AIA Billing Guide: Understanding G702 and G703 Pay Applications
AIA-style billing is one of the most common progress billing workflows in commercial construction. This guide explains how the G702 application for payment, G703 continuation sheet, and schedule of values work together so your pay applications stay clean, consistent, and easier to approve.
If you have ever heard “the math doesn’t tie” or “we need backup,” this is a good place to start.
AIA Billing Guide Navigation
Start here for the overview, then use the guides below to go deeper into the parts of the process that matter most.
What Is AIA Billing?
In plain English, AIA billing is a structured way to submit construction pay applications. Instead of sending a simple invoice, you bill from a schedule of values, track progress to date by line item, show retainage, account for stored materials, and roll all of it into a project-level summary.
Whether your project requires the official documents or an AIA-style equivalent, the workflow is usually the same: the G703 continuation sheet holds the line-item detail, and the G702 application for payment summarizes the totals reviewers care about first.
The 30-second map
- Schedule of Values (SOV) = your billing line items
- G703 continuation sheet = line-by-line progress, stored materials, retainage, and balances
- G702 application for payment = the summary that rolls everything up
The Schedule of Values Is the Source of Truth
If you only remember one thing from this guide, remember this: the SOV drives everything. The schedule of values is the project’s line-item breakdown. If it is vague, front-loaded, or inconsistent with the contract, you will likely fight that same problem every month.
A review-friendly SOV makes the rest of the process easier because reviewers can quickly see what changed, how much is complete, and what remains to finish.
- Break scope into reviewable chunks. Broad descriptions create questions.
- Match the contract structure. Divisions, alternates, and approved scope should line up.
- Use realistic values. Overloaded line items attract scrutiny.
- Decide upfront how stored materials and retainage will be handled.
Go deeper: What Is a Schedule of Values (SOV)? and How to Create a Schedule of Values Template.
Understanding the G703 Continuation Sheet
The G703-style continuation sheet is where your billing becomes auditable. It shows the detail behind the pay application, usually line by line from the SOV.
For each line item, the continuation sheet typically shows:
- Scheduled value
- Work completed from previous periods
- Work completed this period
- Stored materials
- Total completed and stored to date
- Retainage
- Balance to finish
This is the document reviewers use to understand what changed this month and whether the numbers make sense line by line.
Go deeper: AIA G703 instructions, What is a G703 continuation sheet?, and G702 vs G703 differences.
Understanding the G702 Application for Payment
The G702-style summary is the cover sheet. It rolls up the detailed continuation sheet into the project-level totals that owners, lenders, and GCs want to review quickly.
Most reviewers are trying to answer three questions:
- What is the contract sum right now? Original contract plus approved change orders.
- How much has been earned to date? Completed work plus stored materials, less retainage as applicable.
- How much is due this period? Current earned amount minus prior payments and current retainage.
If the continuation sheet totals, prior billing history, and summary numbers do not match, that is where delays start.
Go deeper: AIA G702 instructions, What is a G702 form?, and G702 line-by-line explanation.
How G702 and G703 Work Together
The easiest way to think about it is this:
- The G703 shows the detailed math by line item.
- The G702 summarizes those totals for the project.
- The SOV is the underlying structure that makes both forms work.
If you want a side-by-side explanation, see G702 vs G703 differences.
Retainage, Stored Materials, and Change Orders
These are the three areas that cause the most confusion and the most rejected pay apps. If your totals are getting challenged, this is usually where the problem lives.
Retainage
Retainage is the portion of earned value withheld under the contract. The big issue is consistency from one pay app to the next.
- Use the contract rate
- Be consistent across periods
- Know whether it applies to stored materials
Stored Materials
Stored materials can be valid billings, but they usually require support. Without backup, reviewers often pause approval.
- Confirm the contract allows it
- Attach invoices and proof
- Handle retainage correctly
Change Orders
Only approved change orders should be rolled into the contract sum unless your contract says otherwise.
- Separate approved from pending
- Keep a clean change log
- Verify the revised contract total
Why AIA Pay Applications Get Rejected
Reviewers often say the billing “doesn’t tie.” That usually means they cannot reconcile your summary, continuation sheet, supporting documents, and prior billing history.
- Summary totals do not match continuation totals
- Prior payment history does not match the last approved application
- Retainage was applied inconsistently
- Stored materials were billed without backup
- Change order totals do not match approved records
Want a pre-submit checklist?
A quick check before sending can save a long payment delay.
QuickBooks and AIA-Style Billing
QuickBooks can be part of the workflow, but it is usually not the tool contractors rely on to actually generate a proper G702/G703-style pay app. Many teams prepare the pay application externally, get it approved, and then create matching invoices in QuickBooks.
Go deeper: Does QuickBooks do AIA billing? and Progress billing in QuickBooks Online.
How to Fill Out G702 and G703 Correctly
Once the SOV is clean, the real job is consistency. Each month’s current application needs to match prior approved history, current progress, change orders, retainage rules, and supporting backup.
For the practical step-by-step process, start here: How to fill out AIA-style G702 and G703.
How PayAppPro Helps
PayAppPro is built to make AIA-style billing easier to manage without fighting spreadsheets every month. You set up your SOV, update progress, track retainage and stored materials, and generate consistent AIA-style outputs from the same source of truth.
- Build your SOV once per project
- Track progress, stored materials, and retainage by line item
- Keep approved and pending change orders organized
- Generate AIA-style PDF outputs with cleaner totals
- Reduce rejected pay apps caused by inconsistent math
Or create your first pay app online and upgrade anytime.
More AIA Billing Guides
Start with the SOV
If billing is messy, the schedule of values is often the root cause.
Schedule of Values (SOV) →Continue Learning About AIA Billing
These related guides explain the most important parts of the AIA-style pay application process in more detail.