Interim valuations: paying for work as it is built

Why work is valued in stages

On any contract that runs longer than a few weeks the contractor is paid in stages, as the work goes up. The interim valuation is the statement that fixes, at a given date, what has been built and what it is worth. It is cumulative: the value of everything measured since the works started, less everything already certified. What is left is the amount due this time.

Where the numbers come from

An interim valuation is not a guess at percentage progress. It comes out of the measurement records kept on site: quantities measured in the works, entered against the contract items, priced at the contract rates and summarised by section. Quantity built × contract rate, item by item, less what has already been valued.

What it contains

A sound interim valuation states the period and the serial number; the work items with the quantities and values earned to date; the health and safety costs earned; any retention held back; and the summary that leads to the net amount to certify. Materials on site, variations and daywork are shown separately where the contract allows them. At the end of the job the last valuation closes the account together with the final account.

How it works in Italy: the SAL

In Italy the interim valuation is the SAL, the stato di avanzamento lavori, and it is a formal step rather than a private arrangement between the parties. It is drawn from the site account register kept by the works supervisor, and on public contracts it is what allows the project manager to issue the certificato di pagamento, the payment certificate. Public works also hold a retention of 0.50% on each valuation as a guarantee, and the arrangement of the accounting documents follows D.Lgs. 36/2023. On private work the contract sets the stages.

How you do it with ComputoLab

In ComputoLab the site accounts are linked to the bill of quantities: you record the work measured, the program works out the value earned by item and by section, and produces the numbered SAL, the site account register and the payment certificate, ready as PDF or Word. When the next valuation comes round, the cumulative figures and the deduction of the earlier valuations are already there.

Read also: Price revision and homogeneous work types · Measurement records · How to prepare a bill of quantities · Project budget