The retention withheld on each posted bill, aged from the bill date and split by side: what a client is holding of yours, and what you are holding of a subcontractor's.
When to use it
When you chase a client to release retention, and when you check how much of your subcontractors' money you are sitting on.
Before you start
- Retention is set up as a billing term and is applied on the bills.
- The bills are posted. A draft bill's retention is not aged here.
- You need view access to the Construction reports.
Where to find it
Reports > Construction Co. > Retention Ageing.
The fields on this screen
This report has no filter controls. Use the column search above the grid to narrow it to one project, party, side or age band.
How it works
- One row is the retention on one posted bill. Retention has a total at the foot.
- Side is the direction of the money. Receivable (client holds) is retention deducted on a bill you raised: it is yours and somebody else has it. Payable (we hold) is retention you deducted from a subcontractor: it is theirs and you have it.
- Days Held counts from the bill date to today. Age puts that into a band: 0-90, 91-180, 181-365, or 365+. The age moves on by itself as time passes; it is not stored.
- This report shows what was withheld, not what is still outstanding. Releasing retention is not recorded against these rows, so a retention already paid back still appears and still ages. Check the party's ledger before you chase it.
- Rows with a nil retention amount are left out, so bills with no retention term do not clutter the list.
- Nothing is released or posted from this report.
Tips and common mistakes
- Read the two sides separately. Adding their totals together nets your money against somebody else's and means nothing.
- A row in the 365+ band is usually the strongest case for a release request. Confirm it against the party's ledger first, because a release does not show here.