The G702 Mistake That Gets Pay Apps Sent Back: Column D
The most common arithmetic error on an AIA pay application is in the "from previous application" column of the G703 — what it must contain, why stored materials are where it goes wrong, and how to make the next draw tie out.
One column, most of the rejections
A pay application is rejected far more often for arithmetic than for the work. And when it is arithmetic, it is usually the same column: G703 column D, "From Previous Application".
The rule is short and the form states it: column D is the amount of completed work covered by the previous application — which the form defines as columns D and E from the previous application, added together. Not last month's column E alone. Not last month's column G. D plus E.
Why it goes wrong
Three ways, and the first is the one everybody makes once.
Copying the wrong cell. Last month's column G is "Total Completed and Stored to Date", and it includes column F — materials stored on site but not yet installed. If you carry G forward as this month's D, you have carried stored materials into "completed work" without installing them. The certifier catches it because column F on this application will still show them stored, and the line now bills the same material twice.
Forgetting that stored materials move. AIA's instruction for column E says it includes the value of materials incorporated in the project that were listed on the previous application under column F. So when a stored item gets installed, it leaves F and enters E. If it leaves F and nothing else changes, the line under-bills; if it stays in F and also enters E, it double-bills.
Restating history. Column D on this application has to equal D plus E on the last one that was certified — not the one you submitted. If the architect reduced a line last month, your "previous" is the reduced figure, and a D that carries your original number is a quiet request to be paid what was already refused.
How the columns are meant to tie out
- Column C is the scheduled value for the line. It does not change without a change order.
- Column D is last application's D plus E, as certified.
- Column E is work completed this period, including stored materials that were installed this period.
- Column F is what is stored on site and not yet installed, recalculated from scratch every period.
- Column G is D plus E plus F, and G divided by C is the percent complete.
- Column H is C minus G — what is left to bill on the line.
If G on this application is less than G on the last one for the same line and nothing was de-scoped, something was moved the wrong way between E and F.
Before you submit
- Take last month's certified G703, not the one you sent. Add D and E on every line. That column is this month's D, line for line.
- Walk column F. Anything that was stored last month and installed this month leaves F and appears in E for that amount.
- Check that no line's G went backwards.
- Only then fill the G702. Its totals are the G703's column totals, and a G702 that does not match its continuation sheet is the second most common reason a draw comes back.
Why it matters more than one month's cash
A pay application is a certified document. The person signing it is stating that the amounts are correct, and the certifier is relying on that statement to release money. An error in column D is not a typo on an invoice; it is a wrong statement on a certified form, and on a public or healthcare job it will be read that way by whoever audits the closeout package.
This is general information about the AIA G702/G703 forms, not legal or accounting advice. Your contract and the certifying party's instructions govern. Confirm anything here against the form instructions you were issued.