AIA Billing in NetSuite, Done the Way Contractors Actually Bill
AIA billing in Oracle NetSuite is done inside the ERP itself: Construction for NetSuite, developed by FullClarity, records a cumulative percent-complete against each Schedule of Values line, calculates each month's claim as work earned to date minus everything previously billed, withholds retainage, and generates the certified G702 and G703 documents from a single NetSuite record. There is no separate billing system and no export.
Construction for NetSuite is the construction billing system built inside Oracle NetSuite that turns a Schedule of Values into certified AIA G702 and G703 progress claims, without leaving your ERP. It bills five ways from one configuration: Progress (AIA G702 and G703), Stage, Time and Materials, Drawdown, and Capital, so a firm running AIA progress claims on commercial work, milestones on a fit-out, and draws on a construction loan runs all of it from the same place. NetSuite is the world's leading cloud ERP and a strong foundation for any project-based business: financials, AR, AP, and revenue recognition all live in one ledger. Construction for NetSuite extends that foundation with the construction-specific billing workflow the core platform was never built to produce on its own.
This page walks through how AIA billing in NetSuite actually works: the scope-traced workflow that ties every claim back to an estimate, how each monthly claim is calculated, how the Schedule of Values behaves, how certification records what was claimed versus what was approved, how stored materials are billed on the G703, how retainage rides along, and the customer portal where clients approve claims.
What is AIA billing (G702 and G703), and why doesn't native NetSuite produce it on its own?
AIA billing is the progress-billing method used across commercial construction in the US. Each month you bill for the work completed to date against a fixed contract, using two documents: the G702 Application and Certificate for Payment (the summary cover sheet) and the G703 Continuation Sheet, which is the line-by-line Schedule of Values showing scheduled value, work completed this period, work completed to date, materials presently stored, and the balance to finish. The architect or owner certifies the application before it becomes payable.
NetSuite gives you a strong financial core: customers, contracts, AR, and the general ledger all in one place. What the core platform does not produce natively is the construction-specific apparatus around a progress claim: the Schedule of Values, the cumulative-completion math, the G702 and G703 document set, and the certify-then-invoice lifecycle. Construction for NetSuite adds exactly that apparatus inside the platform. In Australia and New Zealand the same documents are called progress claims, and the product supports US AIA G702 and G703, ANZ progress claims, and UK billing from the one configuration.
How does the Estimate to Contract to Claim workflow keep billing tied to scope?
The workflow is mandatory by design, and the order is the point. You cannot create a contract without an estimate, and you cannot create a claim without a contract. That single rule means no claim can ever be raised that doesn't trace back to scope you priced and agreed.
It runs in three steps. First, the estimate defines the scope and value of the work. Second, the contract is created from that estimate and carries the Schedule of Values, the agreed breakdown of the contract into billable lines. Third, monthly claims bill against the contract, each capturing how much of each SOV line is complete this period. Because every claim traces back through the contract to the estimate, "are we billing for work we actually scoped?" has a structural answer rather than a hopeful one. When scope changes, a change order adjusts the contract value and the Schedule of Values, so the billing baseline moves with the project instead of drifting away from it.
How is each monthly AIA claim calculated?
Each month the project manager records a cumulative completion percentage per Schedule of Values line. The claim for that line is the new cumulative percentage multiplied by the line value, minus everything previously billed on that line. That cumulative-minus-previous method is exactly how AIA progress billing is meant to work, and it structurally prevents double-billing the same earned work.
Here is a worked example for a single month's G702 application, showing how a claim becomes the payment actually due. The Schedule of Values carries "Claimed to Date" and "Remaining to Claim" on every line, so this calculation is read straight off the claim rather than rebuilt in a spreadsheet.
- Scheduled value (this SOV line): $50,000
- Work completed this period (60% to date, 20% billed prior): $30,000 to date
- Materials presently stored (delivered, not yet installed): $4,000
- Total earned to date (work + stored materials): $34,000
- Less retainage withheld (10%): ($3,400)
- Less previous billings: ($10,000)
- Current payment due this application: $20,600
Construction for NetSuite records that claim as Claimed $34,000. If the architect certifies only $31,000, Construction for NetSuite stores the Certified Amount as a separate field rather than overwriting your application, and the certified figure, not the claimed figure, is what flows to the NetSuite invoice. You keep both numbers on one record, so nobody reconstructs the difference from email threads later.
What is the Schedule of Values, and can it be generated automatically?
The Schedule of Values is the spine of an AIA claim. It is the breakdown of the contract into billable line items, each with a scheduled value, and it is what the G703 Continuation Sheet reports against. Get the SOV right and every monthly claim that follows is straightforward arithmetic.
Construction for NetSuite builds the SOV one of two ways. The Default method auto-generates the Schedule of Values from the linked estimate, so the breakdown you priced becomes the breakdown you bill against with no re-entry. The Custom method lets you hand-write the SOV line by line when the contract format differs from how you estimated. Either way, each line tracks Claimed to Date and Remaining to Claim as claims are raised, so the schedule stays a live record of billing progress rather than a static document you set up once and lose track of.
