Track and manage retained money with precision.

Retention is a common mechanism in construction and service contracts. The customer withholds a percentage of the total project value to secure performance and compliance. Until now, tracking and reclaiming those funds has often been done manually or handled outside of Archdesk.

Now, with Retention Release linked to your Quote Valuations, you can record, adjust, release, and track retention amounts directly in Archdesk.

What problem does it solve?

Many Archdesk users work on contracts where 3%–5% of the project’s total value is kept back until the project is completed or a warranty period ends. This withheld amount can be hard to monitor, especially when dealing with multiple valuations or split releases.

This feature lets you:

• See clearly how much is still held by the customer
• Record retention releases at appropriate project stages
• Show retention values in your PDF reports and payment documents
• Ensure internal visibility over frozen vs. collectable cash

Example:

Imagine your project has a value of $1,000,000, and a 3% retention applies. That’s $30,000 held back.

You deliver the whole project, and the customer approves the final progress. Now:

• You can release 1.5% ($15,000) upon project completion
• Then release the remaining 1.5% ($15,000) after the warranty period ends

Both these actions can now be recorded in Archdesk, and the updated figures are reflected in reports and tracked for future audits.

How it works:

1. Go to Quote → Payments, click Options → Set Adjusted Retention
2. Enter the new retention % (it must be lower than or equal to the original) 
   
3. The adjusted retention value is automatically calculated and locked, and the change will be tracked in the Quote Notification Log.
4. This updated value will appear in:
   • Archdesk interface 
     
   • PDF reports 
     
5. For clarity, you can also display the Last Valuation Reference on the PDF report (Setting & Preferences → Projects → Quote Settings → Enable Show Last Valuation Reference in Valuations PDF Report).