Construction draw schedule calculator
Turn a contract price into draw amounts by construction phase, with each draw as a percentage, a dollar figure and a running total that ends at exactly 100 percent.
Construction draw schedule calculator: run the calculator
Payment schedule by construction phase
Pick the rulebook that governs the contract, enter the price, and the table below shows what becomes payable at each phase, what the running total reaches, and how much of the build the contractor is still funding.
Stages, shares and amounts
Contract price $480,000 · draws before completion 88% · closing draw 12% = $57,600
Contract price $480,000 · first installment 30% = $144,000 · remaining sum $336,000 · shared out over the later stages
| Stage | Share | Amount | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of excavation30% of the contract price | 30% | $144,000 | $144,000 |
| Structural shell complete, including carpentry · Roof surfaces and gutters48% of the remaining sum | 33.6% | $161,280 | $305,280 |
| Heating rough-in – Windows installed and glazed19% of the remaining sum | 13.3% | $63,840 | $369,120 |
| Interior plaster · Screed · Bathroom tiling13% of the remaining sum | 9.1% | $43,680 | $412,800 |
| Ready for occupancy, against handover of possession12% of the remaining sum | 8.4% | $40,320 | $453,120 |
| Facade work3% of the remaining sum | 2.1% | $10,080 | $463,200 |
| Full completion5% of the remaining sum | 3.5% | $16,800 | $480,000 |
| Total | 100% | $480,000 |
Percentages fixed by § 3 Absatz 2 MaBV, Germany.
| Stage | Share | Amount | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site work and foundation | 20% | $96,000 | $96,000 |
| Framing and dried-in roof | 25% | $120,000 | $216,000 |
| Mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough-in | 18% | $86,400 | $302,400 |
| Insulation, drywall and interior finishes | 25% | $120,000 | $422,400 |
| Final completion and punch list | 12% | $57,600 | $480,000 |
| Total | 100% | $480,000 |
Ranges typical for US construction lenders, agreed in the contract rather than set by statute.
Contract price $480,000 · deposit 3% = $14,400 · first payment 12% · balance at handover 5%
| Stage | Share | Amount | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit held at signature | 3% | $14,400 | $14,400 |
| Site opened | 12% | $57,600 | $72,000 |
| Foundations complete | 10% | $48,000 | $120,000 |
| Walls complete | 15% | $72,000 | $192,000 |
| Weathertight roof | 20% | $96,000 | $288,000 |
| Partitions complete and building sealed | 15% | $72,000 | $360,000 |
| Fittings, plumbing, joinery and heating complete | 20% | $96,000 | $456,000 |
| Handover of the finished house | 5% | $24,000 | $480,000 |
| Total | 100% | $480,000 |
Cumulative ceilings fixed by article R231-7 of the French code de la construction et de l’habitation.
How each amount is derived
Amount = contract price × cumulative share, rounded to cents. Each row is that figure minus the row above it.
The closing row carries the balance, so the money column totals the contract price and the share column totals 100 %.
Construction draw schedule calculator: what it answers
A draw schedule is the payment table a builder and a construction lender agree on before the first invoice. Each draw is tied to a phase the lender can inspect: foundation poured, house dried in, rough-in signed off, finishes complete, certificate of occupancy issued. The percentages are negotiated, not fixed by statute, and they decide how much of the job the builder carries out of pocket before money arrives.
Typical residential ranges put site work and foundation at 15 to 20 percent, framing and dry-in at 20 to 25, mechanical rough-in at 15 to 20, interior finishes at 20 to 25, and final completion at 10 to 15. Front-loading looks attractive until an appraiser measures progress against the money already released. Europe removes the negotiation entirely: German developers follow the fixed percentages in MaBV, French home builders follow article R231-7.
Construction draw schedule calculator: how the result is worked out
Each phase carries a percentage of the contract price. The calculator multiplies the price by the running total of those percentages, rounds the running total to cents, and reads each draw as the difference between its own cumulative figure and the previous one. That is why the draws add back to the contract price to the cent instead of drifting by a rounding error. The final draw is whatever the earlier ones leave, which pins the schedule to exactly 100 percent.
In practice the argument is never about the arithmetic, it is about when a phase counts as done. Dried in means roof, windows and exterior doors installed, not roof only. Rough-in means all three trades inspected, not two. Write the completion test next to each draw in the contract, because that sentence decides whether an inspector releases the money in the same week or three weeks later. Retainage, where the contract holds it, sits on top of this table.
Construction draw schedule calculator: what the result assumes
The US percentages are typical lender ranges rather than law. A lender's own draw sheet or the owner's contract overrides every figure shown here.
The schedule covers the contract price only. Change orders, allowances and lot cost are billed outside it and move the percentages once they are signed.
Retainage is not deducted. Where the contract holds back 5 or 10 percent per draw, subtract it after this table and track the release date separately.
Amounts are rounded to cents on the running total, so a single draw can differ by one cent from a straight percentage of the price.
Inspection fees, title updates and interest reserve draws are lender costs. They are not part of the contract price and do not belong in this table.
Construction draw schedule calculator: questions and answers
How many draws does a residential construction loan usually have?
Most single-family construction loans run four to six draws, keyed to foundation, framing and dry-in, rough-in, finishes and final completion. More draws mean smaller gaps in cash flow and more inspections; fewer draws mean fewer inspection fees and a longer stretch of the job financed by the builder.
Can a builder ask for a large deposit before work starts?
State law decides. Several states cap the deposit on a residential contract, and lender-financed builds usually release nothing until the first inspection. A schedule that puts 30 percent before any work is visible will be questioned by the lender and, in some states, is not enforceable.
What happens if the draws do not add up to 100 percent?
The gap lands on the builder. If the schedule totals 97 percent, three percent of the contract price has no milestone attached and no clear moment when it becomes payable. This calculator derives the final draw from the earlier ones so the total closes exactly, and flags the entry when the earlier draws already exceed the price.
Does a draw schedule replace an AIA G702 application for payment?
No. The draw schedule sets what each phase is worth; G702 and its G703 continuation sheet report what was actually completed and stored in the current period. The schedule is agreed once at contract signing, the application is filed every billing cycle against it.
Construction draw schedule calculator: use it on your own projects
Inside Home Builder Software the same calculation reads the project file, so the figure carries the budget, the awards and the invoices behind it instead of asking you to retype them.