1. The structure of a monthly valuation
The monthly valuation is the document by which the contractor claims payment for the work carried out in the month. It is prepared by the contractor from the contractual pricing schedule, with the quantities actually executed at the cut-off date.
| Item | Unit | Contract qty | Rate | Cumulative qty done | Cumulative amount | Valuation 4 | Valuation 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reinforced strip footings | m³ | 42 | 185,00 € | 42 | 7 770 € | 5 180 € | 2 590 € |
| Reinforced concrete wall, 200 mm | m² | 310 | 145,00 € | 220 | 31 900 € | 17 400 € | 14 500 € |
| Ribbed floor slab | m² | 180 | 92,00 € | 90 | 8 280 € | 4 140 € | 4 140 € |
| Reinforced screed, 70 mm | m² | 180 | 38,00 € | 0 | 0 € | 0 € | 0 € |
| Price adjustment for the period | lump sum | 823 € | 650 € | 173 € | |||
| VALUATION 5 TOTAL, FRAME | 48 773 € | 27 370 € | 21 403 € | ||||
| Retention at 5 % | – 1 070 € | ||||||
| Net on valuation 5, excluding VAT | 20 333 € |
The table makes several points. The screed line stands at nil because it has not yet been executed. The price adjustment is calculated separately, on the parametric formula in the conditions of contract. The 5 % retention is deducted from each valuation (R2191-34); it is repaid within thirty days of the end of the guarantee period or, where snags notified during that period have not been cleared by its end, within thirty days of their clearing (R2191-35).
2. Calculating the price adjustment on a valuation
The adjustment is calculated on each valuation from the movement in the published indices between the reference period, the date tenders were returned or the month of notification, and the period of execution, the month of the valuation.
The formula
The revised amount is the original amount for the period multiplied by the sum of the materials term, the labour term and the fixed part.
The original amount: the value of the work executed in the period, before adjustment.
The index ratios: the movement in the trade index and in the wage index between the period of execution and the reference period.
The coefficients: set in the conditions of contract, adding to one, with the fixed part usually at 0,15.
A worked calculation
The amount for the period is 21 230 € before adjustment. The reference all-trades index BT01 for January 2025 is 132,0 and the index for the period, October 2025, is 133,2 (INSEE, 2010 base). With coefficients of 0,70 on materials, 0,15 on wages and 0,15 fixed, the adjustment comes to 173 €, which is added to the valuation.
ℹ Which index applies: the month of execution or the month of invoicing? The formula applies to the work executed in the period, not to the work invoiced. If work carried out in October is invoiced in November, the October index applies, not the November one. That distinction matters when the indices move, particularly in a period of rising raw material prices. The economist has to check that the contractor is applying the period in which the work was done, not the invoice date.
3. The five-step approval circuit
| Step | Who | Action | Period | Document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1, submission | Contractor | Submits the valuation with all the required particulars: quantities, scheduled rates, price adjustment | By the date set each month in the conditions | The interim valuation, signed |
| 2, verification | Architect and economist | Checks the quantities on site where needed, checks against the pricing schedule and the progress observed, corrects and approves | 7 days for a contract that refers to the 2021 standard works conditions (art. 12.2.2) | The verified valuation with any corrections |
| 3, payment certificate | Economist or design team | Issues the payment certificate to the buyer, stating the net amount payable | 2 days after verification | The signed payment certificate |
| 4, certificate that the work is done | The buyer's authorised representative | Certifies that the work has actually been carried out; without it the public accountant cannot pay | 5 days after receiving the payment certificate | The signed certificate |
| 5, payment | The public accountant | Checks the formal regularity of the file and pays | 30 days at most from receipt of the complete payment request | The payment order and the transfer |
| TOTAL, statutory period | 30 days from the complete payment request | Interest runs automatically beyond it |
The 30 days are an absolute limit, and exceeding them triggers interest automatically with no formal demand. An economist who takes 15 days to verify a valuation leaves only 15 for the rest of the chain, which creates a systematic risk of overrun. For a contract that refers to the 2021 standard works conditions, the design team notifies the payment statement within seven days of receiving the monthly payment request (art. 12.2.2).
