Capability — commercial
Payment applications and retention under the Construction Act
Estimark computes the statutory payment dates from the date of your application — due date, payment notice deadline and final date for payment — and refuses to record a pay less notice served after the deadline, stating that the notified sum remains payable in full.
Where applications leak money
The dates live in someone’s head
If nobody has written down the final date for payment, nobody can tell whether the pay less notice was in time.
Previously certified is re-applied for
A cumulative application that does not net off what has already been certified either overstates or understates every month.
Retention is remembered, not tracked
Five per cent of every valuation, held for a year or more, across a dozen jobs, is not a memory exercise.
The release never gets invoiced
The defects period ends, the retention is due, and nobody raises the invoice for it.
Capability — how it works
Which statutory dates does Estimark compute?
Four, all derived from the application date, under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 as amended by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009.
| Date | Default |
|---|---|
| Due date | Application date + 30 days |
| Payment notice deadline (s110A) | Due date + 5 days |
| Final date for payment | Due date + 14 days |
| Pay less notice deadline (s111) | Final date − 5 days |
NoteThese are the standard JCT-style defaults and are not yet configurable per contract.
What happens if a pay less notice is late?
Estimark refuses it. The attempt is rejected with a message naming the deadline, the final date for payment, and the fact that the notified sum remains payable in full.
- The pay less notice records the amount, the reason and the date it was served.
- The notice is dated the day you serve it through Estimark — it cannot be back-dated.
How is the application valued?
Cumulatively, netting off retention and everything previously certified.
- Retention is the gross cumulative valuation multiplied by the retention percentage, which defaults to 5%.
- Net application is gross cumulative, less retention, less the sum of everything already certified on that job.
- Previously certified counts applications in certified, counter-certified and paid states.
- An application runs through draft, submitted, certified, counter-certified, disputed and paid.
What happens when an application is certified?
Certifying raises an invoice automatically, numbered against the job with an AFP suffix, with VAT applied on top of the certified net amount.
- The invoice picks up the reverse charge automatically if the client is flagged for it.
- The certified invoice is pushed to Xero, QuickBooks, FreshBooks or Sage Business Cloud like any other invoice.
- Certified value feeds the CVR and the WIP report, so cost and value stay on the same page.
How is retention tracked and released?
Retention held is the sum of the retention taken on certified applications; a release is recorded against practical completion, the end of the defects period or a custom date, and raises its own invoice.
- A per-job view shows total held, total released and the balance.
- A retention dashboard shows what is due within 30 days and within 90 days, and what has been released this year.
- A daily check runs at 08:05 to keep upcoming releases current.
- Release invoices are numbered against the job with a RET suffix, with VAT added at release.
The Act, in numbers
- Due date
- Application + 30 days
- Payment notice
- Due + 5 days (s110A)
- Final date
- Due + 14 days
- Pay less
- Final date − 5 days (s111)
- Late pay less
- Refused
- Retention default
- 5%
- Module price
- £19 / month
Payment Applications
£19/month
Payment Applications is a £19-a-month module, included from the Pro plan at £249 a month upward.
What you get
- Cumulative valuations netting off previously certified
- Statutory dates computed from the application date
- Late pay less notices refused with the reason
- Certification raising the invoice automatically
- Retention held, balance and release
- Retention dashboard at 30 and 90 days
Job Costing (£25/month) consumes certified value to produce the CVR and the WIP report. Both are included from Pro at £249/month.
Questions
Payment applications & retention — frequently asked
What is the final date for payment in Estimark?
By default, 14 days after the due date, and the due date defaults to 30 days after the application date. The payment notice deadline is 5 days after the due date under section 110A, and a pay less notice must be served at least 5 days before the final date for payment under section 111.
Does Estimark stop a late pay less notice?
Yes. If you try to serve a pay less notice after the deadline, Estimark refuses to record it and states the deadline, the final date for payment, and that the notified sum remains payable in full.
How is retention calculated?
Retention is the gross cumulative valuation multiplied by the retention percentage, which defaults to 5% per job. The net application is gross cumulative less retention less everything previously certified. Retention held is tracked per job against releases, with a dashboard showing what falls due within 30 and 90 days.
Does certifying an application create an invoice?
Yes. Certification raises an invoice numbered against the job with an AFP suffix, applies VAT on top of the certified net amount, picks up the domestic reverse charge if the client is flagged for it, and pushes to your accounting package.
Related
Job costing & CVR
Actual, committed and forecast cost per job, with a cost value reconciliation pack.
VAT domestic reverse charge
Section 55A wording on the invoice, nil VAT, per-client control.
For builders & contractors
Pro at £249/month — job costing, payment applications, CIS and site safety.
CIS compliance
Labour-only deduction, 6th-to-5th tax months, HMRC verification, CIS300 recorded.
Try it on a real job.
Fourteen days, full access, every plan. No implementation fee.