Custom Excel for Retention Tracking
Budget: $30 – $250 AUD
Project Title: Excel Spreadsheet – Builder Retention Tracking
I run a commercial plumbing business in Australia and need an Excel spreadsheet built to track builder retentions across multiple projects.
In construction, builders typically hold 5% retention from the contract value. Usually 50% is released at practical completion and the remaining 50% after the defects liability period (typically 12 months).
The spreadsheet needs to help us track how much retention is being held, when it should be released, and highlight when payments are overdue.
Main Sheet – Retention Register
Each row will represent one project.
Columns required:
Project Number
Project Name
Builder / Client
Contract Value
Retention %
Total Retention Held (auto calculation)
Practical Completion Date
Defects Liability Period (months)
50% Retention Release Date
50% Retention Amount (auto calculation)
Final Retention Release Date (auto calculation)
Final Retention Amount (auto calculation)
Retention Invoice Sent (Yes/No)
Payment Received (Yes/No)
Date Payment Received
Invoice Number
Notes
Required formulas:
Total Retention = Contract Value × Retention %
50% Release Amount = Total Retention ÷ 2
Final Release Date = Practical Completion Date + Defects Liability Period
Retention Forecast Sheet
A second sheet summarising retention amounts due by month to help forecast incoming cash.
Example:
Month | Retention Due
May 2026 | $3,200
June 2026 | $5,100
Dashboard / Summary
Simple summary showing:
Total retention currently held by builders
Retention due in the next 90 days
Overdue retention amounts
Retention held per builder
Conditional Formatting
Highlight:
Retention due within 30 days
Retention overdue
Retention due but invoice not sent
Spreadsheet must be easy to use, mostly automatic, and allow new projects to be added easily.
I run a commercial plumbing business in Australia and need an Excel spreadsheet built to track builder retentions across multiple projects.
In construction, builders typically hold 5% retention from the contract value. Usually 50% is released at practical completion and the remaining 50% after the defects liability period (typically 12 months).
The spreadsheet needs to help us track how much retention is being held, when it should be released, and highlight when payments are overdue.
Main Sheet – Retention Register
Each row will represent one project.
Columns required:
Project Number
Project Name
Builder / Client
Contract Value
Retention %
Total Retention Held (auto calculation)
Practical Completion Date
Defects Liability Period (months)
50% Retention Release Date
50% Retention Amount (auto calculation)
Final Retention Release Date (auto calculation)
Final Retention Amount (auto calculation)
Retention Invoice Sent (Yes/No)
Payment Received (Yes/No)
Date Payment Received
Invoice Number
Notes
Required formulas:
Total Retention = Contract Value × Retention %
50% Release Amount = Total Retention ÷ 2
Final Release Date = Practical Completion Date + Defects Liability Period
Retention Forecast Sheet
A second sheet summarising retention amounts due by month to help forecast incoming cash.
Example:
Month | Retention Due
May 2026 | $3,200
June 2026 | $5,100
Dashboard / Summary
Simple summary showing:
Total retention currently held by builders
Retention due in the next 90 days
Overdue retention amounts
Retention held per builder
Conditional Formatting
Highlight:
Retention due within 30 days
Retention overdue
Retention due but invoice not sent
Spreadsheet must be easy to use, mostly automatic, and allow new projects to be added easily.