Worked example · specimen
One claim, start to finish.
$84,000 held on a finished electrical subcontract. This is the whole job: the contract read, the map, all 19 dated entries, the indexed package, and the release 92 days after substantial completion.
Northline Distribution Center is a specimen, not a customer. The figures, dates and section numbers are constructed, and they are cited to the specimen subcontract's own sections. There is no customer quote on this page because there is not yet a customer to quote.
- Job
- Northline Distribution Center
- Trade
- Electrical, 2 floors and site
- Subcontract value
- $840,000
- Retainage
- 10%
- Held amount
- $84,000
- Substantial completion
- Dec 12, 2025
- Requirements the contract names
- 14
- Fee
- $1,500, fixed
Five clauses decide when the money moves.
A closeout is not a filing exercise. It is five or six sentences in the subcontract, each naming a document and a party who has to produce it.
Section 9.10.1
“Final payment shall become due upon submission of a final Application for Payment on forms G702 and G703.”
The pay application is a requirement in its own right, not a covering letter. It has to reference every other item, so it is assembled last.
Section 9.10.2
“…accompanied by final unconditional waivers of lien from the Subcontractor and from each lower tier supplier and sub-subcontractor.”
Each means each. One missing waiver from a $4,000 conduit supplier holds the whole $84,000. This is the single most common reason a package is returned.
Section 9.10.3
“…together with written consent of surety to final payment where a payment bond has been furnished.”
A third party has to sign, and bonding agents work to their own calendar. So this request goes out on day one, not when the rest is ready.
Section 11.1.3
“Completed operations coverage shall be maintained for two years following final payment, evidenced by certificate.”
A certificate the broker has to reissue with the right dates on it. Brokers reissue quickly when asked precisely, and slowly when asked vaguely.
Section 1.7.3
“Record drawings shall be maintained daily and submitted as a complete set prior to final inspection.”
Held by your own superintendent, who has moved to the next job. Half of what is missing at closeout is inside your own company.
The map found 14 requirements, 9 of them missing.
This is the free part, and it is written before any money changes hands. Every line names the document, the section that requires it, and the person who has it.
| Requirement | Section | On Jan 8 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| As-built drawings, full setYour superintendent · received Jan 22, 2026 | 1.7.3 | Your superintendent | Waiting |
| O&M manuals, mechanicalEquipment supplier · received Jan 19, 2026 | 1.7.4 | Equipment supplier | Waiting |
| O&M manuals, switchgearSwitchgear supplier · received Feb 2, 2026 | 1.7.4 | Switchgear supplier | Waiting |
| Manufacturer warranties, 5 itemsSuppliers · received Feb 6, 2026 | 1.7.6 | Suppliers | Waiting |
| Contractor's one year warranty letterWe draft it · received Jan 9, 2026 | 1.7.5 | We draft it | Ready |
| Final unconditional waivers, lower tierYour vendors · received Feb 24, 2026 | 9.10.2 | Your vendors | Waiting |
| Your own final unconditional waiverWe draft it · received Jan 9, 2026 | 9.10.2 | We draft it | Ready |
| Consent of surety to final paymentBonding agent · received Feb 11, 2026 | 9.10.3 | Bonding agent | Waiting |
| Certificate of insurance, completed operationsYour broker · received Jan 27, 2026 | 11.1.3 | Your broker | Waiting |
| Punch list sign-off, both floorsGC project manager · received Feb 17, 2026 | 9.8.2 | GC project manager | Waiting |
| Training sign-off sheets, owner staffYour foreman · received Jan 30, 2026 | 1.7.7 | Your foreman | Waiting |
| Spare parts and attic stock transmittalYour warehouse · received Jan 9, 2026 | 1.7.8 | Your warehouse | Ready |
| Certified payroll, final week, WH-347Your payroll office · received Jan 9, 2026 | 4.6.2 | Your payroll office | Ready |
| Final pay application, G702 and G703We assemble it · received Feb 26, 2026 | 9.10.1 | We assemble it | Ready |
Swipe the table, or turn your phone, for the holder and the section.
Five of the 14 were already in hand or ours to draft. That is normal, and it is why the map is worth reading before anyone is paid. It tells you the real job is 9 documents, not 14.
The whole log, 19 entries over 65 days.
