Blog topic
Contingency
Contractor contingency and owner contingency: who draws, who approves, and when the fund runs out.
ContingencyContractor contingency versus owner contingency: two funds, two purposesTwo funds sit near each other in a GMP budget and get confused constantly. Here is what each one is for and who should be drawing on it.Jul 6, 2026 · 4 minContingencyWho approves a contingency draw, and who shouldThe contract names who can approve a contingency draw. The owner's job is to know that rule before the first draw appears on a pay application.Jul 3, 2026 · 4 minContingencyContingency burn rate: how to read it against percent completeA contingency balance by itself says nothing. Read it against how far along the work is, and the same number tells a different story.Jun 30, 2026 · 4 minContingencyThe exhaustion date: why a date beats a percentage in a board meetingTell a board the contingency is 38 percent spent and they nod. Tell them it runs out in March and the building finishes in August, and they act.Jun 27, 2026 · 4 minContingencyWhat happens when the contractor's contingency runs outAn exhausted contractor contingency does not end the risk. It changes where the next cost lands, and the owner should be watching all three places.Jun 24, 2026 · 4 minContingencyContingency draws without backup: flag them, do not block themA draw arrives with a one line description and no invoice. The owner's instinct is to refuse it. The better move is to record the gap and keep the work moving.Jun 21, 2026 · 4 minContingencyOwner contingency inside or outside the GMP: what the choice changesOwner contingency can sit inside the guaranteed maximum price or above it. Each placement changes control, billing, fee, and what is left at the end.Jun 18, 2026 · 4 minContingencyTrailing rate versus average rate: two ways to project a contingencyTwo ways to project when a contingency runs out. They agree on a calm project and disagree on a changing one. The disagreement is the useful part.Jun 15, 2026 · 4 minContingencyHow much contingency a design stage usually needs, and why it is an industry patternA GMP set at design development needs more contingency than one set at construction documents. The pattern is well known. The question is whether your contract follows it.Jun 12, 2026 · 4 minContingencyUnused contingency at closeout: who keeps it under your contractUnused contingency is real money at the end of a GMP job. Where it goes is decided by clauses most owners read for the first time at closeout.Jun 9, 2026 · 4 minContingencyThe contingency log: what every entry should carryA contingency log that records amount and date is a bank statement. One that records fund, cause, approver, backup, and the owner's view is a tool.Jun 6, 2026 · 4 minContingencyA monthly contingency routine for owners in four stepsReconcile the balance, classify the draws, project the runway, write down the decision. Four steps, once a month, in this order.Jun 3, 2026 · 4 minContingencyMoving a draw between funds: why every reclassification needs an audit trailA draw moved from contractor contingency to owner contingency is a transfer of cost. It should never happen without a record of the move.May 31, 2026 · 4 minContingencyWhere contingency hides in the pay applicationThe G703 has a contingency line, and it is the least informative line on the form. The real movement shows up everywhere else.May 28, 2026 · 4 minContingencyHow the contingency runway calculator arrives at a monthFive inputs, two rates, one comparison to the completion date. What the calculator does, step by step, and what it leaves to the owner.May 25, 2026 · 4 min
One next step
See the two funds on a project like yours.
Thirty minutes on a call. The twin drawdown chart on a fictional project at your GMP size, and the month the fund runs out.