Pay

The head contract that anchors your whole money-in side

One record per project — its value or fee, retention terms, key dates and the executed contract — that every progress claim, variation and retention release runs off. Set it up as a lump sum or cost-plus, and each drives the right billing downstream.

Head contractNorthside Apartments · Harbourline BuildersLump sumActive
Original contract sum
$4,850,000.00
frozen at Schedule of Values baseline
Adjusted contract sum
$4,892,500.00
incl. VO-007 variation +$42,500
Contract type
Lump sum
fixed-price · sell-side anchor
Retention
5%
withheld on every release
Awarded
15/01/2026
executed contract on file
Practical completion
30/06/2027
key date · drives retention release
Certified to date$2,560,163.8752.3% of adjusted sum
Contract sum · adjustments to date
AdjustmentTypeAmountContract sum
Original contract sumBaseline$4,850,000.00
Additional balcony waterproofing
VO-007
Approved variation+$42,500.00$4,892,500.00
Adjusted contract sum anchors every claim & release+$42,500.00$4,892,500.00

One record per project holds the contract value, type, retention terms, key dates and the executed contract, and anchors the Schedule of Values, progress claims and variations that run off it. On a lump-sum contract the sum freezes at the baseline — only an approved variation (VO-007, +$42,500) moves it, to $4,892,500.

Trusted by builders across the country

From custom-home builders to commercial head contractors, teams run their projects on BuildPass.

JCG
JCG

Your money-in side needs one anchor, not four spreadsheets

01

One anchor for money-in

The head contract is a single record: its value or fee, retention terms, key dates, the executed contract, and links to everything it drives, so the commercial anchor and the billing that runs off it never disagree.

02

Lump sum or cost-plus

Set the contract up as fixed-price (lump sum) or cost-plus. Each commercial model drives the right downstream billing, with no configuration to keep in sync by hand.

03

Frozen where it counts

A lump-sum contract sum locks at the Schedule of Values baseline; cost-plus fee terms freeze at setup, while the budgetary estimate stays revisable with a reasoned history.

How it works

Everything the contract anchors, in one place

From setting the contract up to closing it out.

New contractFrom projectCarried · frozen
ProjectNorthside Apartments
PrincipalNorthgate Property Group
Awarded15/01/2026
Retention5%
Defaults carry from the project and freeze on create

Set up from the project

Create the head contract against the project — principal, key dates and retention terms carry across from the project's defaults and freeze when you create it.

Commercial model
Lump sumFixed price · sum freezes at the SOV baseline
Cost-plusReimburse approved cost plus a percentage fee

Lump sum or cost-plus

Choose the commercial model on setup. A contract is available on fixed-price (lump sum) and cost-plus projects, so it matches the deal you signed.

Contract sumLump sum
Frozen at baseline
$4,850,000
Locked · SOV baseline
Only an approved variation moves it after baseline

Freeze the contract sum

On a lump-sum contract the negotiated sum locks at the Schedule of Values baseline, and only an approved variation moves it after that.

Cost-plus terms
Percentage fee12%frozen at setup
Estimated cost$4,120,000budgetary · from estimate
Revise the estimate later with a reason — history stays

Set a fee and hold an estimate

On a cost-plus contract, freeze a percentage fee and hold a budgetary estimated cost — prefilled from your latest estimate — that you revise later with a reason.

Open-book claimCost + fee
03-100Concrete$612,400
16-100Electrical$208,950
Fee (12%)+$98,562
Claimed$919,912

Bill cost-plus open-book

Cost-plus progress claims reimburse approved-actual cost plus your percentage fee, grouped by cost code and traceable to the source bills behind every line.

Hold & close out
Retention5%
Executed contractPDF
ActiveClosed

Hold retention and close out

The contract holds the retention terms every release runs off and the executed contract PDF, and moves through a clean Active to Closed lifecycle.

Connected to the whole job

The head contract sits at the centre of money-in

Upstream, the project's estimate seeds a cost-plus contract's fee and estimated cost. Downstream, a lump-sum contract drives the Schedule of Values (whose baseline freezes the sum), progress claims and variations; a cost-plus contract drives cost-reimbursement progress claims that bill approved cost plus the fee, with no Schedule of Values or variation — income follows cost. Both hold the retention terms every release runs off and feed WIP and cost reporting, where a cost-plus job earns its margin as the fee by construction. It's the sell-side mirror of the subcontract on the buy side.

Head contract · sell-side anchor
$4,850,000
Northside Apartments · lump sum · frozen at SOV baseline
billed via
Progress claims · on the Schedule of Values
$2,560,163.87
certified to date · reconciles to the contract sum
adjusted by
Variations · VO-007
+$42,500$4,892,500
an approved change moves the sum after baseline

Trusted by builders who run their projects on BuildPass

From custom-home builders to commercial head contractors, teams across Australia and New Zealand run their projects on BuildPass every day.

The onboarding process and training we received from the BuildPass team was fantastic.
Nick Du Bois
Managing Director, FORA
If you're considering implementing new technology on site, you must have BuildPass on your list.
Rob Lineker
Director, Dei One Projects
I'd recommend BuildPass to any builder, sub contractor or site manager. It just makes your life easier.
Garath Vella
Director, Lorden Vella

Frequently asked questions

It's the sell-side record of your contract with the client, one per project, that anchors the Schedule of Values, progress claims, variations and retention. It holds the contract value or fee, the retention terms, the key dates and the executed contract PDF.

A lump-sum contract has a negotiated fixed sum that freezes at the Schedule of Values baseline and drives progress claims and variations. A cost-plus contract has no fixed sum: it reimburses your approved-actual cost plus a percentage fee, so there's no Schedule of Values or variation — income follows cost.

Each progress claim folds the approved-actual bills that fall in the claim window, groups them by cost code, and adds your percentage fee, producing an open-book pack where every line traces back to its source bill. Fixed-fee claiming isn't available yet — cost-plus claims bill on a percentage fee.

No. On a cost-plus contract the estimated total cost is budgetary and never bills; it derives an estimated final price and sets the retention cap. You revise it with a reason and the history stays visible. What bills is approved-actual cost plus the fee.

Fixed-price (lump sum) and cost-plus. Time-and-materials contracts aren't supported, and a guaranteed maximum price isn't available yet.

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