Free template
Payment application template
An application for payment asks for a valuation of work done under a contract that sets its own payment timetable, and it is the document the Construction Act attaches to. The dates on it are what start the clock: the payer has five days after the due date to serve a payment notice, and if they serve nothing your application becomes the notified sum. This template carries the cumulative build-up in the order the deductions actually happen, and the dates a payer has to answer.
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Application for Payment
The parties and the contract
The period and the dates
The dates are the point. An application with no due date and no final date for payment starts no clock, and a clock that never started cannot be missed by the payer.
The valuation
Cumulative figures, not this month alone. Retention is taken on the running total and the previously certified amount comes off afterwards.
| Item / element | Contract value (£) | % complete | Value to date (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
The build-up
Submitted
An application for payment under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. Where the payer serves no payment notice within five days of the due date, the sum applied for becomes the notified sum.
How is a payment application different from an invoice?
An application asks for a valuation of work done under a contract that sets its own payment timetable. An invoice demands a sum already agreed. The Act attaches to the first and not the second.
- An application starts the notice clock: the payer has five days after the due date to serve a payment notice, and a prescribed period before the final date to serve a Pay Less Notice.
- Invoicing where the contract calls for an application can put you outside that protection entirely.
- Under the reverse charge, the VAT is the customer’s to account for, and the application says so rather than adding it to the total.
What has to be on it?
The Act does not prescribe a form. What makes an application work is that it identifies the period, states the cumulative valuation and its build-up, and carries the dates that start the timetable.
- Cumulative figures, not this month’s increment. Retention is taken on the running total and previously certified sums come off after it.
- The due date and final date for payment, because a payer who is never told the dates is never late.
- Variations listed separately, so an item the payer disputes does not put the whole valuation in dispute.
Your contract may prescribe a form, a recipient and a deadline for submission. Serving the right document to the wrong person on the wrong day is the common failure.
What happens after it is served?
The payer has five days after the due date to serve a payment notice specifying what they consider due. If they do not, your application becomes the notified sum.
| What the payer does | What becomes payable |
|---|---|
| Serves a payment notice in time | The sum in their notice, unless a Pay Less Notice reduces it |
| Serves nothing | The sum you applied for, in full |
| Serves a Pay Less Notice in time | The sum in that notice, if it states its basis |
| Serves a Pay Less Notice late | The notified sum, in full |
Common questions
- What should a payment application include?
- The parties and contract, the valuation period, the cumulative value of work done with its build-up, retention and previously certified sums deducted in that order, the net sum applied for, and the due date and final date for payment. The Act prescribes no form, but the dates are what start the notice timetable.
- Is a payment application the same as an invoice?
- No. An application asks for a valuation under a contract with its own payment timetable and triggers the Construction Act notice regime. An invoice demands a sum already agreed. Invoicing where the contract calls for an application can leave you outside the protection the Act gives.
- What happens if the payer ignores my application?
- If they serve no payment notice within five days of the due date, your application becomes the notified sum and is payable in full on the final date for payment, unless they serve a valid Pay Less Notice in time.
- How is retention shown on an application?
- As a deduction from the cumulative gross valuation, before the previously certified total comes off. Taking previous certifications off first and then applying the percentage to what is left produces a plausible figure that is wrong on every application after the first.
Applications against invoices
Why a payment application is not an invoice, and why the difference decides the dates.
ReadPayment date calculator
The due date, both notice deadlines and the final date, from one application date.
ReadRetention calculator
What is held on a valuation and the two dates it comes back.
ReadPayment applications & retention
Construction Act dates, pay less deadlines and retention tracked to release.
Read