Draw Schedule

What is Draw Schedule?

A draw schedule defines when and how contractors bill for work on a construction project. Most commercial contracts use monthly draw schedules where the contractor submits a payment request based on percentage of work completed, materials installed, and approved change orders.

The process typically works as follows: the contractor prepares a draw request, the general contractor or owner reviews and approves it, and payment follows within contract terms. The gap between draw submission and payment deposit is often two to four weeks, during which subcontractor and material obligations continue.

Draw schedules create a structural cash timing mismatch. Contractors bill monthly but pay subcontractors bi-weekly. This gap is the primary source of construction cash flow pressure. See our article on how draw schedules create cash flow chaos and the construction finance guide. Mapping each draw to its payment obligations is the first step to managing that gap. Treat every pending approval as cash that is not yet available for subcontractor or payroll obligations.

Why it matters

Without mapping draw schedules to payment obligations, construction firms discover cash gaps days before subcontractor payments are due. Visibility into draw timing versus outflow timing is the foundation of construction cash management.

Example

How RunwayCal helps

Common mistakes

• 1Treating draw submission as equivalent to cash collection
• 2Not tracking approval timelines per general contractor
• 3Planning subcontractor payments without mapping to expected draw deposits