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Retention

What this is

Retention is the percentage of certified value withheld from payment as security, and later released in stages. SureSign tracks retention per contract (and per trade package, where applicable) and lets you release it in the standard two halves used in UK construction: Practical Completion (Half 1) and Making Good Defects (Half 2).

Who can use it

Super Admin and Admin can release retention. Client users can view retention figures.

Where to find it

Project → Commercial → Retention tab.

What you will see

For each contract with a retention percentage set:

  • Rate % and Cap % for that contract.
  • Four summary figures: Retention Held, Retention Released, Current Balance, and Max Retention (contract sum × cap %).
  • Two moiety cards, Half 1 / Practical Completion and Half 2 / Making Good Defects, each showing Target, Released, and Outstanding, with a Release button when there is an outstanding balance.

If no retention has been held yet, SureSign explains that retention is calculated from certified payment applications, so nothing will show until at least one application has been certified.

How to release retention

  1. Select Release on the relevant moiety (or choose "Other / Manual Adjustment" for a release that does not map cleanly to either half).
  2. Confirm or adjust the Release Amount — SureSign suggests an amount based on the outstanding balance for that moiety, and shows the maximum you can release.
  3. Enter the Release Date (required).
  4. Choose a Release Reason from the list provided, and add notes if useful.
  5. Confirm.

Note

If you choose a moiety that is already fully released, SureSign warns you but still allows a manual adjustment if you have a specific reason to release more.

Where retention also appears

A payment application's own detail page shows retention as read-only figures ("Less: Retention," "Previous Retention Held") for context — releasing retention itself happens from the Retention tab, not from the application.