If you're a commercial subcontractor in the United States, the AIA G702 and G703 are the forms you bill on. Most GCs require them, most owners expect them, and most pay-app disputes you've ever had are over a line that got mishandled on one of these two pages. This guide walks through what the forms are, what every field on them actually means, how to fill them in without errors that delay payment, and how AOS turns the whole flow into a one-screen operation.
What G702 and G703 are
The G702 is the Application and Certificate for Payment. It's a one-page summary that says: here's the original contract sum, here's how much has been billed to date, here's how much was billed in this period, here's the retention being withheld, and here's the net amount the sub is asking the GC (or the owner, depending on contract structure) to pay this cycle.
The G703 is the Continuation Sheet. It's the underlying detail behind the G702 — one row per line item on the schedule of values (SOV), showing the original scheduled value, work completed this period, work completed previously, the running total, the percentage complete, the amount of retention withheld, and the net amount due.
Together, the two forms are the complete pay-application package. The G703 is where the math lives; the G702 is where the math is summarized and signed.
Both forms are published by the American Institute of Architects and are owned by them. The current published version is AIA G702™–1992 and AIA G703™–1992 (the year refers to the last major revision, not the year of use). They're still the industry standard in 2026.
How the pay-application cycle actually works on a commercial project
The G702/G703 doesn't exist in a vacuum — it's one step in a monthly cycle that runs roughly like this:
- Day 20-25 of the month: The sub prepares the pay application for work completed through the end of the month. The GC's contract typically requires the sub to submit a draft for review before the formal submission.
- Day 25-30: The sub's PM walks the job with the GC's PM, often onsite, to agree on percent-complete numbers for each SOV line. This walk-through happens because the rest of the cycle depends on the numbers being mutually agreed.
- Day 30 (end of month): The sub submits the formal G702 + G703 to the GC. Most GC contracts specify this date as the cutoff.
- Day 1-7: The GC's PM and accounting team review the pay app, sometimes pushing back on specific line items.
- Day 7-10: The GC rolls the sub's pay app into the GC's own master G702 to the owner. The owner reviews, sometimes pushes back, and eventually certifies.
- Day 30-60 after sub submission: The owner pays the GC. The GC then pays the sub. Most GC-sub contracts include a "pay-when-paid" clause that ties the sub's payment to the owner's payment, with statutory limits in most states.
- At each payment: The sub provides a lien waiver covering the dollars being paid, the GC delivers the check, and the cycle resets for the next month.
So when you fill out a G702/G703, you're not just filing paperwork. You're starting a 30-60 day cash-flow clock, and any error on either form pushes that clock back.
The G703 (continuation sheet) line by line
The G703 has nine columns. Every commercial subcontractor in the United States should be able to fill these in cold. Here's what each one means.
- Column A — Item No. A simple line number, usually 1, 2, 3, etc. Some GCs prefer SOV codes; whatever the contract specifies, match it.
- Column B — Description of Work. A plain-language description of the SOV line. "Slab on grade — first floor", "VAV boxes — floors 3-6", "Drywall — west wing levels 1-3". Match the descriptions in your contract SOV exactly. Changes here that don't match the contract get flagged by the GC's AR clerk and bounce the pay app back.
- Column C — Scheduled Value. The original contract dollar amount for this SOV line, plus any approved change orders. This number should sum across all rows to the current contract sum — if it doesn't, the GC's accountant will catch it and send the pay app back.
- Column D — Work Completed, From Previous Application. The dollar value of work completed on this line in all prior pay applications combined. This is column G from your last pay app for the same line.
- Column E — Work Completed, This Period. The new dollar value of work completed on this line in the current period only.
- Column F — Materials Presently Stored. The dollar value of materials delivered to the site (or to an off-site bonded location, depending on contract terms) but not yet installed. This column lets you bill for materials you've taken delivery of before the install is done — important for long-lead items like switchgear, elevators, custom millwork. Some GCs require photos and bills of lading to bill anything in this column.
- Column G — Total Completed and Stored to Date (D + E + F). The cumulative dollar value of all work and stored materials for this line, through the end of the current period.
- Column H — Percentage (G ÷ C). The percent-complete for this line, computed as G divided by C. Some contracts use this percentage as the basis for retention release at substantial completion, so being accurate here matters.
- Column I — Balance to Finish (C − G). What's left to bill on this line.
There's also a retention column on most G703 templates, either inline or as a separate side calculation, capturing the dollar amount of retention being withheld this period for each line.
The G702 (cover page) line by line
The G702 summarizes the G703. It has roughly these fields:
- Project / Owner / Contractor / Architect. Self-explanatory, but copy these exactly from your contract.
- Application No. Numbered sequentially, starting at 1.
- Period To. The end date of the period the pay app covers.
- Project Nos. / Contract Date. Match the contract.
- Line 1: Original Contract Sum. Your original contract dollar amount before any change orders.
- Line 2: Net Change by Change Orders. The cumulative net of all approved change orders. Positive if your contract has grown, negative if it's been reduced.
- Line 3: Contract Sum to Date (1 ± 2). The current contract sum.
- Line 4: Total Completed & Stored to Date. The sum of column G on the G703.
- Line 5: Retainage. Split into 5a (retention on completed work) and 5b (retention on stored materials), then total in 5c. Standard retention rate is 10% in most states, though it varies by contract and by state statute — some states cap retention at lower rates once a project is past 50% complete.
- Line 6: Total Earned Less Retainage (4 − 5c).
- Line 7: Less Previous Certificates for Payment. The cumulative dollar amount certified for payment in all prior pay applications.
- Line 8: Current Payment Due (6 − 7). The net amount you're asking to be paid this cycle.
