Sample statement
One whole statement, start to finish.
This is what lands by the 10th of the month. The company is a made-up drywall sub with seven open jobs and three crews of its own. Every company, job, builder and crew here is made up; a real statement is built from your own QuickBooks reports.
Example Drywall Co · as of November 1, 2026
The top of page 1
Four numbers before anything else
Page 1
Money owed to you, in the order to ask for it
Each job's held-back money, whose turn it is to pay, the date that turn was due, and what to do next.
| Job | Held | Due | Days late | Interest | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School additionOlathe USD · Builder A · public job | $24,000 | Aug 31, 2026 | 62 days late | $734 | Past due. Letter drafted. K.S.A. 16-1904(h)-(i) |
| Apartment podiumKansas City MO · Builder D | $26,000 | Sep 24, 2026owner to GC | 38 days late | n/a | The owner's release is 38 days overdue. Ask Builder D if it has been paid, and send your retainage request and closeout papers. Letter drafted, facts and dates only. |
| Retail centerLawrence · Builder C | $39,000 | Sep 27, 2026estimated · owner to GC | 35 days late | $0 | The owner's release is 35 days overdue. Ask Builder C if it has been paid. Follow-up letter drafted. K.S.A. 16-1804(c), (j); 16-1803(f)-(g) |
| Medical office shellOverland Park · Builder A | $32,000 | Oct 14, 2026GC to you, after it was paid | 18 days late | $284 | Past due. Builder A has a backcharge on file; billed work that isn't in dispute still counts. Letter drafted. K.S.A. 16-1804(c), (j); 16-1803(f)-(g) |
| Clinic remodelTopeka · Builder B | $17,500 | Oct 30, 2026owner to GC | 2 days late | $0 | The owner's release is 2 days overdue. Ask Builder B if it has been paid. Letter drafted. K.S.A. 16-1804(c), (j); 16-1803(f)-(g) |
| City libraryWichita · Builder C · public job | $13,000 | Nov 19, 2026 | Due in 18 days | $0 | Nothing yet. K.S.A. 16-1904(h)-(i) |
| Warehouse fit-outLenexa · Builder B | $10,500 | n/a | n/a | $0 | A tenant ordered this work, so the Kansas act doesn't apply. Your subcontract's own date governs. |
When only the owner's release is late, no interest is counted for you yet: your share's clock starts when your general contractor is paid. That is why the statement asks you to find out. Kansas City, Missouri jobs show the facts and dates only.
Page 1, part 2
What your subcontract says, next to the law
On 5 of these jobs the subcontract doesn't release retainage when the job is done. Here is each one side by side.
| Job | Your subcontract says | The legal date for your share | Which counts |
|---|---|---|---|
| School addition, Olathe USD | 7 days after the GC receives retainage from the owner | Aug 31, 2026 | A later contract date can't change it (16-1901(b)). |
| Retail center, Lawrence | With final payment; the owner paying the GC is a condition | 7 business days after the GC is paid (owner's date Sep 27, 2026, estimated) | Open until the GC says when it was paid. |
| Medical office shell, Overland Park | 30 days after the owner's final payment to the GC (Nov 1, 2026) | Oct 14, 2026 | The law is 18 days earlier, and 18% runs from whichever date is missed first (16-1804(j)). |
| Clinic remodel, Topeka | 8 days after the owner's final payment | 7 business days after the GC is paid (owner's date Oct 30, 2026) | Open until the GC says when it was paid. |
| City library, Wichita | Silent: no release terms found | Nov 19, 2026 | A later contract date can't change it (16-1901(b)). |
Which date controls on a given job is a legal question for you and your attorney, not the statement's. The statement puts both dates in front of you.
Written notice for extra work, changes and claims
As each subcontract on file states it:
- Medical office shell (Overland Park): your subcontract asks for written notice within 7 calendar days after the event giving rise to the claim (section 9.2).
