Insights · September 28, 2026
Your WIP schedule is your credit application
Most specialty contractors think of the WIP schedule as back-office paperwork that happens after the month closes. Your bank and your surety see it differently. To them, the WIP is the clearest picture of whether your profit is real and whether your cash will be there when the jobs finish.
What an underwriter is actually reading
An underwriter looks past the income statement to three questions the WIP answers:
- Is percent complete honest? If cost-to-complete never moves, or every job lands on a round number, it reads as a schedule filled in to make the month look right.
- Are you overbilled or underbilled, and why? Overbilling is cash you’ve collected ahead of the work. It’s normal, but it is a liability, not profit. Persistent underbilling means you are financing your customers’ jobs with your own cash.
- Is margin fading? When projected gross profit on the same jobs drops month after month, the underwriter assumes the next jobs will do the same.
Three checks before you send the next one
- Tie it to the books. Revenue, cost and the over/under billing balances on the WIP should match the general ledger for the same month. If they don’t, fix that first.
- Walk the big jobs with the project managers. Cost-to-complete is a field estimate. Ask each PM what is left to buy, build and pay for, and update the schedule from that conversation.
- Explain the movement. For any job where projected margin changed by more than a couple of points, write one line on why. Underwriters trust a schedule that explains itself.
A WIP schedule you can defend line by line is the cheapest way to earn a better credit line and a larger bonding program. If yours doesn’t tie out, the free template is a good place to start.
Want a second set of eyes on your numbers? Book a 20-minute call with Bob.