How does Construction for NetSuite record Claimed versus Certified?
A progress claim is not simply raised and paid. It moves through a defined lifecycle, Draft, Submitted, Certified, and Invoiced, with branches for Rejected and Withdrawn when a claim does not go through. Once a claim is certified, it locks, which protects what was agreed and prevents quiet after-the-fact edits.
The detail that matters here is that Claimed Amount and Certified Amount are two distinct fields. The architect or client can certify less than you claimed, which happens often in practice, and Construction for NetSuite records both numbers rather than overwriting your application with their decision. You keep a clean record of what you billed and what was approved, the certified figure is what flows through to the invoice, and nobody has to reconstruct the difference later from email threads.
Can Construction for NetSuite bill for stored materials on the G703?
Yes. The G703 Continuation Sheet includes a "Materials Presently Stored" column for materials that have been delivered and stored on site or off site but not yet installed, so you can bill for them ahead of installation when the contract allows. Construction for NetSuite handles billing for stored materials on the G703 as part of the claim, so the value you have tied up in delivered materials is captured in the application rather than waiting until the work is in place.
How does retainage work on an AIA claim?
With Retainage for NetSuite added alongside Construction for NetSuite, retainage is withheld automatically on each claim across both AP and AR, with sliding and tiered rates, amount-based and percentage-based caps, and automatic retention release claim invoices that post the correct GL journals on both sides. That is the difference between retainage being a number someone tracks in a side spreadsheet and retainage being part of the ledger that closes the month.
Can customers and subcontractors handle claims online?
Construction for NetSuite includes a customer portal, FullClarity Connect, where clients can view and approve AIA progress claims without a PDF or email thread. On the other side, subcontractors submit their own progress claims through Connect web against the Schedule of Values lines, so the claims coming up to you arrive structured against the same SOV your contract is billed on.
That two-sided flow keeps the billing conversation inside one system. At Blake Solutions, a commercial general contractor doing interior fit-out, Vice President and General Counsel Wendy Dabbous described the effect on flexibility: "We now rapidly adapt billing formats to meet unique customer requests without delays or conflicts." When clients expect billing on their terms, being able to adapt the format without breaking the workflow is a real advantage. The full story is in the Blake Solutions case study.
How does AIA billing hold up across a real, multi-entity business?
The certified claim becomes a NetSuite invoice posting to AR in the same ledger as the rest of finance. The claim is the invoice, one record, so the billing your project managers run and the numbers your CFO reports are the same data. Custom PDF templates produce the G702 and G703 documents your owners and architects expect, generated straight from that record, and revenue recognition ties to the Forecast Snapshot, a point-in-time capture used for percentage-of-completion that posts custom transactions to the GL.
That holds up as the business gets bigger and more complex. MARS Energy Group, a renewable-energy contractor running multiple subsidiaries, runs AIA progress billing across its divisions inside one NetSuite account, so billing, forecasting, and the books stay connected as the organization grows rather than splintering by entity. Xavier Chambers, Business Technology Manager at MARS Energy Group, describes the effect: "When our project managers update tasks, it is reflected in our revenue forecasts. It keeps everyone aligned and ensures we're hitting our billing milestones. Accurate revenue forecasts in real-time allow our leadership to track performance and adjust strategies." When billing and the project record are the same system, hitting your billing milestones stops being a monthly scramble and becomes a byproduct of keeping the work updated.
If you are weighing how AIA billing fits with the rest of your construction finance stack, the job costing feature page covers how billing ties back to cost control, and the 2026 Buyer's Guide walks through how to evaluate construction options on NetSuite.
Frequently asked questions about AIA billing in NetSuite
Does Construction for NetSuite handle AIA billing for multi-entity companies?
Yes. Construction for NetSuite does AIA G702 and G703 progress billing inside one NetSuite account, so a company with multiple subsidiaries can run progress claims across its divisions from a single platform. MARS Energy Group, a renewable-energy contractor running multiple subsidiaries, runs progress billing across its divisions this way, keeping billing, forecasting, and the books connected as it grows.
Can Construction for NetSuite bill stored materials on a G703?
Yes. The G703 Continuation Sheet includes a "Materials Presently Stored" column for materials delivered and stored but not yet installed. Construction for NetSuite handles billing for stored materials on the G703 as part of the claim, so delivered-but-uninstalled materials are captured in the application rather than waiting for installation.
Does Construction for NetSuite support billing methods other than AIA?
Yes. It bills five ways from one configuration: Progress (AIA G702 and G703), Stage (milestone), Time and Materials, Drawdown (construction-loan draws), and Capital. A firm with a mixed contract book runs all of them from the same platform inside NetSuite.
Is AIA billing called something different outside the US?
Yes. In Australia and New Zealand, AIA progress billing is referred to as progress claims, and in the UK retainage is called retention. Construction for NetSuite supports US AIA G702 and G703, ANZ progress claims, and UK billing from the same configuration.
