← Construction retainage calculator
Specialty subcontractors search this after a general contractor offers a check today against retainage. Sometimes that check closes the rest — a waiver or discounted payoff. Sometimes it only accelerates part of the withhold and the remainder still arrives later. Those are different deals. Carrying cost is not the same as “twice the wait.”
Open the retainage calculator, keep your contract value and paid-to-date, and type the check they offered plus the days they say until full release. The table below uses the page defaults: a $100,000 contract, 10% retainage, $75,000 paid, 90 days already outstanding, a 12% annual carrying-cost assumption, a $5,000 check today, and 60 days until they say the rest lands.
Unpaid retainage on those figures is $10,000. Waiting 60 days models $197.26 more carrying cost on that slice, leaving $9,802.74. A $5,000 check that closes the rest is $4,802.74 behind that wait. The break-even check that matches waiting is $9,802.74.
If the other $5,000 still arrives in 60 days, taking the check now leaves $9,901.37 after $98.63 carrying on the remainder — $98.63 ahead of waiting for the whole balance. That is acceleration, not a waiver.
| Path | Cash | Added carrying | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Take $5,000, close the rest | $5,000.00 | $0.00 | $5,000.00 |
| Take $5,000, rest in 60 days | $10,000.00 | $98.63 | $9,901.37 |
| Wait 60 days for $10,000 | $10,000.00 | $197.26 | $9,802.74 |
The carrying-cost line is your own assumption applied only to the retainage still unpaid. It is not interest you can invoice, a lien deadline, or a reason to sign a waiver. Other earned-but-unpaid progress is still in the cash snapshot and the further-delay table; this page isolates the retainage in the offer.
Type the check they actually wrote and the days they actually said. The calculator shows the arithmetic from those figures. It does not tell you which path to take.
On the calculator defaults — a $100,000 contract, 10% retainage, $75,000 paid, and a 12% carrying-cost assumption — waiting 60 days for the remaining $10,000 models $197.26 more carrying cost on that retainage, leaving $9,802.74. A $5,000 check that closes the rest is $4,802.74 behind that wait. The break-even check that matches waiting is $9,802.74.
If the remaining $5,000 still arrives in 60 days, taking the $5,000 check now leaves $9,901.37 after $98.63 carrying on the remainder — $98.63 ahead of waiting for the whole $10,000. That path is acceleration, not a waiver. The calculator shows both interpretations; it does not tell you to sign.
No. The carrying-cost figure is your own borrowing or opportunity-cost assumption applied only to the retainage still unpaid. It is not a contractual interest rate, payment deadline, lien right, or entitlement. Review the contract, payment terms, and local requirements before relying on any number.