Valuations and getting paid

Recording payment, settling variations and releasing retention

2 min read · Checked against the product 3 October 2026

Log certification and payment against a valuation, settle its variations in one pass, record part payments on a single variation and release retention in its two halves.

An account is only as good as its last update. VariationFlow keeps certification and payment as separate events, because the certificate or payment notice normally arrives first and the money weeks later, and it keeps each variation’s own ledger in step with the valuation it was paid in.

Log certification and payment

1. On the project, find the valuation under Monthly Valuations and use the banknote button, “Log payment”.
2. Under Certification, enter what the client certified and the date the payment notice or certificate arrived.
3. Under Payment, enter what landed and when. The outstanding figure, certified less retention less anything already paid, is offered as the default, with a “Paid in full” shortcut. Part payments add up.
4. Save either half on its own and come back for the other. A payment cannot be more than the certified amount, so record the certificate first.

When you edit a valuation, the certified figure can be split between the contract and variations, so variation recovery shows on its own progress bar on the project page.

Settle the variations

A paid valuation with linked variations still open shows an amber prompt with a “Settle variations” button. Tick each variation and choose Paid in full, or Part paid with the amount. Each payment is written to that variation’s own ledger, and a variation whose payments clear its value moves to Paid.

Payments on a single variation

“Record payment”, on the register row or the variation page, logs an amount, date and reference against one Instructed, Completed or Included in Valuation variation. An instalment is added to the total and the variation stays open for the balance; tick “Paid in full” to close it as Paid. The Payments panel shows value owed, paid to date and outstanding, and an overpayment asks you to confirm before it is accepted.

Releasing retention

The retention block under Monthly Valuations shows what has been retained, released and is still held. Retention is released in two halves, with “Release first half (practical completion)” and “Release final half (making good)”, and each release is recorded with its date and amount. Under JCT the second half follows the Certificate of Making Good; under NEC4 it follows the Defects Certificate, and only where secondary Option X16 is in the contract.

What good looks like

• Certificates recorded the day they arrive, so the payment timeline and the s.111 tracker hold the real dates.
• Every paid valuation settled the same week, so the register and the dashboard agree with the bank.
• The first half of retention released at practical completion and the second half diarised.

Common mistakes

• Recording the gross certified figure as paid. Payment is net of retention, and the outstanding default already deducts it.
• Recording a payment on the valuation and again on each variation by hand. Settle the variations from the valuation instead, so nothing is counted twice.
• Leaving retention to be chased at final account, when nobody remembers which half is due.