Retention, held and released on time
Retention is easy to deduct and easy to lose track of. QScope carries the running balance so the release at practical completion and the final tranche are never left on the table.
QScope Team · 12 January 2026 · 6 min read
Retention is money you have already earned and are waiting to be paid. On a UK job the deduction happens every valuation without anyone thinking about it, and the release happens only if someone remembers to ask. QScope is built so nobody has to remember.
The running balance
QScope deducts retention at the contract rate on each interim valuation and carries the cumulative figure forward. It is not recalculated from scratch each month, which is where hand-kept spreadsheets quietly disagree with the certificates. The balance held is always the sum of what was deducted, tranche by tranche.
| Stage | Retention position |
|---|---|
| Interim valuations | Deducted at the contract rate, accumulating |
| Practical completion | First moiety released, balance held |
| End of rectification period | Second moiety released once defects are made good |
Release tied to the milestones that trigger it
The two events that unlock retention are practical completion and the end of the rectification period. QScope links the retention release to those milestones rather than to a date typed in months earlier, so the half held at practical completion is scheduled the moment PC is recorded, and the final tranche is scheduled from the rectification period end.
Retention on variations
Retention applies to the whole valued work, variations included. When agreed variations flow into the gross valuation, the retention deduction moves with them automatically, so the held balance reflects the real contract value rather than the original bill. A retention position calculated on the tender sum alone understates what is held.
Subcontract retention, the same discipline down the chain
A main contractor holding retention from subcontractors carries the mirror image of what the client holds from it. QScope keeps each subcontract retention position separately, so the release you owe down the chain and the release you are owed up it are both visible, and neither is forgotten when practical completion arrives.
Reconciled to the penny
At final account the retention line has to close exactly. Total deducted, total released, balance outstanding. Because QScope has tracked every tranche against its valuation, that reconciliation is already done. The final account inherits a retention position that agrees with itself, which is one fewer thing to argue about at the end of a job.
QScope holds retention at the contract rate, tracks the cumulative balance across valuations, and schedules the release at practical completion and the end of the rectification period.