Subcontractor start gate, payment release and scorecard

Part 1 checks documents against a job window. Part 2 decides which payments to release. Part 3 scores performance.

A planning check, not legal or insurance advice. The loaded examples are invented: 6 subcontractors, a 16 November to 11 December 2026 job window, a 4 December 2026 pay date, 10% retainage and made-up scores. Your contract, insurer, state and regulator set the real rules. Money is in one currency of your choice. Nothing leaves your browser.

Documents and Part 1: start gate

Per document: missing or expired before the job starts = "Do not start"; expires from job start up to the day before job end = "Renew before job ends"; expires on or after job end but inside the watch window = "Watch"; otherwise "Clear". A subcontractor takes its worst document status.

Part 2: payment release

Gross earned = contract x % complete. Retainage = gross x retainage %. Net earned = gross - retainage. Due now = net earned - net paid to date. Our example policy releases a payment only if every document in both lists is present and not expired on the pay date, a waiver is on file, and something is due. It is a policy to test, not a legal rule.

Part 3: performance scorecard

Score = weighted average of the 4 percentages. With a small sample, one job moves a percentage a lot: 1 job in 5 is 20 points, which moves the score by 20 x the weight, divided by 100. Weights and bands are your judgement. Bands use the score rounded to 2 decimal places, as shown.