Enter Payment Applications in Percentages or Pounds

Commercial teams do not all prepare valuations in the same way. One quantity surveyor may assess each task as a cumulative percentage complete, while another works through the schedule and enters the money being claimed this month. BuildQS supports both approaches on a draft payment application without creating two competing versions of the valuation.

The important distinction is timing. Percentage mode records total progress to date. Pound mode accepts the value for this application only. BuildQS converts between them against the task value that actually applies, so the cumulative valuation remains consistent.

Payment application percentage or amount: what changes?

Changing the Entry mode changes the editable field in the valuation table. In percentage mode, Comp % is the cumulative completion percentage for a task. In pound mode, This App £ is the additional value claimed for that task in the current application.

It does not change the task quantity, rate, value, discount or previous application. It also does not create a separate amount-based valuation. BuildQS continues to hold the completion position as a cumulative percentage and calculates this application's value from the movement since the previous application.

The underlying relationship is:

This-application value = effective task value × (current cumulative % - previous %) / 100

When you enter pounds, BuildQS rearranges the same relationship:

New cumulative % = previous % + (this-application value / effective task value × 100)

That conversion means either method reaches the same commercial result when given equivalent inputs. The mode is an entry aid for the draft, not an alternative basis of valuation.

Why BuildQS supports both entry methods

Percentage entry is useful when progress is assessed on site as a proportion of each activity. It makes it easy to record that first-fix containment is 60% complete or commissioning is 20% complete. It also matches schedules where cumulative completion is the primary measure shared between the site and commercial teams.

Pound entry is useful when the current claim has already been measured in money. A quantity surveyor might know that £8,450 is being added for a work package this period and want to enter that figure directly, rather than calculate the resulting cumulative percentage first. It can also help when checking a draft against working papers organised by this month's values.

Supporting both reduces manual conversions and avoids a common spreadsheet risk: treating a current-period percentage as though it were cumulative, or treating a cumulative amount as though it belonged entirely to one application. For wider guidance on the supporting information and valuation structure, see what to include in a construction payment application.

How to switch between percentages and pounds

Open a standard draft payment application and find Entry mode above the valuation table. Select % to edit cumulative completion or £ to edit the amount for this application. The column heading and each editable task field update immediately. Submitted, approved and paid applications are not editable, so the control is available while working on a draft.

Switching mode does not submit or save a second set of figures. Existing entries are converted for display using each task's previous percentage and effective value. You can therefore check the pound result of a percentage entry, switch back, and continue working. Save the application normally when the valuation is ready.

Percentage mode means cumulative completion

Enter the total completion achieved to date, from the task's previous percentage up to 100%. If the previous application recorded 50% and the task has moved forward by another 25 percentage points, enter 75%, not 25%. BuildQS uses the 25 point difference to calculate this application's value.

The previous percentage is the floor because work already included in an earlier application cannot be removed by entering a lower cumulative figure in the current draft. The task rows show the previous percentage, this-application movement, this-application value, cumulative value and remaining value together, which makes the effect visible before submission.

Pound mode means this application's value

Enter only the additional gross value being claimed for that task in this application. Do not enter the cumulative value claimed to date. BuildQS divides the entered amount by the effective task value, adds the resulting percentage movement to the previous percentage, and uses that new cumulative percentage as the completion entry.

The cumulative percentage is the persisted completion measure. The calculated this-application amount is also derived and saved to penny precision on the task-completion record. This preserves one calculation model across both input methods rather than allowing percentage and amount fields to drift apart.

Worked example: from £500 to 75% completion

Consider a task with an effective value of £2,000. The previous payment application recorded 50% cumulative completion, equal to £1,000 of work to date. This month, you want to claim another £500.

In pound mode, enter £500 in This App £. BuildQS calculates the percentage movement as:

£500 / £2,000 × 100 = 25 percentage points

It then adds that movement to the previous 50%:

50% + 25% = 75% cumulative completion

Switch to percentage mode and the task shows 75%. The current application remains £500 because the movement from 50% to 75% is still 25% of £2,000. The cumulative value is now £1,500 and the remaining claimable value is £500.

Entering 75% directly in percentage mode produces the same result. Entering £1,500 in pound mode would not: pound mode is for this application only, so £1,500 would exceed the £1,000 that remained when the task was at 50%.

How discounts affect pound entry

BuildQS performs these conversions using effectiveValue, the task value after any applicable project, phase, task or variation discount. It does not automatically use the undiscounted quantity multiplied by rate when a discount changes the amount that can be claimed.

For example, if a £2,000 listed task has a 10% applicable discount, its effective value is £1,800. A £450 current claim represents 25 percentage points of that discounted value, not 22.5 percentage points of the original £2,000. The displayed effective rate and value help identify the basis being used.

Selecting pound mode does not add, remove or alter a discount. Discount configuration belongs to the valuation schedule and is explained in the payment application discounts guide. While an application is a draft, its calculations use the currently applicable discount hierarchy. When the application is submitted, BuildQS snapshots its this-application values. Later changes to rates, quantities or discounts therefore do not retrospectively rewrite the amount recorded for that historical submitted application.

This snapshot matters when reading gross-to-date figures across several applications. Historical billings are accumulated from their stored values, while the current draft is calculated from its present effective basis. For the controls that apply after submission, see payment application statuses in BuildQS.

Validation and limits to know

Pound values cannot be negative and cannot exceed the remaining claimable amount for the task. Remaining value is based on the effective task value and the previous completion position. The field accepts pence. If an amount falls outside the allowed range, BuildQS shows the limit and returns the entry to the valid range when you leave the field.

Percentage mode follows the corresponding boundaries. A cumulative percentage cannot be below the previous application's percentage or above 100%. These limits stop the current draft from reversing previously claimed progress or over-claiming a task through either entry method.

Review unusually small rounding differences before submission. Pound entry can produce a fractional cumulative percentage because the exact entered amount is converted against the effective value. The server calculates and stores the resulting this-application value to pence when completions are saved.

Apply to All remains percentage-based, even while individual rows are displayed in pound mode. The phase and project-variation controls set one cumulative completion percentage across their included tasks, respecting each task's previous percentage and the 100% maximum. They do not distribute one pound total across several tasks. Use individual pound fields when different monetary amounts are required per row.

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Frequently asked questions

Does switching mode change the value claimed?

No. Switching changes how the current draft entry is displayed and edited. BuildQS converts the existing cumulative percentage into its equivalent this-application amount, or converts an entered pound amount back into cumulative percentage. Equivalent inputs produce the same claim.

Is pound mode cumulative or for this application only?

Pound mode is for this application only. If previous applications have already claimed £1,000 and this application adds £500, enter £500. The cumulative columns will then show the combined position.

What happens when a task has a discount?

The pound conversion uses the task's effective value after the applicable discount hierarchy. Entry mode itself does not create a discount. Submitted application values are snapshotted so later valuation changes do not alter that historical current-application amount.

Can Apply to All use pound values?

No. Apply to All accepts a cumulative percentage and applies it to the relevant tasks within valid limits. Pound entry remains available on each individual task row.