This template is part of the progress claim reconciliation guide. The form comes first, then a short interview script, a completed example and three checks before sending.
The form, ready to copy
Each line takes a short answer. Write "unknown" rather than guess.
- Company: full-time employees at peak _ (contractors excluded); trade or contractor type _; countries of work ____
- Business task: reconciling progress claims to measured work and certified amounts (edit if the company also reconciles subcontractor claims)
- Record classes held: claim versions _ / measured quantities _ / certificates or payment schedules with reasons _ / progress invoices _ / retention entries _ / variation register _
- Systems: project controls _; ERP _; claim workbooks location _; document control _; which is being replaced ____
- Coverage: years _; closed contracts _; share private, government, joint venture ____
- Version depth: every submitted version kept / final only / mixed ____
- Record owner: role ____
- Decision-maker: role _; sponsor _; counsel aware yes or no ____
- Access event: date old system goes read-only or is switched off ____ (or "not set")
- Open question: one sentence about whether a specific kind of exception can still be followed
- Not shared: confirm no claims, certificates, client names, project names or logins are attached
A ten-minute interview script
Ask these in order with the construction accountant; the commercial director can fill gaps.
- "Roughly how many full-time staff at your busiest point last year?" (Line 1)
- "Where does a claim live from first draft to certificate?" (Lines 3 and 4)
- "How far back can you open a closed job and see its claims?" (Line 5)
- "If a claim was revised before submission, do you still have the first version?" (Line 6)
- "Who would sign an agreement about company records?" (Line 8; the who-can-license tree helps if the answer is unclear)
- "Is anything being switched off or migrated, and when?" (Line 9)
Why ask about reasons on certificates? Because in many places they exist by rule. In New South Wales, a payment schedule must state the scheduled amount and the reasons if it is less than the amount claimed, within the contract time or 10 business days, whichever is earlier. On U.S. federal fixed-price work, FAR 52.232-5 requires requests to be substantiated and certified and allows up to 10 percent retention when progress is not satisfactory. A company with years of that discipline is likely to have the reasons on file; the form records where.
Completed brief (Illustrative)
Illustrative only. The contractor and every figure are fictional.
| Line | Entry |
|---|---|
| Company | 340 full-time employees at peak; commercial building contractor; Australia and New Zealand |
| Business task | Reconciling progress claims to measured work and certified amounts, line by line |
| Record classes | Claim versions, measured quantities, payment schedules with reasons, progress invoices, retention entries, variation register |
| Systems | Project controls platform; ERP being replaced; claim workbooks on a shared drive; document control system |
| Coverage | Eight years; about 60 closed contracts; mostly private, three government, one joint venture |
| Version depth | Mixed: every version kept since year four, final only before that |
| Record owner | Commercial manager, with the financial controller for the ERP side |
| Decision-maker | CEO; commercial director as sponsor; general counsel aware |
| Access event | Old ERP read-only three months after the new one goes live |
| Open question | When a milestone was claimed before it was complete, does the file show the measurement that reduced it and the later certificate that released the balance? |
| Not shared | No claims, certificates, client or project names, or logins |
Because this example company works in Australia and New Zealand, outside the U.S., Canada and the EU, its records qualify only if at least 90% of the data is in English; add a line saying so when the company is outside those three.
Three checks before sending
- Nothing confidential slipped in. Read every line for a client, project or person's name. Counts and types only.
- The access event is real. A date from a contract or migration plan, or "not set". Never an estimate presented as fact, and never invented urgency.
- The decision-maker can actually decide. Line 8 should name the CEO; if it names a role without contract-signing authority, fix it before sending.
For the covering note, the warm introduction brief suggests wording, and following up with the company owner covers what to do if the CEO does not reply. The client opportunity brief generator can produce a first draft from the same answers. If the open question is hard to phrase, the system map for this workflow shows which links usually break.
After the CEO reads it
SourceX reviews qualification, rights and what must be removed. Head contracts may limit reuse of project information, and joint venture records may need a JV partner's consent. SourceX licenses approved business data directly from companies for AI training and evaluation, and manages the agreement, rights review, data preparation, delivery and payout. Buyer interest, the rights result and any offer stay unknown until then. Advisors who also do quality of earnings work may recognize the claim-to-cash trail from the quality of earnings resource; other sectors are listed under industries.
For SourceX, an introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license 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. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions; the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application.
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.
When all eleven lines are answered and the three checks pass, register as a partner, confirm the contractor on who qualifies and read the program terms before the commercial director forwards the brief.