Reason Why #8: The Retainage You're Owed That Nobody Is Chasing
Retainage is earned money that sits on someone else's books, often long after the job is done. SCPM Project ages every dollar of it, flags long holds, and shows which receivables to collect first.
By Ed Warmoth, Founder of Conquest Consultants
Retainage is some of the hardest-earned money in construction. You did the work. You billed it. The owner held back five or ten percent, and now it sits on their books until closeout, punch, and paperwork clear. At a busy firm with dozens of jobs, some of that money gets forgotten. Not written off. Just forgotten.
The eighth reason contractors move to SCPM Project: every dollar you're owed is visible, aged, and ranked.
Retainage, aged and ready to release
SCPM Project tracks retainage in both directions: receivable from your customers and payable to your subcontractors. The retainage screen lists every hold by customer and project, with the amount held, the date of the oldest unreleased hold, and its age. Holds over twelve months are flagged. When the conditions are met, release is one click, and it reclassifies the retainage to current receivables or payables on the ledger.
That view matters most on the jobs you've stopped thinking about. A project that closed two years ago can still be carrying six figures of retainage. When it's on a list, aged and flagged, somebody calls about it.
Receivables by job, with a recommendation
The same discipline applies to open receivables. SCPM Project ages AR by project – current, 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90, and over 90 days – with retainage in its own column, because it ages on milestones rather than due dates. The totals tie to the general ledger.
At the top of the report, an AI summary explains what the numbers mean: how much is over 90 days, how much is retainage, and where to focus collection first. Every figure in that summary is computed by the accounting engine and traces to a posting. The AI explains the numbers; it never computes or invents one.
Cash, not just margin
A job can be profitable and still drain your cash. Cash flow by job shows which projects are generating cash and which are consuming it, independent of accrual margin. Put that next to retainage and AR aging, and you have a clear picture of where your money actually is, plus a list of who to call on Monday.
Earned money that nobody is chasing is just a loan to your customer.
This is Reason Why #8 in our ten-part series. See retainage, AR aging, and cash flow by job in the four-minute tour on the SCPM Project homepage, then start a free 14-day demo. https://scpmproject.com
Structure defeats chaos.
If margin is leaking through the gaps in your operation, a direct conversation is where it starts.