Build a construction payment schedule that shows your cash gap
A construction payment schedule tells you when the customer is expected to pay. A job cash-flow forecast puts those receipts beside the dates you must pay suppliers, crews and other costs. You need both to see whether the job requires cash before the next payment arrives.
Use this worked example to build your own forecast. The numbers are fictional, and the example deposit is an arithmetic assumption—not a recommended or legally permitted percentage for your job.
1. Write down when customer money should clear
Start with the contract price and the payment terms you have actually agreed. Separate the deposit, any progress payment, and the remaining final balance. Record when you expect cleared funds, including the time between finishing work, sending an invoice and receiving payment.
For this $40,000 example, the model assumes a $20,000 deposit before day 0, a $10,000 progress payment on day 14, and a $10,000 final payment on day 42. Work finishes on day 28; the final balance arrives 14 days later. Use your contract and applicable local rules when entering your own terms.
2. Put job costs on the same timeline
Materials can be due before installation. Crew payments can fall between customer payments. Include freight, payroll burden, applicable cost-side taxes, subcontractors and the share of overhead you are assigning to the job. Add financing fees when they apply. Avoid counting the same cost twice.
This example has $20,000 of materials paid on day 0, $8,000 of crew costs and $2,000 of overhead spread across four weekly paydays, plus $2,000 of other costs split between the start and finish. No cash is set aside for the job. Total entered costs are $32,000.
3. Calculate the balance after each payment
Start with the cash reserved for this job. Add each customer receipt and subtract each cost as it clears. The lowest balance reveals the extra cash required under those assumptions.
Opening cash + receipts − payments = closing cash. When bills and receipts share a day, this example pays the bills first. That conservative ordering reveals a gap that an end-of-day total could hide.
| Day | Payment | Cash movement | Job cash balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before start | Customer deposit | +$20,000 | $20,000 |
| 0 | Materials / supplier + Other direct costs - first half | -$21,000 | -$1,000 |
| 7 | Crew / subcontractors + Allocated overhead | -$2,500 | -$3,500 |
| 14 | Crew / subcontractors + Allocated overhead | -$2,500 | -$6,000 |
| 14 | Customer progress payment | +$10,000 | $4,000 |
| 21 | Crew / subcontractors + Allocated overhead | -$2,500 | $1,500 |
| 28 | Crew / subcontractors + Other direct costs - balance + Allocated overhead | -$3,500 | -$2,000 |
| 42 | Customer final payment | +$10,000 | $8,000 |
The lowest balance is -$6,000 on day 14, immediately before the progress payment. This job needs $6,000 of extra cash at that point, even though it ends with $8,000 left after the entered costs. That remaining amount excludes income tax and any unentered expenses. For another timing comparison, read why profitable contractors can still run short on cash.
4. Test a late customer payment
Move the customer’s expected receipt dates without moving the bills. In the same example, delaying both progress and final payments by 14 days increases the modeled cash gap to $12,000. The costs and contract price have not changed; the wait for customer money has.
JobFloat’s free calculator lets you test 7-, 14- and 30-day delays to progress and final receipts. The deposit stays before the job starts. Compare the result with the cash you have actually reserved, and check whether that money is already committed to another job.
5. Compare changes you can actually agree
Before ordering materials or committing crew costs, consider the timing options available under your agreements: a supplier payment date, a customer milestone or a job-specific reserve. Recalculate with any added supplier charges or financing fees. A modeled change does not create a supplier agreement or alter a customer contract.
For several concurrent projects, a one-job forecast is only part of the picture. JobFloat models one job’s estimates; it does not connect to bank accounts, combine all your jobs or collect customer payments.
Turn your estimates into a planning pack
The calculator and complete sample are free to use without an account. The optional planning pack costs $49 USD plus applicable tax for one snapshot of your own job. It includes the payment-by-payment schedule, late-payment scenarios, deposit and supplier-timing comparisons, a downloadable report and a CSV. It is one purchase with no subscription; future edits and other jobs are not included.