Money you earned years ago
You did the roofing package on a block of flats for a main contractor. They held a percentage of each payment as retention, half released at practical completion and half after the defects period. The first half came through, eventually. The second half is still sitting with them, and nobody on your side noticed the defects period had ended.
Multiply that by a few contracts a year and there is a real sum out there that belongs to you.
Why retention is so easy to lose
Retention is released on dates set by the main contract, like practical completion and the end of the defects period, which you do not control and are often not told about. By the time it is due, the job has left everyone's mind, the contracts manager may have moved on and the paperwork is in an archive.
- Retention terms are in the subcontract and not recorded elsewhere.
- Practical completion dates are not passed down to you reliably.
- Defects period end dates are not in any calendar.
- Amounts held are not reconciled against applications.
- Nobody owns claiming it back.
What forgotten retention costs
It is straightforward: money you earned and do not receive. It also weakens your position with contractors who are slow to pay, because you cannot show exactly what is held. And the longer it sits, the harder it becomes, as projects close and people move on.
Retention also affects how you choose work. Without a clear figure for what each main contractor is holding and how reliably they release it, you cannot factor their payment behaviour into whether to tender for them again, or at what price.
The retention register we build
- Each commercial job's retention terms are recorded from the subcontract: percentage, release stages and any conditions.
- Retention held is calculated from each payment certificate or payment notice as it arrives, so the running total per job is known.
- Practical completion and defects period dates are recorded when known, with prompts to ask the main contractor for them when they are not.
- Reminders go to a named person ahead of each release date, with the retention amount and the documents needed.
- A release request pack is drafted: the amount, the basis from the subcontract and payment history, and the completion evidence you hold.
- Requests and replies are logged, and follow-ups are prompted when there is no response.
- A report shows all retention held across every contractor and job, by expected release date.
| Recorded | Why |
|---|---|
| Retention terms | Know what you are owed and when |
| Amount held per certificate | Running total you can show |
| Practical completion date | Triggers the first release |
| Defects period end | Triggers the final release |
| Requests and replies | Paper trail if payment is slow |
We track the money and dates. How you pursue a slow payer is a matter for you and your adviser.
Once the register is running
You know what retention is held, by whom, and when it is due. Release requests go out on time with the evidence attached. Nothing depends on one person's memory. And you have a clear figure to take into account when deciding whether to work for a contractor again.
Does this apply to you?
- You do roofing packages for main contractors who hold retention.
- You could not quickly total the retention owed to you.
- Defects period end dates are not tracked.
- Some retention has been outstanding for years.