Illustrative example — not client work or client results
What management gets back.
A documented view of what is closed, what remains commercially unresolved, what the record supports, and what requires a management decision or professional referral.
This project, every figure, and every source reference below are fictional. This example demonstrates a work-product format; it does not describe an Echelon client, engagement, recovery, or project result.
Project Profile
Illustrative project.
- Project type: Industrial specialty contracting project
- Original contract: $40,000,000
- Project status: Operationally complete / commercial closeout in progress
- Review basis: Fictional contract, change, billing, payment, field, and closeout records at a single illustrative review cutoff.
01 / Executive Conclusion
The account remains open.
The project is operationally complete, but the available commercial and financial records do not support treating the account as fully closed. Several items reconcile cleanly. Others remain commercially open, lack complete supporting documentation, or require management or professional judgment before final disposition.
| Management measure | Figure | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Contract and approved change value | $41,250,000 | Original contract plus approved changes in the illustrative record. |
| Amount billed | $41,250,000 | Gross billing equals current approved contract value. |
| Amount paid | $40,443,000 | Payments recorded against gross billing. |
| Retainage outstanding | $615,000 | Within the billed account; release documentation remains incomplete. |
| Commercially open items | $373,500 | Change Order 17 plus unbilled documented work under Change Request 22; outside approved contract value and billing. |
| Documentation gaps | $126,500 | T&M work with incomplete support; separate from the commercially open subtotal and outside approved contract value and billing. |
| Items requiring professional referral | 2 | Backcharge position to counsel; technical scope question to an engineer. Referrals do not add a separate financial value. |
These figures identify records and items requiring resolution. They are not a recovery estimate. The categories have different bases and must not be added together as a single potential payment.
02 / Project Reconciliation
Separate the approved account from unresolved activity.
| Category | Amount / status | Basis and treatment in this brief |
|---|---|---|
| Original contract | $40,000,000 | Contract register, CON-01. |
| Approved changes | $1,250,000 | Approved change schedule, ACS-01; added to the original contract. |
| Current contract value | $41,250,000 | Original contract plus approved changes. Unresolved items below are excluded. |
| Billed to date | $41,250,000 | Gross cumulative billing, APP-12; includes retained amounts and recorded deductions. |
| Payments received | $40,443,000 | Payment ledger, LED-09. |
| Retainage held | $615,000 | APP-12 and LED-09. Part of the difference between billing and payments. |
| Recorded deductions / backcharges | $192,000 | DED-01 and LED-09. The rest of the billing/payment difference; recorded here without accepting the deduction or reducing approved contract value. |
| Commercially open change activity | $373,500 | $284,000 for Change Order 17 plus $89,500 for Change Request 22. Neither is included in approved changes or billing. |
| Unbilled documented work | $89,500 | Change Request 22. Already included in the $373,500 commercially open subtotal; do not add it again. |
| Work with documentation gaps | $126,500 | T&M item. Excluded from both the approved account and the $373,500 commercially open subtotal. |
| Final account status | Open | $807,000 separates gross billing from recorded payments: $615,000 retainage plus $192,000 deductions. The arithmetic reconciles; final disposition remains unresolved. |
The approved contract and billing records reconcile. The payment bridge also reconciles: $40,443,000 + $615,000 + $192,000 = $41,250,000. This arithmetic does not establish a right to payment or validate a deduction.
03 / Open Item Register
Six items for disposition.
All entries and references are fictional. Each value is a recorded amount under review, not a conclusion about payment.
Item 01 / Commercially Open
Change Order 17
Value under review: $284,000
Record position: Field direction, proposal, revised pricing, and subsequent correspondence are located. Final disposition is not reflected consistently across the change log, billing record, and accounting record.
Management action: Confirm current commercial disposition and determine the next action.
Source references: DIR-17, PROP-17-R2, LOG-06, APP-12, LED-09, COR-17.
Item 02 / Documentation Gap
T&M extra work
Value under review: $126,500
Record position: Direction and partial daily documentation are located. Five T&M tickets remain missing; the available record does not fully support the submitted amount.
Management action: Determine whether missing support can be reconstructed before final disposition.
Source references: DIR-TM, TKT-TM (partial), PROP-TM.
Item 03 / Pending
Retainage
Value under review: $615,000
Record position: The outstanding balance reconciles to the financial record. Final release documentation is incomplete; remaining release dependencies need confirmation.
