How to Fill Out AIA G702 and G703 (Step-by-Step)

A line-by-line walkthrough of the Application and Certificate for Payment and its Continuation Sheet, for anyone submitting one for the first time.

Last updated 2026-08-17

What G702 and G703 actually are

The G702 ("Application and Certificate for Payment") is the one-page summary a contractor submits each billing period. The G703 ("Continuation Sheet") is the itemized backup for it - one row per scope item, showing exactly what's been completed and stored. GCs and owners use this pair as the standard format for progress billing on most commercial jobs, so even if your GC's version isn't the literal AIA-branded PDF, it's almost always the same layout and math.

Before you start

You need four things on hand: your contract sum, your Schedule of Values (SOV), your retainage rate, and - after the first period - what you billed last time. Without last period's numbers you can't fill in the "previous" columns correctly, which is where most first-timers get stuck.

Filling out the G703 (Continuation Sheet)

Each row is one SOV line item. The columns, left to right:

Item No. / Description - from your SOV, unchanged period to period.
Scheduled Value - that line's share of the contract sum.
Work Completed - Previous - what you'd billed for this line as of last period. Zero on your first submission.
Work Completed - This Period - the new work done since last time, not the running total.
Materials Presently Stored - materials delivered to site (or a bonded off-site location) but not yet installed. Once installed, they move into "work completed" instead.
Total Completed and Stored to Date - previous + this period + stored materials.
% Complete - total completed and stored divided by scheduled value.
Retainage - the held-back percentage of that line's total. See how retainage is calculated.
Balance to Finish - scheduled value minus total completed and stored.

The scheduled value column has to add up to your current contract sum (original sum plus any approved change orders). If it doesn't, fix the SOV before you touch the rest of the form - every other total depends on it.

Filling out the G702

The G702 pulls its numbers from the G703 totals:

Original Contract Sum - the number from your signed contract, before any changes.
Net Change by Change Orders - the running total of approved additive and deductive change orders.
Contract Sum to Date - line 1 + line 2.
Total Completed & Stored to Date - sum of that G703 column across all lines.
Retainage - usually split into work retainage and materials retainage, each their own rate.
Total Earned Less Retainage - line 4 minus line 5.
Less Previous Certificates for Payment - what you've already been paid (or certified for) in prior periods.
Current Payment Due - line 6 minus line 7. This is the number the GC actually pays.
Balance to Finish, Including Retainage - contract sum to date minus total earned to date.

Common mistakes

Forgetting to carry forward previous billing. If "previous" doesn't match exactly what was on last period's form, the running totals break and the GC will bounce it back.
Double-counting stored materials. Once a material is installed, it comes out of "stored" and into "completed" for that period - it shouldn't sit in both.
Billing unapproved change orders. Only include change orders the GC has actually signed off on, not ones still in negotiation.
SOV total drifting from the contract sum. Any change order needs to be reflected in the SOV total, not just the G702 summary line.

Doing this without the spreadsheet

All of the above is exactly what this tool automates - it carries forward previous billing for you, calculates retainage per line, and generates a G702/G703-style PDF each period.

Create your first pay application →

This is a free tool, currently in development. Numbers should be accurate, but don't rely on it for anything legally binding yet. Privacy & Terms.