What Is AIA G702 and How Is It Used for Construction Progress Payments?

AIA G702 is the Application and Certificate for Payment, a standard form contractors use to request periodic progress payments on a construction project. The contractor completes the application portion, and the architect or owner certifies it before payment is released. It summarizes the contract sum, approved change orders, work completed to date, retainage, and the amount now due. G702 is a copyrighted AIA document sold separately by the AIA; billing software can print onto the paper form or produce a compatible layout. It is typically used together with AIA G703, the continuation sheet that itemizes the work.

What the G702 form does in the payment cycle

On most projects, the contractor submits a payment application once a month. G702 is the cover page of that submission. It rolls up the detailed line items into a single certified amount the owner can approve and pay.

The form serves three purposes at once:

• Application: the contractor's formal request for money earned since the last payment.
• Summary: a one-page reconciliation of the contract amount against work completed and amounts already paid.
• Certificate: the architect's (or owner's) signed confirmation that the amounts are correct and payment is due.

Because the certificate sits on the same page, G702 is the document that moves a payment from "requested" to "approved."

G702 vs. G703: how the two forms fit together

G702 cannot stand alone. It depends on G703, the Continuation Sheet, which lists every line item in the schedule of values with its scheduled value, previous work, this period's work, and remaining balance.

The totals on G703 must match the figures carried onto G702. If they don't reconcile, the architect will usually reject the application and send it back.

Who fills out and who certifies the form

The contractor prepares the application: enters the original contract sum, lists approved change orders, states the total completed and stored to date, calculates retainage, and signs the contractor's certification.

The architect or owner's representative reviews the numbers against the project record and signs the certificate, which states the amount approved for payment. Some contracts route certification through the owner instead of the architect; the form accommodates either.

The split matters because the contractor's signature is a representation of fact, while the certifying signature is an approval to pay. Disputes often hinge on which party signed and when.

The key fields and how they connect

The application section works as a running reconciliation:

1. Original contract sum — the base contract amount.
2. Net change by change orders — approved additions and deductions.
3. Contract sum to date — the first two figures combined.
4. Total completed and stored to date — cumulative value of work in place plus stored materials, taken from G703.
5. Retainage — the percentage held back, split between completed work and stored materials.
6. Total earned less retainage — line 4 minus line 5.
7. Less previous certificates for payment — everything already paid.
8. Current payment due — the amount being requested this period.
9. Balance to finish, including retainage — contract sum to date minus total earned less retainage.

The arithmetic is simple, but the inputs must be consistent: change orders must be formally approved, stored materials must be documented, and retainage rates must match the contract.

How software fits in

AIA G702 is a copyrighted form sold separately by the AIA, so software generally takes one of two approaches: it prints data onto the official preprinted paper, or it generates a layout that mirrors the form's structure.

Paymee, the Excel-based billing tool described on paymentapplication.com, is an example of the first approach. Its summary sheet supports printing to the AIA G702 paper form, and its American Style template produces payment applications and schedules of values consistent with U.S. construction practice. The tool generates the summary automatically from the detail entered, which reduces the reconciliation errors that cause rejected applications. It requires Microsoft Excel (any version since Excel 2000) but no formula writing, and the site describes the software as freeware while noting the AIA paper form is sold separately.

For a contractor deciding how to produce G702s, the practical question is whether the project requires the official AIA paper or accepts a compatible format. Many owners and architects insist on the AIA form itself; others accept any application that carries the same information and certifications. Confirm that requirement before choosing a tool, and check whether the software's output matches the version of G702 your project uses.