Retainage is the portion of each invoice a company holds back until the work is far enough along, or fully complete, to release it. It is standard on most construction projects, and it adds up fast. The Retainage Structure is where RiffleCM keeps the retainage rules for a company, so your invoices withhold the right amount automatically and you always know what you are owed at the end.
Where You Set It
Like the billing structure, the retainage structure lives in two places that work together:
Your company default: Set it once on a Company Contact's Billing tab, and it becomes the starting point for every project with that company. You can then customize each project should it deviate from a contractor's usual preferences.
Per project: Open the Billing tab inside a project (available once the project reaches the Work in Progress phase) and you will see a Retainage Structure card. It starts from the company default, and you can adjust it for that one project.
What Is In It
The Retainage Structure card holds these fields:
Retainage Percent: The percentage held back from each invoice. 10% is common. This is the rate RiffleCM uses to fill in the Retained amount on every invoice you add.
Release Condition: What has to happen before the held-back money is released: GC written authorization, a Certificate of substantial completion, Final payment received, none, or other.
Step-down Rule: Whether the retainage percentage drops at a set point in the project instead of staying flat. For example, one preset reduces retainage to 5% once the project is 50% complete. You can also choose no step-down, or another arrangement.
How the Percent Connects to Your Invoices
The Retainage Percent is not just a note to yourself. It is the rate RiffleCM applies when you enter a gross amount on an invoice, filling in the Retained amount and the Net Amount Due for you. It also drives the Retainage Held To-date summary card and the projected total you will have withheld by the end of the project.
Note: You can still override the Retained amount on any single invoice if it is different. The percent here is the default RiffleCM starts from.
Customizing for a Single Project
To change the retainage structure for one project, open its Billing tab, press the pencil (edit) button on the Retainage Structure card, make your changes, and press Save Changes. Any field you set differently from the company default gets a small orange badge, so you can see what has been customized for this project.
Changed your mind? Press the reset button to clear your changes and return to your company default.
💡 Tip
Get the Retainage Percent right at the start of a project. Because every invoice withholds against it, a wrong rate quietly throws off your Net Amount Due and your projected retainage on every line.
Related: What is "Billing Structure"?
Related: Manage Project Billing