What is Schedule of Values (SOV) in Construction?

A schedule of values or SOV is a thorough record of all the work completed on a certain project. Each and every building project requires SOVs. Contractors and labourers wouldn’t be able to know what has been completed thus far on a project or in what sequence without an SOV. In addition to giving you and your team a structured view of previously finished activities on a project, SOVs also organise what has to be done in the order of completion.

Importance of SOV in Construction

• Schedule of Values (SOV) is so named because it organises all the values associated with each activity. Contractors, architects, and owners collaborate closely throughout the course of a project to estimate the cost of each job and determine how much will be spent on construction. The SOV will be able to compare the amount predicted to be spent on each task to the amount actually spent once the project is complete.
• By giving the client and the contractors equal access to the schedule of values, an SOV increases transparency in the execution of a project and ensures that no information is lost or misinterpreted. 
• There is no reliable way to predict where a building project will wind up at the beginning. Staying on track with the schedule of values is the best method to handle any future hiccups that a project could run into. It is not advised to vary from the plan in order to get more money than you anticipated because this could ultimately harm your project and reputation.
• Using technology in your build processes is a simple substitute for tracking and documenting SOVs for all of your projects. Contractors, architects, and owners can more quickly obtain the “progress to actuals” report on an SOV, as well as any small or significant adjustments and markups, added to an SOV during construction by producing SOVs digitally rather than on paper. This minimises the possibility of error or the loss of the effort that you invested in your SOV.

Features of SOV in Construction

•  SOVs include a list of each billable work item’s value, cost, and progress percentage in the order of the project’s timeline.
• All parties involved in a construction project, including general contractors, subcontractors, property owners, construction managers and others rely on SOVs.
• Prior to the start of the construction project, the contractor creates the SOV. The duration of the job and the rates per item of work are assigned. Construction won’t start until this SOV has been approved by all parties (clients, subcontractors) and is signed as a formal part of the contract.
•  An SOV document displays both ongoing and finished projects. According to the completion status on the SOV document, the payment is disbursed to the contractors.
•  The components of an SOV must be:

• • • Item number
    • Item description or work description
    • Scheduled value or item value
    • Previously billed sum: Instead of receiving a flat sum payment, some contractors are paid according to the percentage of work accomplished. For instance, if the projected value of the plumbing work is $5000 and it is 20% complete, $1000 will be added to this column once the contractor receives the payment.
    • Amount billed during this time: This column indicates the amount of work that the contractors have accomplished since the last payment. This column resets to $0 once the contractors have been paid, adding the prior value to the “Amount Previously Billed” column.
    • Include the cost of any building supplies obtained prior to the formal start of work when calculating the number of stored materials.
    • Sum of the previous three columns represents the total value.
    • Completeness percentage: It is calculated by dividing Total Value by Scheduled Value.
    • Amount remaining or balance to be completed.
    • Retention charges.