The AIA G702 is the one-page summary of your payment request and the G703 is the line-by-line backup behind it — and the single most common reason a pay app gets rejected is that the two sheets don't tie out to the penny. This guide walks both forms field by field, explains retainage, and lists the errors that bounce a pay app, so you bill cleanly and get paid on time.
What are the G702 and G703 forms?
On most commercial construction projects, a contractor doesn't send an invoice — it submits an Application and Certificate for Payment, billing for the portion of the contract completed during the period. The industry-standard forms are the AIA G702 (the application and certificate) and its companion G703 (the continuation sheet). They've been the default progress-billing format for decades; this guide describes the long-standing G702/G703-1992 structure.
Think of them as a summary and its detail:
- The G703 is your schedule of values — your contract broken into line items, each tracking how much of that line is complete and stored to date.
- The G702 is the cover page — it pulls the totals from the G703, applies retainage, subtracts what you've already been paid, and states the single number you're owed this period.
The contractor fills out both, signs (and often notarizes) the G702, and submits the package to the architect. The architect reviews it and, if it's acceptable, certifies it and forwards it to the owner for payment.
The G703 continuation sheet, column by column
The G703 does the real work. It has nine columns, A through I. Get these right and the G702 mostly fills itself.
| Column | What it holds | How it's figured |
|---|---|---|
| A | Item number | One row per schedule-of-values line item |
| B | Description of work | Plain-language description of that line |
| C | Scheduled value | The dollar value of that line — must total your contract sum exactly |
| D | Work completed from previous applications | Carried forward: prior period's Columns D + E |
| E | Work completed this period | Only what was physically completed during this billing period |
| F | Materials presently stored | Value of stored materials not yet incorporated (not already in D or E) |
| G | Total completed and stored to date | D + E + F |
| H | Balance to finish | C − G |
| I | Retainage | Used when retainage varies by line; left blank when retainage is a flat percentage |
A few things contractors get wrong here:
- Column C must match your contract to the dollar. The architect uses the scheduled-value column as the fixed reference for every pay app on the job. If the sum of Column C doesn't equal your contract sum, the application is wrong before you've billed a cent.
- Column F (stored materials) is real money but it's conditional. You can bill for material delivered and properly stored but not yet installed — most contracts require it to be on site (or in a bonded warehouse), insured, and documented. Don't double-count: once a stored material is installed, it moves out of F and into the completed columns.
- Column G is the number the whole pay app hinges on. The grand total of Column G must equal Line 4 on the G702 exactly (more on that below).
The G702 cover sheet, line by line
Once the G703 totals are set, the G702 is mostly arithmetic. The standard lines:
- Line 1 — Original Contract Sum. Your contract value before any changes.
- Line 2 — Net change by Change Orders. The net of all approved change orders to date (additions minus deductions).
- Line 3 — Contract Sum to Date. Line 1 ± Line 2.
- Line 4 — Total Completed & Stored to Date. This must equal the grand total of G703 Column G. This is the "mathematical handshake" between the two forms.
- Line 5 — Retainage. The amount held back, split into 5a (a percentage of completed work, Columns D + E) and 5b (a percentage of stored material, Column F).
- Line 6 — Total Earned Less Retainage. Line 4 − Line 5.
- Line 7 — Less Previous Certificates for Payment. What's already been certified and paid on prior applications (the prior application's Line 6).
- Line 8 — Current Payment Due. Line 6 − Line 7. This is the number you're actually requesting.
- Line 9 — Balance to Finish, Including Retainage. Line 3 − Line 6.
The header also carries the project, owner, contractor, architect, the application number, the period dates, and the contract date. Number your applications sequentially and never reuse a number — the architect tracks the job by them.
How retainage works on the pay app
Retainage is the portion of each payment the owner withholds until the work is substantially or finally complete — a financial incentive for the contractor to finish and fix punch items. It's typically 5% to 10%; 5% and 10% are by far the most common rates, with 5% increasingly standard on larger commercial work. Federal contracts cap retainage at 10% under the federal acquisition rules, and many states cap it at 5% or 10% by statute.
