A progress claim is how a contractor gets paid as the work goes, usually once a month. Done well, it’s a measured, line-by-line statement of what has been delivered and installed. Done badly, it’s a single percentage that the client’s QS has no way to check, and that’s where most payment disputes start.

This guide walks through how to prepare a progress claim in Excel that a QS can check and approve quickly.

1. Start from a priced BOQ

Every good claim starts with a priced bill of quantities (BOQ). Each line should have a quantity, a unit and a rate. Ideally, supply and installation are priced separately. A cable that’s been delivered to site but not yet pulled is worth something; a cable that’s pulled and terminated is worth more. Separate rates let you claim each stage fairly.

If the contract was priced as a lump sum, break it down into a schedule of values before the first claim and agree it with the client. Without it, every claim becomes a negotiation.

2. Record what’s installed every day

The quantities in your claim should come from site records, not memory. A daily progress tracker that logs installed quantities against each BOQ item gives you:

• accurate monthly totals for each line
• evidence if the QS questions a quantity
• a record of delays, weather and instructions for extension of time claims

3. Calculate gross to date, previously certified and net due

For each BOQ line, the claim should show three figures:

• Gross to date: everything supplied and installed since the start, at contract rates
• Previously certified: what was approved in earlier certificates
• Net due this month: gross to date minus previously certified

Claiming cumulatively like this means any error in an earlier month corrects itself, and the QS can see the full picture on every line.

4. Add variations

List each variation separately with its instruction reference, status (submitted, approved, pending or rejected), value and percentage complete. Only approved variations should normally flow into the amount due. Pending ones are shown for information.

5. Add other additions and deductions

Depending on the contract, the claim may include:

• materials on site that aren’t yet installed
• advance payment and its recoupment
• price adjustment for changes in costs
• contra charges or back-charges

6. Apply retention and tax

Retention is a percentage held back from each payment (often 5% or 10%, sometimes capped at a percentage of the contract sum) and released at practical completion and the end of the defects period. Calculate retention to date, deduct what was held previously, then add GST, VAT or sales tax to the net amount.

7. Put it on one page

The final certificate should fit on one page: contract value by bill, variations, additions and deductions, retention, tax and the amount due, with signature blocks for the contractor, the QS or superintendent, and the client.

8. Submit on time, in the right form

Check your contract for the claim date, the required format and supporting documents. In Australia, also check the security of payment legislation in your state, which sets out how payment claims and payment schedules must be made and the time limits that apply.

A template that does the arithmetic

Our Payment Certificate templates follow exactly this structure, with supply and install claimed separately on every BOQ line, plus variations, retention with a cap and tax on one signed page. Pair one with the matching BOQ and Daily Progress Tracker and the rows line up, so quantities paste straight into the claim.

This article is general information, not legal or contractual advice. Always follow the terms of your contract.