What belongs in a construction payment calendar?
Include contract payments, consultants, authority invoices, owner purchases, site services, interest and the costs remaining after physical completion. For each item, record its trigger, due date, evidence and funding source. Keep estimated dates visibly different from contractual obligations. The calendar becomes useful when the owner and delivery team can see a payment approaching before it competes with another invoice or a lender inspection has still to be arranged.
Link to this answer · 01What happens if a builder’s invoice is due before the lender releases funds?
The gap needs a documented funding plan; the construction contract and the loan approval are separate arrangements. Confirm the claim evidence, inspection booking, lender processing and any owner contribution required. Identify the person responsible for each step before the payment date approaches. Do not assume an approved total facility means every invoice can be paid immediately, or that a supplier must wait indefinitely for the owner’s financing process.
Link to this answer · 02How should early procurement or off-site manufacture appear in cash flow?
Show the proposed payment event and the goods or work it relates to, then confirm that the contract, lender and insurance arrangements support it. Clarify ownership, identification, storage, transport, inspection and what happens if the delivery changes. A factory programme and a lender’s site-based drawdown process may not align automatically. Resolve that interface before ordering, rather than counting future site progress as funding for an earlier commitment.
Link to this answer · 03What should a variation record say about cash and programme?
Record the changed work, price difference, payment timing and effect on the programme together. For an applicable major domestic building contract, follow the required written variation process; for other work, confirm the relevant contractual procedure. Check whether extra borrowing is actually available and who funds any gap. A small design instruction can affect ordering or later trades, so approval should cover those consequences rather than only the visible item.
Link to this answer · 04What should be checked before a progress payment is made?
Match the claim to the applicable contract, defined stage and supporting evidence, and confirm who is authorised to review it. For ordinary domestic building work, CAV provides guidance on checking completed work before payment. Arrange qualified inspection where needed and keep the record with the claim. If the work or amount is disputed, obtain advice on the correct contractual response rather than unilaterally rewriting the payment schedule.
Link to this answer · 05Can a rooming house use the same payment and insurance assumptions as a house?
Do not assume that it can. Confirm the actual building use, contract framework and insurance terms with the relevant advisers before adopting a standard domestic-house template. The BPC domestic building insurance policy has specific definitions and exclusions, including an RTA rooming house exclusion from its definition of home. Ask for the arrangements applicable to this project in writing rather than relying on a generic statement that building insurance is included.
Link to this answer · 06What should the cash forecast change when a programme slips?
Move the affected receipts and payments to their revised dates, then review the costs that continue and any new commitments. Include finance, site overheads, security, storage or rescheduling where they genuinely arise under the arrangements. Establish which costs are the owner’s and which need contractual review. Do not assume completing one trade earlier removes all holding costs if services, inspections or the intended exit still depend on later steps.
Link to this answer · 07Can owner-supplied fixtures create a cash-flow or delivery gap?
Yes, when the purchase, delivery, installation and checking responsibilities do not line up. Record who orders, who pays, when the item is needed and whether installation is included in the building scope. Confirm specification compatibility before committing funds. Keep any freight, storage, damage or replacement arrangements visible. A cheaper purchase price is only one part of the decision if a late or unsuitable item affects the construction programme.
Link to this answer · 08Why can owner costs continue after the building work is finished?
The owner’s selected exit may depend on matters beyond the builder’s completed scope. Service finalisation, outstanding consultant work, title-related steps, marketing or settlement can occur on different schedules. List those dependencies before setting the final funding date, and assign each one to the responsible party. Handover should identify what is complete and what remains; it should not turn an assumed sale receipt into cash already available for the last invoices.
Link to this answer · 09How should a cost-to-complete forecast be maintained during the build?
Start with actual costs paid, add committed costs not yet paid, and estimate the remaining defined work separately. Reconcile approved variations and allowances against the current contract so they are not counted twice. Show unresolved exposures outside the confirmed total and update the expected payment dates. This gives the owner and delivery team a practical view of what remains to fund, rather than a comparison with the original headline price alone.
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