Management action: Confirm completion of contractual closeout requirements and current payment status.
Source references: APP-12, LED-09, CLOSE-01.
Item 04 / Management Attention
Backcharge / deduction
Value under review: $192,000
Record position: The deduction appears in the commercial and payment records, but supporting correspondence and final disposition are not fully aligned.
Management action: Establish the company’s accepted position and preserve supporting records. Refer disputed contract interpretation to counsel.
Source references: DED-01, LED-09, COR-BC (partial). Referral: Counsel.
Item 05 / Commercially Open
Unbilled documented work
Value under review: $89,500
Record position: Field direction, work tickets, and pricing for Change Request 22 are located. No approved change or corresponding billing entry is located. A related technical scope question is recorded separately in Item 06.
Management action: Confirm the proposal’s disposition and the missing approval or closure record before deciding the commercial next step.
Source references: DIR-22, TKT-22, PROP-22, LOG-06, APP-12. Included in the commercially open subtotal.
Item 06 / Professional Referral
Technical scope question
Value under review: Not separately quantified.
Record position: Revised drawings and field direction for Change Request 22 describe an interface change. The available response does not resolve the technical scope question.
Management action: Refer the drawing, direction, and unanswered question to an engineer. Echelon does not determine engineering responsibility. This entry adds no value to Item 05.
Source references: DWG-R4, DIR-22, RFI-22. Referral: Engineer.
04 / Record Gaps
Missing or incomplete.
A documentation gap is a finding, not proof that money is owed. The brief identifies what is missing and which decision it affects.
- Five T&M tickets supporting Item 02.
- Final disposition for two change requests: Change Order 17 and Change Request 22.
- Correspondence supporting the backcharge in Item 04.
- Final retainage release documentation for Item 03.
- A reconciliation between LOG-06 and the accounting record showing how the two open change requests were carried or closed.
- A completed technical response to RFI-22 for Item 06.
05 / Management Decisions
A named next decision.
| Issue | What the record establishes | What remains unresolved | Who owns the next decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change Order 17 | Direction and revised pricing are located. | Final change status. | Internal management / commercial team. |
| T&M extra work | Partial support for the submitted amount. | Five missing tickets. | Project team; internal management decides disposition. |
| Retainage | Balance reconciles to billing and payments. | Release steps; payment status. | Project team / accounting; counsel for any legal question. |
| Backcharge / deduction | A deduction is recorded. | Company position; disputed terms. | Internal management; counsel for the legal judgment. |
| Unbilled documented work | Direction, tickets, and pricing are located. | Approval or closure of Change Request 22. | Project / commercial team; management authorizes next steps. |
| Technical scope question | Drawing and field-direction references are identified. | Scope of the interface change. | Engineer; management coordinates the referral. |
The two identified referrals concern Items 04 and 06. Other professional questions, if raised, would be referred separately. Echelon organizes the record and decision list; it does not decide entitlement, damages, liability, legal rights, accounting treatment, or engineering responsibility.
06 / Source Traceability
Every conclusion should be traceable to the record.
Illustrative evidence chain for Item 01. These are fictional reference labels, not links to actual project documents. A brief identifies both the source and the limit of what it establishes.
Field record → direction / occurrence
DIR-17 identifies the direction associated with the work. Direction alone does not establish final commercial disposition.
Change record → pricing / commercial treatment
PROP-17-R2 records the revised $284,000 proposal; LOG-06 has no consistent final disposition.
Billing record → invoiced or omitted
APP-12 contains no billing entry for Change Order 17. The proposal is outside the approved billed account.
Financial record → payment / retainage / deduction
LED-09 reconciles payments, retained amounts, and deductions against the billed account. It does not resolve the unapproved proposal.
Correspondence → disposition / unresolved position
COR-17 records subsequent discussion but no definitive final disposition. Item 01 remains a management decision.
07 / What the Client Receives
Records organized for management review.
An actual engagement may include the following, as defined by the agreed scope and available records.
- Executive management brief
- Reconciled open-item register
- Documentation-gap register
- Source-reference trail
- Management action list
- Professional referral list where appropriate
The review does not provide legal advice or representation, accounting opinions or audit/attestation services, engineering services, schedule analysis, damages calculations, claims expert opinions, or collection services. It does not guarantee payment or recovery.
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