AIA Billing for Electrical Subcontractors

If you landed your first commercial electrical job, congratulations. Now the GC is going to ask you to submit an "AIA pay app," and you're going to wonder what happened to sending an invoice. Welcome to commercial construction billing. It's more structured than residential work. But once you understand the format, it becomes second nature.

What Is AIA Billing?

AIA billing refers to a standardized payment application format created by the American Institute of Architects. When a GC says "submit your AIA billing," they mean two specific documents: the G702 and the G703.

The G702, Application and Certificate for Payment, is the summary page. It shows your total contract amount, how much work you've completed to date, materials stored on site, retainage being held, and the net amount you're requesting this period. In other words, the cover sheet for your pay application.

The G703, Continuation Sheet, is the detailed backup. It breaks your entire contract into individual line items and shows how much of each line item is complete. The G703 feeds the totals on the G702. Together, they give the GC (and the owner) a clear picture of project progress tied directly to dollars.

Why GCs Require AIA Billing

AIA billing is the standard in commercial construction because it creates a common language between owners, GCs, and subcontractors. The owner's lender wants to see exactly how far along the project is before releasing funds. The GC needs to roll up every sub's pay app into their own application to the owner. If everyone uses the same format, the numbers flow cleanly from sub to GC to owner to bank.

You don't get a choice here. If you're working commercial jobs, you're doing AIA billing. The faster you get comfortable with the format, the faster you get paid.

The Schedule of Values

Before you submit your first pay app, you need to establish your Schedule of Values (SOV). This is the line-item breakdown of your entire contract amount. Every dollar of your contract gets assigned to a specific line item on the SOV. For a deep dive on how to build one that gets approved fast and supports your cash flow, read our SOV guide for electrical subs.

For an electrical subcontract, your SOV might include line items like:

• Rough-in, First floor
• Rough-in, Second floor
• Panel installation
• Fire alarm rough-in
• Light fixture installation
• Switchgear
• Low voltage cabling
• Final trim and devices
• Testing and commissioning

A few things to keep in mind. Your SOV has to add up to your contract amount exactly, and the GC has to approve it before you submit your first pay app. Many GCs will send you their preferred format or ask you to match specific cost codes. Match their format. The goal is to make it easy for the GC's project manager to process your billing.

How to Fill Out the G702

The G702 is your summary sheet. Here's what goes into the key fields:

1. Original Contract Sum - Your original contract amount before any change orders.
2. Net Change by Change Orders - The total dollar value of all approved change orders to date (additions minus deductions).
3. Contract Sum to Date - Original contract plus net change orders. This is your current total contract value.
4. Total Completed and Stored to Date - The total value of work completed plus materials stored on site. This number comes directly from your G703 totals.
5. Retainage - The percentage being held back (typically 5-10%) applied to your completed work and stored materials.
6. Total Earned Less Retainage - What you've earned minus what's being held.
7. Less Previous Certificates for Payment - What you've already been paid in prior billing periods.
8. Current Payment Due - The amount you're requesting this month. This is the number you want to get paid.

Every number on the G702 has to tie back to your G703 and your change order log. If the math doesn't add up, your pay app gets kicked back and you wait another month.

How to Fill Out the G703

The G703 is where the detail lives. Each row represents a line item from your Schedule of Values, and the columns track progress:

• Scheduled Value - The budgeted amount for this line item.
• Work Completed from Previous Application - What you billed on this line item last month.
• Work Completed This Period - What you're billing on this line item right now.
• Materials Presently Stored - Value of materials on site but not yet installed (like a switchgear sitting in the laydown area).
• Total Completed and Stored to Date - The sum of all previous work, this period's work, and stored materials.
• Percent Complete - Total completed and stored divided by scheduled value. This is the number the GC scrutinizes most closely.
• Balance to Finish - Scheduled value minus total completed and stored.

Be honest with your percentages. GCs walk projects and compare what they see in the field to what you're billing on paper. If you claim 80% on rough-in but the GC sees empty conduit racks, your credibility takes a hit and your pay app gets cut.

A Quick Word on Retention

Retention (or retainage) is the percentage of each payment held back until the project is substantially complete. It's typically 5-10% and it's standard across commercial construction. The retainage amount shows up on both the G702 and as a deduction from your total earned. You won't see that money until the end of the job, and sometimes not until months after. For a deeper dive on how retention works and how to manage it, read our guide on retention in construction.

Common AIA Billing Mistakes

After watching hundreds of electrical subs go through this process, the same mistakes come up over and over:

• Not matching the GC's SOV format. If the GC uses specific cost codes or line item descriptions, yours need to match exactly. Submitting your own format when they gave you a template is a fast way to get your pay app rejected.
• Submitting late. Every GC has a billing deadline, usually tied to when they need to submit their own pay app to the owner. Miss the deadline and you wait until next month. That's 30 days of cash flow you'll never get back.
• Math errors. Your G703 totals have to match your G702. Your current contract sum has to include all approved change orders. One wrong number and the whole thing gets kicked back for revision.
• Not tracking change orders separately. Approved change orders should appear as their own line items on the G703. Don't bury change order work inside existing line items. The GC needs to track those dollars separately.
• Overbilling. Billing ahead of actual progress is tempting when cash flow is tight, but it catches up to you. Once the GC notices, they'll scrutinize every pay app for the rest of the job.

Tips for Getting Paid Faster

AIA billing doesn't have to be a bottleneck. Here's how experienced electrical subs keep their cash flow moving:

• Submit on time, every time. Know the billing deadline and have your pay app in at least a day early. Late submissions are the number one reason subs get paid late.
• Match the GC's format exactly. Use their SOV template, their cost codes, their naming conventions. Don't make the GC's PM translate your format into theirs.
• Include backup documentation. Attach delivery tickets for stored materials, signed daily reports for T&M work, and approved change order paperwork. The more backup you include, the fewer questions get asked and the faster your pay app moves through approval.
• Track percent complete in real time. Don't wait until the end of the month to figure out where you are on each line item. Keep a running tally so billing day is finalizing numbers, not scrambling.
• Communicate with the GC's PM. If you have a question about a line item or a change order, ask before you submit. Getting clarity upfront is faster than revising and resubmitting.

Make AIA Billing Less Painful

AIA billing feels overwhelming the first time but becomes routine once you have a system. The thing is, you need to stay organized throughout the month. Track your progress on each line item. Log change orders as they're approved. Keep your stored materials documentation current.

So if you're tired of wrestling with spreadsheets and manually calculating retainage every billing cycle, Faraday handles AIA billing for electrical subcontractors. It builds your G702 and G703 from your job data, tracks percent complete across line items, and keeps your change orders organized so billing day takes minutes instead of hours.