Progress claim reconciliation is the monthly work of matching what a contractor claimed against what was measured on site and what the client certified. The gap between those three numbers, and the reasons recorded for it, is the history worth protecting. A commercial system migration rarely protects it by default, because the new ERP or project controls platform needs open contracts and balances, not the argument behind last year's certificate.
What should be inventoried before a commercial system migration affects progress claim reconciliation history?
Record classes, time coverage, system owners and the real access deadline, grouped by the system that holds them. A construction accountant usually sees the risk first: a new ERP or project controls platform goes live, and only open contracts and closing balances are migrated.
Project controls (or the claim workbooks)
- ☐Every submitted version of each claim, not only the latest
- ☐Measured quantities, progress photos and inspection dates per line
- ☐Years and number of closed projects still held
ERP
- ☐Progress invoices with claim and certificate references
- ☐Certified amounts, retention and release events per contract
- ☐Whether closed jobs migrate in detail or only as opening balances
Correspondence and contracts
- ☐Certificates or payment schedules with stated reasons
- ☐Quantity surveyor or client queries on disputed lines
- ☐Head contract confidentiality clauses
Ownership and timing
- ☐Who administers each system, and who decides retention
- ☐The date read access to the old system ends, from the contract or the migration plan
A partner records the answers, not the records. Do not collect exports, logins or certificates, and do not advise the company to keep data beyond its own policy or authority.
Why claim history is the part a migration drops
Because the three numbers live in three places, and a migration is planned one system at a time. Claim versions are often workbooks exported from project controls. Certified amounts are booked in the ERP. The reasons for any difference sit in certificates, payment schedules and email.
Payment rules explain why those reasons usually exist in writing. Under FAR 52.232-5, progress payments on U.S. federal fixed-price construction contracts are made monthly or more often on estimates of work accomplished that meets contract quality standards; requests must be substantiated and carry a contractor certification, and up to 10 percent may be retained when progress is not satisfactory. In New South Wales, a respondent must serve a payment schedule within the contract time or 10 business days, whichever is earlier, stating the scheduled amount and the reasons if it is less than the amount claimed. A company that has worked under rules like these for years usually holds a long, dated record of claims, reductions and reasons. Whether it can still be read after the migration is the question.
Retention adds a timing trap. FAR 52.232-27 makes progress payments due 14 days after a proper payment request reaches the designated billing office, while retained amounts follow a separate timeline. A project can be closed for billing but still open for retention, so ask whether the migration treats those jobs as open, closed or split.
An illustrative inventory sheet
Illustrative only; the company and figures are fictional. A 340-person building contractor is moving its claims into a new project controls platform; its ERP stays in place. Its construction accountant fills in the sheet with the commercial director in one meeting.
| Record class | System | Years held | Owner | Moves at cutover? | Readable until |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claim versions | Old project controls platform | 2015 to now | Commercial director | Latest version for open jobs | Old platform license end |
| Measured quantities and inspections | Old project controls platform | 2017 to now | Project controls manager | Open jobs only | Old platform license end |
| Certified amounts | ERP invoice history | 2014 to now | Financial controller | Not affected | ERP kept |
| Retention and release events | ERP | 2014 to now | Financial controller | Not affected | ERP kept |
| Certificate reasons and queries | Email, document control | 2016 to now | Commercial director | No | Mailbox retention policy |
Reading the sheet: the money survives, because certified amounts and retention stay in the ERP. What explains the money does not: earlier claim versions and measured quantities depend on the old project controls license, and the reasons sit in email under its own retention rule. The handoff should name both dates.
Which date is the real deadline?
The earliest of the read-access end dates: the old project controls license, any ERP read-only period if the ERP is also being replaced, and the mailbox retention rule for correspondence. Go-live of the new platform is usually earlier than all of them and matters less. If the company has not fixed a read-only period yet, record "not set" rather than estimating one.
Who decides, and does the company qualify?
The construction accountant and commercial director know coverage. The CEO, CFO or managing director decides whether a licensing discussion fits, and counsel checks head contract confidentiality and any government contract limits.
The introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license the records, and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English.
What stays unknown until SourceX reviews it: dataset demand, the rights review result, what must be removed and whether any offer follows. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions, and the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application. Related record types: pay application review, change order data, reconciliation exceptions and the industries hub.
Go deeper on progress claim reconciliation
- Progress claim reconciliation exception examples: one part-complete milestone worked through from claim to certificate.
- Progress claim reconciliation records across systems: a system map of the references that join project controls, ERP and certificates.
- Who can license progress claim reconciliation records: a decision tree for which executive to introduce and what needs client consent.
- Progress claim reconciliation referral brief template: a fill-in, metadata-only brief for the introduction.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
If a client is migrating its ERP or project controls and years of claim history will not move with it, register as a partner, check the company against who qualifies, and read the program terms before you send the one-page handoff.