RA-Bill Reviewer agent
Checks each running account (RA) bill as it is raised: whether the total certified so far goes past the contract as varied, and whether retention was withheld. It only advises; it does not post, change or stop a bill.
Validated with each clientWhat does RA-Bill Reviewer replace? The work of a site / project engineer: check each RA bill against the contract total and the retention due. Checks each running account (RA) bill as it is raised: whether the total certified so far goes past the contract as varied, and whether retention was withheld. It only advises; it does not post, change or stop a bill.
Shows why
It shows its reasons and how sure it is on every draft. When it is not very sure, it only brings the item to your notice.
Waits for you
Nothing is filed, paid or posted until a person says so.
Gets reviewed
Every approval and correction is recorded, so you can see how well it does on your own books.
A day with this agent
An EPC contractor billing a client every month on a running account. The accountant wants to know the bill is safe before it is relied on.
- Quantities are measured and certified. The site engineer records work in the Measurement Book and a person certifies it.
- An RA bill is raised from the certified book. Approved variations are folded in, and retention is withheld at the project's percentage.
- The review runs as soon as the bill exists. It adds up the gross certified across every bill so far, this one included, and compares the total with the contract value plus approved variations.
- It checks the retention. The retention held on this bill is compared with what the project's retention percentage says it should be.
- You get a note against the bill. It says what it found in words, and the amount flagged. A clean bill reads "RA-bill within contract; retention correctly withheld". With no contract value on the project it says there is nothing to check against, not that the bill is clean.
- The accountant decides. If the bill is wrong, cancel it. Cancelling puts the Measurement Book back to certified and returns the variations, and reverses the entry sent to Account. Then raise it again.
See your own RA bill checked. Send us one project's contract value and its bills so far.
What it reads and what it hands back
| What it reads | What it hands back | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| The project's contract value and retention percentage | Amount by which certified value exceeds the contract as varied | As a note against the RA bill |
| This bill and all earlier bills: gross, retention and variations | Retention short-withheld on this bill | In the same note |
| How complete the contract data is | Its own confidence in the finding | Next to the note |
What a person decides
Nothing is filed, paid or posted without a person. The review is advice given after the bill exists, so the decision stays with your team.
- Certification. A person certifies the Measurement Book before any bill can be raised from it.
- The retention percentage. You set it on the project. The review checks against it.
- Whether to cancel. The accountant or project head decides. The agent never cancels, changes or pays a bill.
- Where it stops. It does not hold a bill back. It runs after the bill is raised.
Ask Kinnow about this
Ask in plain words from the project or from Ask Kinnow. Answers show their source.
- "Has certified value crossed the contract value on any project?" Shows the projects and the excess.
- "Which RA bills had retention short?" Shows the bills and the shortfall.
- "How much have we billed against the contract as varied?" Shows the running total with the variations that raised it.
Ask us to run it on your latest RA bill.
Works with
This agent belongs to the Build application and is used in engineering and construction. Related: Project Risk Predictor, Safety Compliance, and the glossary entries on running account bills and retention money.
Questions
What does the RA-Bill Reviewer agent do?
Checks each running account (RA) bill as it is raised: whether the total certified so far goes past the contract as varied, and whether retention was withheld. It only advises; it does not post, change or stop a bill.
Does RA-Bill Reviewer act on its own?
No. It checks the bill and leaves a note. It never posts, changes or pays a bill, and a person decides what to do with the note.
Can it stop a wrong bill from reaching Account?
No. It runs after the bill is raised and only advises. If the bill is wrong, cancel it; cancelling also reverses the entry sent to Account.
Does it compare billed quantities with the Measurement Book?
Not yet. It compares the total certified value with the contract as varied, and checks retention. Quantities are certified by a person in the Measurement Book before the bill is raised.
Does RA-Bill Reviewer get better with use?
Kinnow records each approval, correction and rejection against the confidence the agent stated, so you can see whether "sure" really means sure on your own bills. That is a measurement for you to read. The agent does not rewrite its own behaviour from it.
How is it paid for?
It is part of your agent pack, and there is no charge per user.
Works alongside
Project Risk Predictor
Warns you when a project is running late, spending ahead of the work done, or billing ahead of it, measured against the baselined bill of quantities (BoQ).
BuildSafety Compliance
Built to total the serious site-safety findings not yet fixed, with their estimated penalty. The estimate and the fixed marker are set up with you.
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