A schedule of values, the way lenders read it.
A schedule of values breaks a construction contract into line items with a dollar value each, then tracks how much of each is complete. Contractors bill from it. Construction lenders and their inspectors fund from it. Download a template with the columns both sides check on every draw.
A schedule of values template with the columns a construction lender and its inspector check on every draw: scheduled value, work completed to date and this period, stored materials, percent complete, balance to finish and retainage.
Downloads a CSV you can open in Excel or Google Sheets. Built in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
What a schedule of values is
A schedule of values, or SOV, allocates the total contract sum across the work: general conditions, site work, foundations, frame, envelope, mechanical, electrical, finishes, fee and contingency. Each line gets a scheduled value, and the values add up to the contract sum.
Once construction starts, the SOV becomes the billing ledger. Each pay application reports, line by line, the work completed in earlier periods, the work completed this period, materials stored on or off site, the percent complete, the balance to finish and the retainage held. The owner pays from it, and on a financed project the owner's lender funds the draw from it.
How a construction lender uses it
The lender agrees the SOV before the first draw, usually against the construction budget it underwrote. After that, every construction draw is tested against it: the inspector visits the site, confirms the percent complete claimed on each line, and the lender funds only what the inspector supports.
Three checks recur. Is any line billed ahead of the work, which is front-loading? Is the balance to finish on each line still enough to complete it, which is the in-balance test? And is retainage being held as the contract and loan agreement require? A clear SOV is what makes those checks fast.
| Column | What it records | What the lender checks |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled value | Dollar value of the line item | Lines add to the contract sum and match the budget |
| Work completed, previous draws | Amount billed in earlier periods | Ties to what was already funded |
| Work completed, this period | Amount billed in this draw | Supported by the inspector's site visit |
| Materials stored | Materials paid for but not installed | Stored securely and insured, per the loan terms |
| Total completed and stored | Previous + this period + stored | Never exceeds the scheduled value |
| % complete | Total completed / scheduled value | Matches observed progress, no front-loading |
| Balance to finish | Scheduled value minus total completed | Enough left to finish the line |
| Retainage | Amount held back from the contractor | Held at the agreed rate until release |
Front-loading and the in-balance test
Front-loading means assigning too much value to early work, such as site work or general conditions, so the contractor is paid ahead of real progress. The lender ends up funding dollars that the later lines then lack. Reviewing the SOV against the underwritten budget before the first draw is the cheapest place to catch it.
A construction loan is in balance when the undisbursed loan proceeds plus any remaining required equity cover the total cost to complete. Because the SOV shows the balance to finish line by line, it is the first place an overrun shows up. Change orders should flow into the SOV as they are approved, so the scheduled values always reflect the current contract.
Using the template
Download the CSV, replace the sample line items with the trades in your contract, and enter the scheduled value for each. The bottom row of the file states how the calculated columns relate, so the formulas are easy to add in Excel or Google Sheets.
The template uses generic column names rather than any standard industry form. If your contract requires a specific pay application form, keep the SOV figures consistent with it. Draw packages usually travel with lien waivers, the inspector's report and an updated hard and soft cost budget.
Questions lenders ask
- What is a schedule of values in construction?
- A line-item breakdown of the contract sum, with a dollar value for each part of the work. During construction it tracks work completed, stored materials, percent complete, balance to finish and retainage for each line, and pay applications are billed from it.
- Who prepares the schedule of values?
- The general contractor prepares it, and the owner, the architect where one administers the contract, and the construction lender review and accept it before the first pay application.
- Why do construction lenders care about the schedule of values?
- Because they fund draws from it. The lender's inspector verifies the percent complete on each line, and the lender uses the balance to finish to confirm the loan stays in balance, meaning enough money remains to finish the project.
- What is front-loading a schedule of values?
- Assigning inflated values to early line items so the contractor is paid ahead of actual progress. It leaves later lines underfunded and is one of the first things a lender's inspector looks for when the SOV is submitted.
- How is retainage shown on a schedule of values?
- As a column showing the amount withheld from each line or from the total, at the rate set in the construction contract and loan agreement. It is released as the work reaches the milestones those documents set, often substantial completion.
- Construction draw schedule, definedHow funding is sequenced.
- Retainage, definedThe holdback column.
- Construction loan calculatorInterest on the draws this schedule drives.
- The construction loan closing checklistWhat closes before the first draw.
- Construction loan managementEvery draw as a templated mini-closing.
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