Schedule of values template: interactive SOV builder
A schedule of values allocates your contract sum across CSI-coded line items so you can bill progress against each one. Static Excel templates let the total drift from the contract value — this free builder validates to the cent as you type, loads CSI division presets, exports to Excel, and hands off directly to a G702/G703-style pay application.
| CSI / item no. | Description of work | Scheduled value | % of contract |
|---|
- SOV total
- $0.00
- Contract value
- $0.00
- Unallocated
- $0.00
Saved in your browser automatically. Next: Send to pay application to bill the first period against this schedule.
How to fill in a schedule of values
- Start from the contract sum, not from the estimate. The total of every line must equal the signed contract value to the cent, including approved change orders. The builder shows the running difference so you cannot submit one that drifts.
- Break lines the way the reviewer will walk the job. A GC verifies percent complete by observation, so “Level 2 drywall, hang” can be checked and “Interior finishes” cannot. Aim for lines a site walk can confirm in an afternoon, usually 15 to 40 on a subcontract, with CSI division numbers so the GC can map them to their own budget.
- Separate labor-heavy and material-heavy work. Long-lead material you will bill as stored needs its own line, or the stored-materials column on the pay app has nothing to attach to. Mobilization, submittals and closeout get lines too; they are real work and the only way to bill them.
- Do not front-load. Loading early lines above their real value is the first thing a reviewer checks, and a rejected SOV delays the first application by a full cycle. Price each line at cost plus a proportional share of overhead and profit.
- Get it approved before application number one. Every later pay app is measured against this document. Changing it mid-job undermines your own percent-complete claims, so treat approval as a milestone and only revise through change orders.
Frequently asked questions
What is a schedule of values?
A schedule of values (SOV) breaks the total contract sum into line items — usually by CSI division or work phase — with a dollar value assigned to each. It becomes the backbone of progress billing: every month you bill a percentage of each line, and the SOV lines carry through to the G703-style continuation sheet of your pay application.
Why must the SOV total equal the contract value?
Because the SOV is the agreed map of where every contract dollar lives. If lines sum to more or less than the contract sum, percent-complete math breaks and the GC or architect will reject the schedule (and every pay app built on it). This builder validates the total against your contract value to the cent as you type.
How detailed should schedule of values line items be?
Detailed enough that progress is observable, coarse enough that billing isn't a burden — most light-commercial SOVs run 10 to 40 lines. Front-load mobilization and general conditions legitimately (they're spent early), keep labor and material split if your contract holds different retainage on stored materials, and give any allowances their own lines.
Is this really free?
Yes — no account, no email. Your SOV saves in your browser. If you want it to live server-side, flow in from an estimate, and roll forward into monthly pay applications automatically, that's the paid BuiltSum product.
How do you write a schedule of values?
List every distinct piece of work in the contract, usually by CSI division or by phase, so that each line is something an inspector can see progress on. Assign each line a dollar value that includes its share of overhead and profit, and make the lines sum exactly to the contract amount. Keep lines observable but billable: fine enough that partial progress can be measured, coarse enough that you are not defending fifty tiny lines each month. Get it approved before the first pay application, because it cannot change afterwards without a change order.
Your estimate should BE your schedule of values
In BuiltSum, the estimate you win with becomes the SOV you bill with — no re-typing, no drift, retainage tracked line by line.
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