The retention total differs between your ledger and the builder statement
Reconstruct cumulative retention deductions/releases to resolve statement mismatch without assuming legal due amount.
Corporate Recovery Partners
01 / 06
The two totals are materially different
A hypothetical subcontractor's ledger shows $40,000 retention outstanding, while the builder's statement shows $31,000. Both sides repeat their totals without explaining the difference. Reconstruct the movement from the progress records before escalating the dispute. The correct historical balance and the amount currently due for release are related but separate questions.
Gather progress claims, certificates, invoices, receipts and adjustment records. Identify how retention was shown at each stage and whether a later certificate is cumulative. Do not add cumulative totals as though each were a new deduction. Ask the accountant to verify the treatment and keep the source document beside each entry.
Business.gov.au recommends clear contractual payment arrangements. Review the retention calculation and release provisions with an appropriate adviser. A reconciled total does not itself establish that every dollar is currently payable. Avoid using the accounting exercise to assume a contractual rate, deduction cap or release event that has not been checked.
In the hypothetical example, show the opening amount, supported deductions, verified releases and adjustments leading to the current balance. Separate a proposed credit from an issued credit. If a payment was allocated partly to retention and partly to an invoice, retain the allocation evidence instead of counting it wholly in both places.
Send a focused reconciliation through the appropriate channel and request the record behind any remaining difference. Do not accuse the builder of withholding money unlawfully merely because the statements disagree. If a deduction is disputed on its merits, identify that issue separately from a transcription or allocation error.
Retain the agreed figures or unresolved schedule with the contract and completion evidence. CRP can help organise the commercial claim. A traceable history lets advisers assess the amount and timing of the next request without spending the first discussion trying to reconstruct two unexplained totals.
