

Here's an interesting read: Homeowners Comprehensive Insurance

Leveraging Software for

Creating and managing a schedule of values can be a labor-intensive process, but construction management software can make it easier. By automating calculations and repetitive tasks, teams can increase their SOV accuracy and reduce the time and labor involved.

With software like CrewCost, you can create your own SOV templates with automated calculations. This feature helps streamline your billing process and improve cash flow.

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Automating simple tasks also helps increase SOV accuracy. By doing so, teams can benefit from automatic updates to track project progress, adjust values based on change orders and scope changes, and track historical adjustments.

Using software to manage your schedule of values can help you save time and resources. By automating tasks and increasing accuracy, you can focus on other aspects of your project.

Here are some key benefits of using software to manage your schedule of values:

  • Create your own SOV templates with automated calculations.
  • Increase SOV accuracy by automating simple, repetitive tasks.
  • Benefit from automatic updates to track project progress and adjust values.

Why It Matters

Having a clear and accurate Schedule of Values (SOV) is crucial for managing a contractor's cash flow during a project.

It helps in scheduling progress payments, aligning them with the percentage of work completed, which ensures a steady inflow of funds.

Mismanagement of an SOV can result in financial complications, such as cash flow issues, payment disputes, and project delays.

The SOV provides insights into the expected billing for each period, which helps project owners with budgeting and management of high-level finances.

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Contractors can better manage their cash flow by anticipating and planning the predetermined payment timelines.

A well-managed SOV can help identify delays and work to resolve them to get back on track.

The SOV breaks the scope of the project down clearly and transparently, acting as both conflict resolution and contractual compliance.

Having a clear and accurate SOV saves time, reduces disputes, and keeps your cash flow steady.

Example and Templates

There's no single accepted format for a schedule of values in construction, so most teams use standardized templates to keep things clean and consistent. Two common templates are the AIA G703 Continuation Sheet and the ConsensusDocs 293: Schedule of Values.

The AIA G703 Continuation Sheet is widely used in commercial construction and breaks down the contract sum by line item, linking directly to the AIA G702 payment application form. It's a standard in architect-managed projects.

The ConsensusDocs 293: Schedule of Values offers a more flexible structure, often used in contractor-led or design-build projects. It aligns with the ConsensusDocs suite of contracts and forms.

If you're using Buildern, your estimate already works as a schedule of values, with every line item later being pulled directly into progress invoices with no double entry or extra forms required.

Here's an interesting read: Docusign Templates

Project Management and Control

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A Schedule of Values (SOV) is a powerful tool for project management and control. It's a billing tool that helps ensure payments are only released for completed work, minimizing the risk of overpaying upfront.

The SOV is used to show how much work has been completed during a billing cycle and request payment accordingly. This breakdown helps ensure payments are only released for completed work.

Builders use the SOV to request payment from owners and lenders, while owners and lenders use it to ensure payments are only released for completed work. This helps minimize the risk of overpaying upfront.

The SOV is also used to track job costs against the original budget, which is key to protecting your profit margin. By monitoring this regularly, you can quickly catch overspending and identify cost-saving opportunities.

A construction SOV helps manage payouts fairly and in line with actual performance, giving everyone a clear understanding of where the money is going and how it aligns with the physical progress on site.

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Here are some key documents that are interconnected with the SOV:

  • Bid requests for sub/vendors
  • Purchase orders
  • Subcontracts
  • Bills
  • Schedule

These documents are used throughout the whole project workflow and can be added to the invoices for timely payments.

The SOV can be managed using software, such as cloud-based construction project management applications like CrewCost, which come equipped with a Schedule of Values feature. This makes it easier to create, manage, and update your SOV, helping you streamline your billing process and improve cash flow.

Regular Updates and Communication

Regular updates to your schedule of values (SOV) are crucial to keep it reliable and accurate. This is because contract values can change due to scope, delays, or other issues, often generating change orders that adjust the contract price.

To prevent confusion and miscommunication, update your SOV regularly to reflect these changes. This will ensure that all stakeholders have access to the most up-to-date information.

Sharing your SOV with all key stakeholders is essential for transparency and alignment. This includes project management, architecture, and accounting teams, as well as other stakeholders who need to stay informed about project progress.

Update Your Regularly

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Regularly updating your SOV is crucial to ensure it stays reliable and accurate. This is especially true for construction projects that are dynamic and ever-changing.

Just as construction projects are subject to changes in contract values due to scope, delays, or other issues, your SOV should reflect these changes. This often generates change orders that adjust the contract price.

Contract values can fluctuate significantly due to scope changes, which is why it's essential to update your SOV regularly.

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Encourage Communication

Sharing a schedule of values with all key stakeholders on the project ensures everyone is aligned and pricing is fully transparent.

This transparency allows stakeholders to weigh in on their concerns and stay on top of the actual progress made, with easily understood progress percentages.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a schedule of values and a bid form?

A schedule of values is a detailed breakdown of a project's costs, created after a contractor is chosen, while a bid form is a proposal submitted by contractors to win a project, typically with less detailed costs

Allison Emmerich

Senior Writer

Allison Emmerich is a seasoned writer with a keen interest in technology and its impact on daily life. Her work often explores the latest trends in digital payments and financial services, with a particular focus on mobile payment ATMs. Based in a bustling urban center, Allison combines her technical knowledge with a knack for clear, engaging prose to bring complex topics to a broader audience.

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