Final accounts for subcontractors: how to agree yours

A final account is your statement of the total value of a subcontract once the work is done: the original sum, plus and minus every agreed variation, plus daywork and claims, less what you've already been paid and any retention still held. You agree it by sending a priced, evidenced account soon after completion and closing each disputed line one at a time.

What goes into a subcontractor's final account?

Everything that changed the value of your work, with evidence for each line. Start from the agreed subcontract sum, then list each variation as its own priced line with the instruction reference. Add daywork, any loss and expense claim, and take off omissions. Finish with what has been paid and what is still held as retention.

If you run several live commercial jobs at once, keep one tracker per job showing the PO, what's invoiced, what's outstanding and the final account. That layout is a good final account in waiting: if you keep it current, the account writes itself.

How do you build the numbers?

Work from the contract sum down, then from the final account to the balance. Keep the two halves separate, because the main contractor will agree the value first and argue about payments second.

The retention line is the one people forget. Here 3% of £93,970 is £2,819; half was released at practical completion, leaving £1,410 (rounded) to come back at the end of the defects period. Diary that date when you agree the account, or it slips for good.

When should you submit it?

As soon as practical completion is reached and the last variation is priced. Don't wait for the main contractor to ask. The longer an account sits, the further the site team's memory drifts from yours.

Under the Scheme for Construction Contracts, where the contract doesn't say, the final payment falls due 30 days after completion of the work or when you make your claim, whichever is later. Many subcontracts set their own timetable for the final account, often months after completion. Check yours and diary it the day you start on site.

How do you get the main contractor to agree it?

Send it in a form that is easy to approve. One summary page, a schedule of variations with a reference for each, and the evidence behind them: instructions, emails, daywork sheets signed on site, photos. Ask for agreement of the undisputed lines by a date, and offer a meeting for the rest.

1. Send the account with evidence.

   Summary, variation schedule and backup in one file, addressed to the commercial manager or QS on the job.

2. Ask for a written response by a date.

   Twenty-eight days is a fair ask. Put it in the letter.

3. Agree the undisputed lines first.

   Get those confirmed in writing so the argument shrinks to a few items.

4. Meet on the disputed lines.

   Bring the instruction and the photo for each. Trade small items to close big ones if it gets you paid.

5. Confirm the agreed figure in writing.

   Ask for a signed final account statement and the date the balance and remaining retention will be paid.

Your company name
Date

To: Commercial manager name, Main contractor
Project: Project name and address
Subcontract: Order or subcontract reference

Final account

Practical completion of our works was reached on date. Please find enclosed our final account for the subcontract works.

Original subcontract sum: £amount
Net variations (schedule attached, number items): £amount
Daywork (signed sheets attached): £amount
Final account value: £amount
Paid to date: £amount
Retention held: £amount
Balance now due: £amount

Each variation is referenced to the instruction, email or site record that supports it. Copies are attached.

Please confirm the agreed lines and raise any queries on the rest by date, e.g. 28 days from today. We are happy to meet on site or by call to go through any items.

Please also confirm the date for release of the remaining retention of £amount at the end of the defects period, date.

Kind regards,
Name
Phone, Email

What if the main contractor won't agree or pay?

Chase in writing, then escalate. If a sum becomes due and isn't paid by the final date with no valid pay less notice, you can suspend work on that contract after seven days' written notice, and you can refer the dispute to adjudication at any time. An adjudicator must decide within 28 days of referral, unless the parties agree longer, and the decision binds both of you until the dispute is finally settled by a court, arbitration or agreement.

You can also claim statutory interest on late business payments at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, plus fixed recovery costs of £40, £70 or £100 depending on the size of the debt. See late payment interest for the sum.

Adjudication costs money and time. For a balance of a few thousand pounds, a firm letter with interest added often moves faster. For larger sums, or before you suspend, speak to a construction solicitor or claims consultant.

How do you make next year's final accounts easier?

Treat the final account as a running document. Every instruction gets a reference number, a price and a status (quoted, agreed, disputed) the day it arrives. Every payment notice gets logged against the job. At completion you add up a list you already have.

For how to read the payment terms behind all of this, see main contractor payment terms.

Common questions