- Line 9: Balance to Finish, Including Retainage. What's left in the contract.
- Change Order Summary. A table at the bottom showing change orders approved in previous periods, those approved this period, and the running total.
- Signature blocks. Sub's certification (notarized in some states), architect's certification, and owner's certification (depending on the project's contract chain).
The G702 is what the GC's accountant, the owner's accountant, and the architect will all sign or initial. The G703 is the audit trail that backs it up.
The seven mistakes that delay sub pay-app payment
From conversations with sub accountants over the last two years, here are the seven errors that account for nearly every "we need you to resubmit" email a sub gets back from a GC's accounting team.
1. Column D doesn't equal last month's column G. This is the most common error and the easiest to make if you're keeping the SOV in a spreadsheet. The fix is mechanical: the "from previous application" column has to be exactly what last period's "to date" column was. AOS rolls this forward automatically; in Excel, it's a manual retyping that often slips.
2. Scheduled values don't tie to the contract. If your G703 column C sums don't match the current contract sum (original plus approved COs), the GC's accountant will bounce the pay app back. This usually happens when a change order was approved verbally but not formally entered into the SOV. The fix is to keep the SOV as a single source of truth that auto-incorporates approved COs.
3. Percent-complete numbers walked back from billing instead of walked forward from work. Some subs (especially under cash pressure) bill 70% on a line that's actually 55% complete, then "true up" later. The GC's PM catches this on the walk-through and rejects. Worse, if the GC doesn't catch it and the owner does, the certification fails and the entire cycle restarts. Bill what you've actually completed.
4. Materials stored billed without supporting documentation. Column F (materials presently stored) is one of the highest-friction columns because it requires evidence. Without photos, bills of lading, and (for some contracts) bonded storage proof, the GC will strike the entire line. Submit the supporting docs at the same time as the G702/G703 to avoid the round-trip.
5. Retention rate doesn't match contract or state statute. Retention rates vary by contract and by state. In some states, retention must be reduced or eliminated once the project hits substantial completion or 50% completion. Subs who keep applying 10% retention past the trigger point have to refund the overage at closeout — or, more often, lose the dispute. The fix is to track the contract-specific retention rate per project and apply state-statute rules automatically.
6. Lien waivers missing, wrong form, or wrong amount. Every state has its own statutory lien-waiver form. California's is different from Texas's. Some states require notarization; others don't. The lien-waiver dollar amount has to exactly match the dollar amount being paid, not the dollar amount being billed. Submitting a waiver for the wrong amount, or on the wrong state's form, will block payment until corrected. AOS handles all 51 jurisdictions' forms automatically.
7. Change-order summary doesn't reconcile. The change-order summary at the bottom of the G702 has to reconcile with the cumulative net change on Line 2 of the same form, and with any change orders reflected in the G703 column C. Spreadsheet drift between these three places is one of the most common reasons a pay app gets bounced. Fix: SOV, change orders, and pay-app summary all sourced from one record.
How AOS handles the G702/G703 cycle for subs
AOS treats the pay application as a generated artifact, not a hand-built form. Here's the flow on the sub side:
- Your SOV is the single source of truth. The schedule of values lives in AOS, linked to the contract sum and to the cost-code structure. Change orders update the SOV automatically when approved.
- Percent-complete is logged against the SOV, not retyped into the G703. Your PM walks the job, marks line items at their actual completion percentage, optionally with photo evidence. The G703 picks up the numbers directly.
- The G702 is generated, not typed. All nine lines on the G702 (contract sum, change orders, work completed, retention, prior certificates, current payment due, balance to finish) are computed from the SOV and the prior pay-app history. Column D on the G703 is automatically last period's column G. Always.
- Retention rate is contract-specific and state-aware. AOS applies the rate from the contract, and tracks the statutory triggers (50% complete, substantial completion) for states that require retention reduction.
- Lien waivers are generated for the right state and amount. AOS knows all 51 jurisdictions' statutory forms. When the pay app is created, the corresponding lien waiver is queued for execution at the moment of payment, in the correct state's form, for the exact payment amount.
- The pay app delivers cross-tenant into the GC's AP queue. If the GC is on AOS, the pay app appears directly in their accounts-payable workflow, with the SOV details visible to both sides. No PDF upload, no portal re-key, no version drift. If the GC is off-platform, AOS generates the PDF and emails it, with cross-tenant tracking ready to activate the day the GC onboards.
- Status tracking from submission to payment. The sub sees in real time when the GC's PM has reviewed, when the GC's accountant has certified, when the owner has approved, when payment has posted. No more "I sent it on the 30th, where is it" calls.
The sub accounting role page walks through the AR / pay-app / retention / lien-waiver workflow in more depth. The estimating & money page covers the broader sub-side financial stack.
One last note on what AIA G702 / G703 don't cover
The G702 and G703 are pay-application forms. They're not a complete construction-accounting system. Specifically, they don't handle:
- Cost-coding against your GL or job-cost structure
- AP against POs (the other side of construction cash flow)
- Labor burden, payroll allocation, certified payroll for prevailing-wage jobs
- Retention rollforward across multiple GC clients and projects
- 1099 prep at year-end
- WIP schedules that tie to the GL
- Multi-entity consolidation for subs operating through multiple legal entities
The G702/G703 is the billing instrument. The full operating system around it is what most subs piece together from QuickBooks plus Excel plus the GC portals. AOS is the alternative: the pay-app form is generated, the cost coding is automatic, the retention is tracked, the lien waivers are correct, the cross-tenant delivery is real, and the whole thing posts to the GL on one record.
If that's something you'd like to see on your own data, we're opening the design-partner beta to subs now.