Source: https://billingmart.com/for/general-contractors

For general contractors

# Bill a build in draws, hold retainage, release it at the end

A general contractor carries the whole job: the owner pays in stages, the subs want paying in between, and a slice of every draw is held back until the punch list is done. BillingMart bills that shape directly instead of in a spreadsheet beside the invoices.

## The billing problems general contractors actually have

Each draw has to bill what was earned since the last one, not the whole percentage again.

A progress invoice bills by percent complete and subtracts what the job has already billed, so draw four bills only what is new since draw three.

Retainage is withheld on every draw and has to add up exactly at closeout.

Each progress invoice withholds the job’s retainage in its totals, and one release invoice at the end bills exactly what the job held back.

The owner’s lender wants the permit and the change-order number on every draw.

The permit number and the change-order number are fields on the invoice, printed where the reviewer looks for them.

## A worked invoice

Sample work, priced the way this work is usually priced. The total is computed with the same function the console bills with.

## Questions

**Can I set a different retainage rate on one job?**

Yes. Retainage is a setting of the job, so one project can hold 10% and another 5%, and each of that job’s progress invoices withholds its own rate.

**What does the owner see when they pay a draw?**

Their invoice with its lines, the retainage withheld and the amount due, on a payment page where they can pay by card or bank transfer.

**Does BillingMart pay my subcontractors?**

No. It records the bills your subcontractors send you, so you can see what the job owes them, but you pay them the way you pay today.

## Send your next invoice with BillingMart

Start free, send your first invoice, and see it paid by card or bank transfer.

[Start free](https://app.billingmart.com/sign-up)

---

This is the Markdown copy of https://billingmart.com/for/general-contractors. Live plans, prices and limits are published as JSON at https://billingmart.com/plans.json and https://billingmart.com/agent-info.json.