- Retail center (Lawrence): your subcontract sets no number of days of its own; its notice period for extra work, changes or claims follows the prime contract's claim notice period, less 3 days (section 11.3). Ask the GC for a copy of the document it refers to.
- City library (Wichita): your subcontract states no written-notice period for extra work, changes or claims.
These are your subcontracts' own words, read once from the copy on file. Whether a notice was given in time, or whether a claim holds, is a question for you and your attorney; this statement does not judge it.
The letters
Five letters, already written, in your name
One for each job whose date has passed. Each comes as a draft file: open it, read it, change it if you like, and send it from your own email, or don't. Kansas letters cite the statute. Each job gets one letter and one follow-up 21 days later; after that, the next step is your call. We never write to or talk with your general contractor ourselves.
School addition, Olathe USD
Subject: Retainage release request: School addition (Olathe USD)
Dear Pat,
We are writing about the retainage Builder A is holding on School addition (Olathe USD). Our records show $24,000 held, and the project reached substantial completion on August 1, 2026.
Under Kansas law (K.S.A. 16-1904(h)), the owner, the contractor and every subcontractor on a public project must release all remaining retainage on undisputed amounts within 30 days after substantial completion of the project. On that schedule our share was due by August 31, 2026.
Kansas law provides interest at 18% a year on retainage not paid when due (K.S.A. 16-1904(i)); as of November 1, 2026 that comes to about $734 on this job.
To our knowledge our work on this job is complete and none of it is in dispute. If you see it differently, please tell us what is open.
Please release the $24,000, or let us know by return email what you still need from us to close out the job.
Thank you,
Alex Rivera
Owner
Example Drywall Co
Apartment podium, Kansas City MO
Subject: Retainage release request: Apartment podium (Kansas City MO)
Dear Lee,
We are writing about the retainage Builder D is holding on Apartment podium (Kansas City MO). Our records show $26,000 held, and the project reached substantial completion on August 25, 2026.
By our count, the owner's release of retainage on this project was due by September 24, 2026, and our share follows within 7 days after it reaches you. Please treat this email as our request for our $26,000 retainage, and let us know whether the owner has released it to you and on what date.
To our knowledge our work on this job is complete and none of it is in dispute. If you see it differently, please tell us what is open.
If you still need anything from us to close out the job, please tell us by return email.
Thank you,
Alex Rivera
Owner
Example Drywall Co
Retail center, Lawrence
Subject: Second request: retainage release on Retail center (Lawrence)
Dear Jordan,
We wrote on October 8, 2026 about the retainage Builder C is holding on Retail center (Lawrence). Our records still show $39,000 held, and the project reached substantial completion around August 28, 2026 (our estimate; please tell us if your date is different).
Under Kansas law (K.S.A. 16-1804(c)), the owner must release all remaining retainage within 30 days after substantial completion, so the owner's release on this project was due by September 27, 2026. Once you receive it, Kansas law (K.S.A. 16-1803(f)-(g)) gives you seven business days to pay our share, with interest at 18% a year after that.
Please treat this email as our request for payment of our $39,000 retainage, and let us know whether the owner has released the retainage to you and on what date.
To our knowledge our work on this job is complete and none of it is in dispute. If you see it differently, please tell us what is open.
If you still need anything from us to close out the job, please tell us by return email.
Thank you,
Alex Rivera
Owner
Example Drywall Co
Medical office shell, Overland Park
Subject: Retainage release request: Medical office shell (Overland Park)
Dear Pat,
We are writing about the retainage Builder A is holding on Medical office shell (Overland Park). Our records show $32,000 held, and the project reached substantial completion on July 15, 2026.
Under Kansas law (K.S.A. 16-1803(f)-(g)), a contractor must pay its subcontractors their retainage within seven business days after the owner releases it. Our records show the owner's release reached you on October 2, 2026, so our share was due by October 14, 2026.
Kansas law provides interest at 18% a year on retainage not paid when due (K.S.A. 16-1804(j)); as of November 1, 2026 that comes to about $284 on this job.
Our subcontract also sets November 1, 2026 as its own release date for this job.