This is the work. Requests go out in your name, each one naming a single document and the section that requires it, on a fixed cadence until it arrives.
- Jan 8, 2026
Release Map written and sent, free. 14 requirements, 9 missing, nearest deadline Mar 14, 2026.
To: You
- Jan 9, 2026
Consent of surety to final payment requested, per section 9.10.3.
To: Meridian Surety, bonding agent
Sent first because a third party signs it.
- Jan 9, 2026
8 more requests out in your name, each naming one requirement and the section that requires it.
To: Your superintendent, your foreman, 4 suppliers, your broker, the GC project manager
- Jan 13, 2026
Follow-up 2 on the switchgear O&M manuals.
To: Switchgear supplier
- Jan 19, 2026
Mechanical O&M manuals received. Thread closed.
- Jan 20, 2026
Follow-up 3 on the switchgear O&M manuals.
To: Switchgear supplier, GC project manager copied
The dated escalation step. The GC is copied for visibility, and nothing is asked of them.
- Jan 22, 2026
As-built drawings received from your superintendent. Thread closed.
- Jan 27, 2026
Certificate of insurance received with completed operations dates correct. Thread closed.
- Jan 30, 2026
Training sign-off sheets received from your foreman. Thread closed.
- Feb 2, 2026
Switchgear O&M manuals received, 24 days after the first request. Thread closed.
- Feb 6, 2026
Fifth and last manufacturer warranty received. Thread closed.
- Feb 11, 2026
Consent of surety received. Thread closed.
- Feb 13, 2026
Follow-up 3 on final unconditional waivers, per section 9.10.2.
To: Two lower tier vendors
- Feb 17, 2026
Punch list sign-off received from the GC project manager. Thread closed.
- Feb 24, 2026
Last lower tier waiver received. All 14 requirements in.
- Feb 25, 2026
Status moved to Ready. Nothing needed from you.
To: You
- Feb 27, 2026
Release Package submitted. One indexed PDF, 14 tabs, 63 pages, in the order the closeout instructions asked for.
To: GC project manager and GC accounting
- Mar 6, 2026
Written request for the date the retainage release will be processed.
To: GC accounting
- Mar 14, 2026
$84,000 released. Status moved to Released, and the claim closed.
To: You
Nothing in that column is clever. The switchgear manuals took 24 days and 3 requests. The only reason they arrived is that the third request was sent on a date decided in advance.
One indexed PDF, in the order the GC asked for it.
Fourteen tabs, 63 pages, one cover sheet, and a final pay application that references every tab behind it. Submitted to the project manager and to accounting on the same day.
- 01As-built drawings, full set1.7.3
- 02O&M manuals, mechanical1.7.4
- 03O&M manuals, switchgear1.7.4
- 04Manufacturer warranties, 5 items1.7.6
- 05Contractor's one year warranty letter1.7.5
- 06Final unconditional waivers, lower tier9.10.2
- 07Your own final unconditional waiver9.10.2
- 08Consent of surety to final payment9.10.3
- 09Certificate of insurance, completed operations11.1.3
- 10Punch list sign-off, both floors9.8.2
- 11Training sign-off sheets, owner staff1.7.7
- 12Spare parts and attic stock transmittal1.7.8
- 13Certified payroll, final week, WH-3474.6.2
- 14Final pay application, G702 and G7039.10.1
Mapping, Waiting, Ready, Submitted, Released.
Five statuses, each with a date and an owner. This is the whole reporting surface, and it arrives as one email on Monday mornings.
- MappingJan 8, 2026Subcontract read, Release Map written and sent. Free, no account.
- WaitingJan 9, 2026Fee paid, authorization signed, all 9 open requirements requested the same day.
- ReadyFeb 25, 202614 of 14 requirements in. 47 days of follow-up.
- SubmittedFeb 27, 2026Indexed package with the GC, 2 days after the last document.
- ReleasedMar 14, 2026$84,000 released, 92 days after substantial completion.
A claim can also end in Closed, when a customer stops the work or the money is written off. We never say a release will happen: only a GC releases money. What we control is that the package is complete and in front of them, dated.
Your turn
Send one subcontract and read your own map.
The map is free and it is the same artifact as section 02 above, on your job, citing your contract. Upload one subcontract. No account, no password, no sales call.