How AIA Billing Works
AIA-style billing commonly uses an application for payment and a continuation sheet. The application summarizes the payment request, while the continuation sheet details scheduled contract items, original values, approved changes, work completed, stored materials, prior billings, and balances remaining. Forms such as G702 and G703 are widely associated with this workflow, although the contract determines which documents and editions are required.
At the start of a project, the contractor establishes the schedule of values, assigning portions of the contract amount to defined work categories. During each billing period, the project team measures completed work, verifies stored materials where permitted, and calculates the amount eligible for payment. Finance then checks prior applications, approved change orders, retainage, and the contract's submission requirements before sending the application to the customer or general contractor.
A structured Billing System supports the broader process by maintaining billing rules, customer records, invoice details, and receivables information. The system should preserve a clear relationship between project evidence, the submitted application, and the amount ultimately recorded as a receivable.
Understanding the Payment Calculation
AIA-style progress billing generally calculates earned work to date, adds eligible stored materials, subtracts retainage and previous payments or billings as required by the form, and determines the current amount due. Contract terms and the selected form govern the exact calculation and presentation.
For a simplified example, assume a construction contract totals $200,000. Approved work completed to date is $80,000, eligible stored materials total $10,000, and retainage is 10% of the $90,000 earned and stored amount. Previous applications total $50,000 after retainage.
- Work completed plus stored materials: $80,000 + $10,000 = $90,000
- Retainage: $90,000 × 10% = $9,000
- Earned amount after retainage: $90,000 − $9,000 = $81,000
- Current amount due: $81,000 − $50,000 = $31,000
Under these assumptions, the current application is $31,000. Actual forms may distinguish prior work, stored materials, prior certificates, and previous payments in specific ways, so the team must follow the contract and form instructions rather than applying this simplified example indiscriminately.
Records and Verification Controls
Accurate AIA billing requires consistent project and financial records. Before submission, compare the schedule of values with the approved contract, confirm authorized change orders, validate percentage-complete calculations, and ensure previously billed amounts are carried forward correctly. Stored materials should have the documentation required by the contract, such as evidence of storage, ownership, or insurance where applicable.
Each Billing Document should identify the project, billing period, customer, contract reference, work categories, deductions, and requested payment. Billing Verification is the review that checks these details against contract terms, progress evidence, calculations, and previous applications before the request is approved or submitted.
Clear review responsibilities help project managers confirm physical progress while finance verifies calculations and accounting records. Any difference between project reporting and the amount requested should be resolved before posting or submission.
Posting and Managing Receivables
An approved payment application is not always the same as a final customer invoice or a payment received. The business should follow its accounting policy and contract requirements to determine when to record the receivable, how to handle retainage, and how to track certificates, deductions, and subsequent cash receipts. Reconcile submitted applications with approved amounts and posted receivables so financial reports distinguish pending requests from amounts certified or collected.
Once invoices are issued, collections workflows help staff track due dates, promised payments, and disputed balances. When funds arrive, cash application helps match receipts to the correct customer invoices and update outstanding balances. Businesses seeking to improve these activities may assess AR Automation Software for invoice follow-ups and payment matching that support cash flow visibility.
Improving the End-to-End Workflow
Keep a consistent schedule of values, document approved changes promptly, and maintain a record of each billing period's supporting evidence. Use a repeatable review checklist for retainage, previous applications, stored materials, and contract-specific requirements. For invoice capture, extraction, validation, approval, and posting, the guide Invoice Software 2025: AI-Ready AP & Billing Guide. explains processing approaches that can help teams evaluate accuracy and consistency.
The guide Sync Sales to Cash explains how CRM and invoicing software can connect sales agreements with billing workflows, helping teams understand how customer and contract details move through the process. The Hyperbots Platform and its finance-system integrations may also be relevant when evaluating broader document processing and data exchange; compatibility with a particular Sage 100 setup should be confirmed before implementation.
Summary
Sage 100 AIA Billing describes a construction progress-payment workflow that combines contract values, measured work, stored materials, retainage, prior applications, and supporting documentation. Accurate calculations and careful verification help businesses submit reliable payment requests, maintain traceable receivables, and forecast project cash flow. Because Sage 100 configurations vary, confirm how AIA forms and job-billing data are produced, reviewed, and posted in the specific environment.