Owner bills (pay applications) are created from the project's Billing menu. The first time you bill an owner on a project, you create and lock a Schedule of Values (SOV). After that, you create each new bill from the bill list.
Open Owner Billing
Open the project, then in the left navigation click Billing > Owner A. Use Owner B if you are billing a second owner contract on the same project.
Create the Schedule of Values
In Application, choose the pay application form. The list includes the Generic Owner Bill, the Cost Plus Owner Bill, Cost of Work w/o GMP and AIA pay application forms. Some forms, such as AIA pay applications, may depend on your company's license.
In Create SOV, choose the Schedule of Values type (see the table below).
Click Create.
Schedule of Values types
SOV type | What it does |
By Division | Replicates the Expanded Division Report from the bidding phase. Click a division to expand it. Integrates with Sub Billing. |
By Division with separate profit line | Replicates the Expanded Division Report with profit from the bidding phase. Click a division to expand it. Integrates with Sub Billing. |
By Cost Code | Lists all cost codes in the project, with cost items marked up. Integrates with Sub Billing. |
By Cost Code with separate profit line | Lists all cost codes in the project, with cost items marked up except profit, which is on a line by itself. Integrates with Sub Billing. |
By Cost Code - Itemized Markups | By Cost Code, with Sales Tax, Labor Burden, General Liability, Overhead, Profit and Permit listed at the bottom of the schedule to bill against. |
Custom by cost item | Create your own line descriptions and choose which cost codes make up each line. Enter a line description, click Assign Cost Codes, then click the blue amounts to add them to the line, with or without profit. Click Done and repeat until the Remaining Amount to Distribute is $0. Integrates with Sub Billing. |
Custom unrestricted | Create your own line descriptions and schedule values. Enter a description and value, click Add Another Line, and repeat until the Remaining Amount to Distribute is $0. Does not integrate with Sub Billing. |
After you click Create, the SOV opens unlocked. On SOV types other than By Division, each line has a sort icon. Click and drag the icon to move a line up or down.
Lock the Schedule of Values
When the SOV is ready, click Lock SOV. To pick a different SOV type instead, click Change SOV Template.
Once the SOV is locked, the Schedule of Values page shows Create Bill and Unlock SOV. Click Create Bill to start the first pay application.
Fill in the bill
If needed, change the bill details at the top: Application Date, Start Date, End Date, Work Retainage %, Material Retainage % and Payment by Purchase Order. Under Distribute To, check who should receive the bill.
Enter the billing amounts for each line:
WIP$ (work in progress this period): fills in % Comp.
SM$ (stored materials): fills in % Comp.
% Comp: fills in WIP$.
Add change orders
Click Actions > Add CO.
In Select Change Order, choose the change order and click Add Change Order.
The change order appears below the base contract lines, and its lines default to the item descriptions in the change order. Note: the Cost Plus SOV adds change order amounts into the individual line items.
If your project uses phases, you may also see Add Phase in the Actions menu. Adding a phase works the same way as adding a change order and uses the SOV template chosen for the base contract.
Sign the bill
When the bill is complete, click Actions > Sign. Signing triggers an email to the accountant. Only an accountant can make changes to a signed bill. If you need to edit a signed bill, an accountant can remove your signature for you. See How does the Accountant Notarize/Approve the Owner Bill Signed by the Project Manager?
You can also use Actions > Add Attachment to attach files to the bill, and the Print menu to print the bill.
Create the next bill
After the first bill, Billing > Owner A opens the Owner Billing list. It shows each pay application with its Current Payment Due, % Completed, Retainage, GC Sign Date, Notary Date, Owner Sign Date and payment details.
Click Create Bill to start the next pay application.
Click an App # to open that bill.
Click the ⋯ menu on a row to Delete, Import or Send Email.
How owner bills show on the WIP Report
Which date counts: the WIP Report counts a pay application on the date it was approved by an accountant or notarized (the Notary Date in the bill list), not its Application Date or billing period. A bill that has not been approved or notarized yet is not included.
Billed amounts include retainage: Total Billed to Date on the WIP Report is the gross amount billed, including retainage. It is not the same as the Current Payment Due on the bill, which is net of retainage.
Retainage release bills: a bill that releases retainage shows on the WIP Report as a decrease in Retainage, not as new billing. When you run the report with a Start Date, the billed amount for that period can be small or even negative, even though the payment due is large.
For a worked example, see Why a pay app can show a negative billed amount in the WIP Report article.