4. The certificate that the work is done
That certificate is the administrative document authorising the public accountant to pay. Without it payment is impossible, whatever the quality of the valuation and of the design team's payment certificate. It is signed by the buyer's authorised representative, an elected member, a director of technical services, or a delegate.
The economist should make sure the signature chain is identified and working before the site starts. A representative who is absent, on leave, or without delegated authority at the right level can block a payment for weeks, with interest accumulating.
- What to check during the preparation period: who signs the certificate, whether they hold a formal delegation, how long they usually take, and whether there is a deputy in their absence.
5. The final account: composition and procedure
The final account is the closing document of a public contract. For a contract that refers to the 2021 standard works conditions, it summarises the monthly payments on account and the balance (art. 12.4.1), which settle the works, the variations, the price adjustments and the damages; once definitive, it binds the parties, save for the mention of outstanding snags and disputes, and for the amounts of the price adjustments and of the interest on late payment relating to the balance (art. 12.4.3).
Fictitious example, for a contract that refers to the 2021 standard works conditions: package 2, frame and façades, let for 527 800 € excluding VAT, varied three times, with a 3 % retention provided for in the contract and VAT at 20 %.
| Component | Basis | Worked figures | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| The works, at contract prices | Contract prices × the quantities actually executed, item by item | Substructure 142 200 €, superstructure 298 400 €, façades 87 200 €, total 527 800 € excluding VAT | Contractual, and incontestable where the instructions and valuations are in order |
| Signed variations | The cumulative total of the variations signed during the works | 22 500 €, 8 400 € and 15 600 €, a total of 46 500 € excluding VAT | Contractual, with the list to be checked as exhaustive |
| Final statement | The works and the variations at contract prices (art. 12.3) | 527 800 + 46 500 = 574 300 € excluding VAT | Settled from the contractor's draft final statement |
| Price adjustment | The contract's formula applied over each period | Total adjustment 12 340 € excluding VAT | Contractual where the formula and indices are set in the conditions |
| VAT at 20 % | 20 % of the final statement and the adjustment | (574 300 + 12 340) × 20 % = 117 328 € | |
| Liquidated damages (where applicable) | 1/3 000 of the contract value excluding VAT, variations included, per day late (art. 19.2.3) | 15 days × 574 300 € / 3 000 = 2 871,50 € deducted | Applied after the client has invited the contractor, in writing, to submit its observations within at least fifteen days (art. 19.2.4) |
| Total due under the contract | Final statement + adjustment + VAT − damages, items applied as for the payments on account (art. 12.2.1) | 574 300 + 12 340 + 117 328 − 2 871,50 = 701 096,50 € including VAT | |
| Monthly payments on account | The cumulative payments on account up to the last monthly statement, before retention | 672 000,00 € including VAT | 651 840,00 € paid, after deducting 20 160,00 € of retention |
| Balance statement | Total due − cumulative monthly payments | 701 096,50 − 672 000,00 = 29 096,50 € including VAT | |
| FINAL ACCOUNT | Summary of the monthly payments and the balance (art. 12.4.1) | 672 000,00 + 29 096,50 = 701 096,50 € including VAT | Definitive once the contractor signs it without objection (art. 12.4.3) |
| Retention | 3 % withheld from each payment on account and from the balance (R2191-34), an item of each monthly payment statement and of the balance statement (art. 12.2.1, h), within a ceiling of 5 % of the original contract value plus the variations (R2191-33); it is not added to the final account | 20 160,00 € on the payments on account + 872,90 € on the balance = 21 032,90 € | Repaid within thirty days of the end of the guarantee period, one year from the date on which completion takes effect unless extended (art. 44.1), or, where snags notified during that period have not been cleared by its end, within thirty days of their clearing (R2191-35) |
| Balance to pay | Balance statement − retention on the balance | 29 096,50 − 872,90 = 28 223,60 € | |
| Interest on late payment (where applicable) | The payment on account paid late, including VAT, less the retention (R2192-33), × the rate applied by the European Central Bank to its most recent main refinancing operations, in force on the first day of the half-year in which the interest began to run, plus eight points (R2192-31), × days late / 365, plus a fixed indemnity of 40 euros for recovery costs (D2192-35) | Payment 7 of 84 000 € including VAT, retention 2 520 €, paid 12 days late, taking as an assumption an ECB rate of 2 % on the first day of the half-year in which the interest began to run: 81 480 € × 10 % × 12 / 365 = 267,88 €, plus 40 € = 307,88 € | Due as of right, paid within 45 days of the payment of the principal (R2192-36) |
For a contract that refers to the 2021 standard works conditions, the procedure for the account is set by their article 12 (12.3 for the draft final statement, 12.4 for the final account and the balance), and that for claims by their article 55. It follows a strict timetable: the contractor notifies its draft final statement within 30 days of notification of the decision on completion (art. 12.3.2), the client notifies the final account at the latest 30 days after that final payment request is received, by the design team or by the client, whichever is later (art. 12.4.2), then it is returned by the contractor, within 30 days of its notification, signed, with or without objections, or with the reasons for its refusal (art. 12.4.3); failing that, it is deemed accepted (art. 12.4.5).