We understand you have raised a backcharge on this job. We are glad to settle it on its own; it is separate from the retainage on work we have completed.
Please release the $32,000, or let us know by return email what you still need from us to close out the job.
Thank you,
Alex Rivera
Owner
Example Drywall Co
Clinic remodel, Topeka
Subject: Retainage release request: Clinic remodel (Topeka)
Dear Sam,
We are writing about the retainage Builder B is holding on Clinic remodel (Topeka). Our records show $17,500 held, and the project reached substantial completion on September 30, 2026.
Under Kansas law (K.S.A. 16-1804(c)), the owner must release all remaining retainage within 30 days after substantial completion, so the owner's release on this project was due by October 30, 2026. Once you receive it, Kansas law (K.S.A. 16-1803(f)-(g)) gives you seven business days to pay our share, with interest at 18% a year after that.
We sent our request for payment of the retainage on October 5, 2026; please let us know whether the owner has released the retainage to you and on what date.
To our knowledge our work on this job is complete and none of it is in dispute. If you see it differently, please tell us what is open.
If you still need anything from us to close out the job, please tell us by return email.
Thank you,
Alex Rivera
Owner
Example Drywall Co
Page 2
Insurance surprises to fix now
Two crews were paid on dates with no workers' comp certificate on file. At the year-end audit, that pay can be added to your own payroll.
| Crew | Paid with no coverage on file | Dates | Rated as | Could add |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew 1 Framing LLC | $40,500 in 2 payments | Mar 6 to Apr 3 | Carpentry (5403), $3.37 per $100 of pay | $1,327 |
| Crew 2 Tapers | $27,000 in 2 payments | Jun 12 to Jul 10 | Wallboard installation (5445), $3.38 per $100 of pay | $986 |
An auditor rates an uninsured crew's pay at the class of the work it did. The estimate uses your own policy's rates per $100 of payroll, times your experience mod (1.08), and counts 90% of each payment as payroll, a common minimum for labor-only crews. Crew 2 Tapers is counted at 100%, the share tagged for it. Credits and discounts are left out, so the real charge can be somewhat lower.
Certificates to ask for
- Crew 2 Tapers: workers' comp covering Jun 12 to Jul 10, 2026, and general liability with at least $1,000,000 per occurrence (none on file). It had a policy before, so this is most likely a missed renewal: if the policy never lapsed, the renewed certificate clears these payments in full.
- Crew 1 Framing LLC: workers' comp covering Mar 6 to Apr 3, 2026. The policy on file starts after these payments, so ask whether an earlier policy covered them. If the crew had none yet, the charge on these payments is likely to stay.
- Insulation Sub Inc: general liability with at least $1,000,000 per occurrence covering Apr 17 to Aug 14, 2026 (its limits are below yours).
Why the dates matter
A certificate counts only if its dates cover the payment dates. One dated today doesn't fix a past gap unless the policy was in force back then. So the statement checks every payment the month it happens, while a missing certificate is still just paperwork.
Also on the statement
Four smaller checks, when they apply
Same reports, plus two papers your insurance agent already sends once a year for the mod check. No extra charge.
General liability audit
$1,163
One crew with no liability certificate on file and one with limits below yours. Your liability auditor could charge their work as your own payroll.
Papers on file
1 of 3 crews
For each crew paid in the last year: is there a W-9, a business registration and a comp certificate on file with you? Crew 2 Tapers is missing two. We only note the date a W-9 is on file, never the form itself.
Kansas sales tax on exempt jobs
$2,169
Sales tax suppliers charged on materials for the school and library jobs, which have exemption certificates. A short note asks each supplier to credit it.
Experience mod check, once a year
$573
What each 0.01 of your mod costs you a year. Two claims on the rating worksheet don't match the insurer's own records, by $30,400, for your agent to check before renewal.
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See how it works for what you send each month, try one month as a client on a made-up company, or see the prices on the home page. When 497 Systems opens, this is where you'll find a phone number and an email address.