The Subcontractor’s Weekly Cash Flow Checklist
You carry the cost of the job long before the GC pays. This checklist pairs a pre-contract check with a 15-minute Monday review of five reports, so you catch slow pay, underbilling, and retainage problems 30 to 90 days before they hit your bank account.
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What's Inside
Know when your first dollar lands, before you sign.
Map the gap between mobilization and your first GC payment, and the retainage terms worth pushing on to shrink it.
Catch a cash squeeze 30 to 90 days out.
Five reports, 15 minutes every Monday, with pass or fail thresholds so you know exactly what needs action this week.
Collect what you’ve already earned.
Billing, retainage release, and prompt payment checks that keep money from sitting in your GC’s account.
Protect your lien and bond rights.
Notice deadlines can start running weeks into a job, and an unpaid supplier can put your own payment at risk.
Who this is for:
Subcontractor owners, controllers, and office managers who bill through a GC, carry retainage, and want a clear weekly read on cash.
You win the job, mobilize the crew, and start buying material. Then you wait. Between pay app cycles, GC approval, net terms, and retainage, many subs are 10 to 14 weeks into a job before the first dollar lands. This checklist helps you see that gap coming, size it before you sign, and keep it from growing once the work starts.