ℹ The checklist before sending the account to the contractor Check that every signed variation is included; none should be missing. Check that the price adjustment covers every period from the reference date to completion. Check that interest is calculated where valuations were paid late, since the contractor can claim it even having said nothing during the works. For a contract that refers to the 2021 standard works conditions, check that any liquidated damages were applied only after the client had invited the contractor, in writing, to submit its observations within at least fifteen days (art. 19.2.4), and that the retention appears in the balance statement as in each monthly payment statement (art. 12.2.1, h, and 12.4.1). Check also the date of its repayment: within thirty days of the end of the guarantee period or, where snags notified during that period have not been cleared by its end, within thirty days of their clearing (R2191-35).
6. Handling claims on the final account
The contractor can raise objections within 30 days of its notification (art. 12.4.3). To be admissible they have to be reasoned and quantified. The buyer then has 30 days to answer: accept, refuse, or propose a settlement.
A claim on quantities: the contractor disputes the quantities taken. Compare the account against the measurements taken on site visits and the signed valuations.
A claim on the price adjustment: the contractor disputes the calculation. Redo it with the official published indices; there is no room for interpretation.
A claim on damages: the contractor disputes the damages applied. For a contract that refers to the 2021 standard works conditions, check that the client invited the contractor, in writing, to submit its observations within at least fifteen days before applying them (art. 19.2.4); without that, the damages can be challenged.
A claim for unpaid work: the contractor claims for work it says was carried out on verbal instruction. Check the site minutes and the written instructions; with no instruction, the claim is generally unfounded.
In summary
The monthly valuation is prepared by the contractor from the pricing schedule, rates times real quantities, plus the price adjustment, less the retention (5 % at most, R2191-33). The approval circuit runs in five steps: submission, verification by the design team in seven days (art. 12.2.2), payment certificate, certificate that the work is done, and payment. The statutory period is 30 days, with interest running automatically beyond it. The adjustment applies to work executed, not invoiced, on the index for the month of execution. The final account (2021 standard works conditions, art. 12.4.1) comprises the final statement (the works and the variations at contract prices), the balance statement (the adjustment, VAT and damages applied as for a payment on account, less the cumulative monthly payments on account before retention), then the summary of the payments and the balance; the retention is not added to it, and interest is calculated on each late payment. The contractor sends its draft final statement within 30 days of notification of completion, the client notifies the final account at the latest 30 days after receiving it, and it is returned signed by the contractor within 30 days of its notification, with or without reasoned, quantified objections. The four types of claim concern quantities, the adjustment, damages applied without a prior invitation to submit observations, and work carried out without a written instruction.
The nature of the figures quoted
Amounts and rates set by a text are quoted with their article and date. The other percentages and amounts on this page, dated reference points or a fictitious example, are orders of magnitude for framing, not measurements: they substitute neither for a tender exercise nor for an estimate prepared on drawings.
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Sources: the BT construction cost indices published monthly by INSEE on its 2010 base, used to update the figures · construction cost statistics from SDES, the statistical service of the ministry responsible for construction · regulatory texts published in the Journal officiel and consolidated on Légifrance for the requirements cited.