On the G702, retainage is computed on Line 5 — as a percentage of completed work (5a) and, where the contract allows, a separate percentage of stored materials (5b). Some contracts use variable retainage that steps down as the job progresses (for example, 10% until the project is half complete, then 5%); that's where G703 Column I comes in. If your retainage is a flat percentage for the whole job, you can apply it on the G702 and leave Column I blank.
One thing to plan for: retainage release. When the contract's release point is reached, a pay application reduces the retained amount and pays it out. The math has to net the previously held retainage correctly, or the application won't reconcile — a frequent source of mid-to-late-project rejections.
The errors that get a pay app rejected
| Mistake | Why it bounces |
|---|---|
| Column G total ≠ G702 Line 4 | The forms don't tie out — automatic rejection |
| Sum of Column C ≠ contract sum | Schedule of values doesn't match the contract |
| Penny rounding mismatch between sheets | Owner accounting systems reject on a one-cent difference |
| Billing more than 100% of a line | Over-billing a schedule-of-values line is not allowed |
| Stored materials billed without backing | No proof of delivery, storage, or insurance |
| Retainage miscalculated or release math wrong | Line 5 / Line 6 don't reconcile |
| Reused or out-of-sequence application number | Breaks the architect's running record |
| Change orders not reflected on Line 2 | Contract Sum to Date is wrong, so everything downstream is wrong |
The throughline is precision. A pay app is a closed arithmetic system: the schedule of values feeds the continuation sheet, the continuation sheet feeds the cover sheet, and every total has to reconcile exactly. One bad number anywhere forces a full resubmission — and a resubmission can add weeks to when the money lands.
> Free tool: Plug your numbers into the retainage & pay-application calculator to see retainage held, the current payment due, and balance to finish instantly.
A cleaner way to bill
Done by hand in a spreadsheet, pay apps are a monthly exercise in not making an arithmetic mistake — and finding the one that bounced the application after the architect rejects it. Jobsite derives your G702 cover and G703 continuation sheets straight from your schedule of values, handles completed-to-date, retainage and retainage release, and balance-to-finish automatically, and won't let a line over-bill — so the two sheets always tie out to the penny. See how Jobsite's financials work →
FAQ
What is the difference between the G702 and G703?
The G702 is the one-page Application and Certificate for Payment — it summarizes the contract, applies retainage, subtracts prior payments, and states the amount due this period. The G703 is the continuation sheet: your schedule of values broken into line items, each tracking work completed and materials stored to date. The G703 is the detail; the G702 is the summary that pulls its totals.
Which G703 column has to equal G702 Line 4?
The grand total of G703 Column G (Total Completed and Stored to Date) must equal G702 Line 4 exactly. This is the "mathematical handshake" between the two forms, and a mismatch — even by a penny — is the most common reason a pay application is rejected.
What is a typical retainage percentage?
Retainage is usually 5% to 10% of each payment. The two most common rates are 5% and 10%, with 5% increasingly standard on larger commercial projects. Federal contracts cap retainage at 10%, and many states cap it at 5% or 10% by statute. The exact rate is set in your contract.
Can I bill for materials I've bought but haven't installed yet?
Usually yes — that's what G703 Column F (materials presently stored) is for. Most contracts let you bill for material that's been delivered and properly stored but not yet incorporated into the work, provided it's documented, on site or in a bonded location, and insured. Once the material is installed, move its value out of Column F and into the completed-work columns so you don't double-count it.
Why does my pay application keep getting rejected?
The usual culprits are arithmetic: the Column G total doesn't equal G702 Line 4, the sum of Column C doesn't match your contract sum, a line is billed over 100%, retainage is miscalculated, or there's a rounding mismatch between the two sheets. Owner accounting systems reject on a one-cent difference. Confirm the schedule of values matches the contract and that every total reconciles before you submit.
See how Jobsite handles this in practice: Project management on the platform →
About the author
The Jobsite Editorial Team — Construction safety & OSHA compliance
The Jobsite Editorial Team writes the safety and compliance library behind Jobsite, the construction safety, OSHA compliance, and training platform for contractors. Every article starts from the primary regulatory text — the CFR section itself, not a summary of it — and is fact-checked against that source before it publishes, so what you read here is what the standard actually requires of small and mid-size contractors in the field.