01
Complete scope
Every material work package, allowance, general condition, and approved change has a line or traceable roll-up.
Direct answer
What is a schedule of values in construction?
A schedule of values is the itemized allocation of the contract sum across the work. It becomes the financial structure for measuring progress and preparing payment applications, so its line items should cover the complete contract scope, use agreed values, and total exactly to the current contract amount.
Operational completeness check
02
Agreed value
Each line has a value accepted under the contract rather than an unsupported billing split.
03
Cost alignment
SOV lines can be reconciled to estimate, cost codes, commitments, and forecast without losing detail.
04
Progress basis
Percent complete can be supported by installed work, stored materials, and the contract's billing rules.
05
Contract reconciliation
The current SOV total equals the original contract plus approved changes.
Sources and verification
Industry standard
AIA Contract Documents — G703 Continuation Sheet instructionsThe standard continuation sheet used to itemize scheduled values and report work completed, stored materials, retainage, and balance to finish.
Official guide
Procore — schedule of values explainedThe SOV as an itemized allocation of contract value and its role in progress measurement and payment applications.
SOV format, front-loading restrictions, stored-material treatment, retainage, and approval authority depend on the contract and payment form in use.
Published July 21, 2026 · Sources verified August 4, 2026 · Research methodology
Before the first payment application goes out, the contract sum gets broken into line items — sitework, foundations, framing, MEP rough-in, and so on — each with a dollar value that adds up to the total contract price. Every pay app after that references percent complete against these lines, not the contract as a whole.
A poorly built SOV causes billing problems long before the job is done. Front-load a line item too aggressively and it looks like fraud to the owner's rep; under-value one and the contractor is financing work out of pocket before they can bill for it.
Example
A GC breaks a $2M contract into 40 SOV lines. At month three, framing shows 60% complete on the pay app — a number the super and PM agree on before it goes to the owner's rep, because a disputed percentage on one line item can hold up the entire payment.
Related terms
Pay application (pay app)A pay application (pay app) is the formal monthly billing document a contractor submits requesting payment for work completed to date, measured against the schedule of values.AIA G702/G703AIA G702/G703 are the standard American Institute of Architects pay application forms — G702 is the summary sheet, G703 is the detailed schedule-of-values breakdown behind it.RetainageRetainage is a percentage — typically 5–10% — of each progress payment withheld by the owner or GC until the project, or a milestone, is substantially complete.
Next step
Where this shows up in Datumel:
Job-Costing Workbook InstallFrom $6,000 one-time
A configured job-costing workbook in your own Sheets or Airtable: cost codes, estimate-versus-actual, WIP, and over/under billing, with training to run it.