Building a schedule of values from your proposal
A schedule of values (SOV) splits the contract sum into the lines you will bill against, and the general contractor approves it before the first pay app. Every pay app bills progress against those lines, so the SOV decides how detailed your billing is and how early you can bill each part of the work.
Fabric, built in Seattle Updated
What a schedule of values is
A schedule of values (SOV) splits the contract sum into the lines you will bill against. Each line has a scheduled value, and the scheduled values add up to the contract.
The general contractor approves the SOV before your first pay app, often as part of the subcontract paperwork. After that, every continuation sheet is the SOV with the progress columns filled in: previous work, this period, stored materials, and what is left. You set it up once and bill against it every month, so it is worth getting right.
From proposal lines to SOV lines
A proposal carries the detail you need to price the work. An SOV carries the detail you need to bill it. Usually that means fewer, larger lines: group the proposal's items into pieces of work you will finish and bill at different times, and keep the proposal's sections so the GC can follow the SOV back to the bid.
A line can be lump sum, with no quantity, just its value. That suits work billed by percent complete.
On the sample job, proposal PROP-0001 was signed by both parties on June 4, 2026 and June 5, 2026. It became an SOV of 6 lines in 2 sections, totaling $317,290.00. The sample is a stairs and railings package; the same shape works in any trade.
| Item # | Description | Scheduled Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stairs | 190,700.00 |
| 1.1 | Stair 1, steel pan stair with concrete-filled treads | 73,600.00 |
| 1.2 | Stair 2, steel pan stair with concrete-filled treads | 73,600.00 |
| 1.3 | Stair 3, exterior galvanized grating stair | 43,500.00 |
| 2 | Railings and Canopy | 126,590.00 |
| 2.1 | Interior picket guardrail at stairs and atrium | 59,450.00 |
| 2.2 | Wall-mounted handrail, 1-1/2 in. pipe | 18,240.00 |
| 2.3 | Main entry canopy, HSS frame with metal deck | 48,900.00 |
| Original contract | 317,290.00 |
How detailed to make it
Use enough lines that each one can be billed when that part of the work happens. A line that covers two months of work in two different areas forces you to estimate a percentage the GC may question.
- Split material and labor into separate lines if you plan to bill stored materials, so the material can be billed when it arrives.
- Give mobilization and closeout items their own lines when the subcontract allows it.
- Keep the count manageable. Every line is a figure to update every month.
Some GCs set the format themselves, with their own cost codes or a required number of lines. Ask before you build the SOV, not after.
Front-loading, and why GCs push back
Front-loading means putting more value on the early lines than that work is worth, so more money comes in at the start of the job. It is common, and GCs know it.
A GC compares the scheduled values against the work and against other bids, and asks for changes when early lines look heavy. The trade-off is cash early against how quickly the GC approves the SOV and how hard each line is to defend later.
Where change orders go
Approved change orders get lines of their own below the original contract, so the original scheduled values stay the same for the whole job. Change order 1 (roof access ladder) adds $6,850.00, for a contract sum to date of $324,140.00.
Change order 2 for $11,130.00 isn't on the SOV yet. It goes on when the GC approves it.
| Item # | Description | Scheduled Value |
|---|---|---|
| Original contract | 317,290.00 | |
| CO1.1 | Roof access ladder with safety cage | 6,850.00 |
| Contract sum to date | 324,140.00 |