Construction Billing Software
Construction billing software is a tool that lets a builder bill the client for the work done, as RA bills from measured BOQ progress and as GST tax invoices, apply retention, recover advances, and track what has been billed against what has been collected. Cornerstone AI raises every RA bill from the project’s own BOQ and measured progress, so the amount you claim matches the work on the ground, the GST is correct, and you always know exactly what the client still owes. When you want to know how much is billed, collected or overdue, ask the GenAI chat.
Part of Cornerstone AI · 500+ features · RA bills from measured BOQ · GST tax invoice · billed vs collected
The billing flow, from measured work to collected payment
Cornerstone AI’s construction billing software moves every client bill through the same path, so what you claim matches the work measured, the GST is correct, and the receivable is always clear. Good construction billing software should make the RA bill the easy part of getting paid.
Measure
Record the cumulative quantity done to date against each BOQ item.
Raise RA bill
The bill values the work at contract rates, less previous bills.
Deduct
Apply retention and recover any advance to get the net.
GST invoice
Produce a GST tax invoice and share it with the client.
Collect
Track the receipt, so billed against collected stays clear.
No technical experience needed
Raising an RA bill is entering the quantity done against each item; the software does the running-total arithmetic, the retention, the advance recovery and the GST. Your billing engineer does not keep a parallel measurement book and a spreadsheet, they enter the measured work once and the bill is built. And when the owner wants to know what is outstanding, they do not tally receipts. They ask the GenAI chat.
What is an RA bill in construction?
An RA bill, or running account bill, is an interim payment bill raised during a project for the work measured as done so far. It lets a contractor get paid as the work progresses, rather than waiting until the end. The defining thing about an RA bill is that it is cumulative.
It is a running total, not a this-month total
The mistake that produces wrong bills is treating an RA bill like a monthly invoice for the work done this period. It is not. You record the total quantity done to date against each BOQ item, value it at the contract rate to get the up-to-date value, and the current bill is that running total less everything already billed in previous RA bills. So RA Bill 03 claims all the work done to date, then subtracts what RA Bills 01 and 02 already claimed, leaving only the new amount.
This running-account method is why the bill is called a running account bill. It keeps the claim always reconciled to the real, measured progress on site, and it means a measurement error in one bill self-corrects in the next, because every bill restates the full to-date position. Cornerstone AI does this arithmetic automatically from the measured quantities you enter against the BOQ.
The running account bill is a long-standing Indian public-works billing format. For the standard forms see CPWD (Central Public Works Department), and for the tax-invoice requirements on each bill see the GST portal. Content was rephrased for clarity.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Work done to date (measured) | Rs 52.0 L |
| Less billed in RA 01 + RA 02 | Rs 38.0 L |
| Gross this bill (RA 03) | Rs 14.0 L |
| Less retention 5 percent | Rs 0.7 L |
| Less advance recovery | Rs 1.0 L |
| Net claimed this bill | Rs 12.3 L |
Sample data shown for illustration. Rates, retention and recovery are configurable.
Running bill, final bill and GST tax invoice, explained
Three billing terms get used loosely on a site. Here is what each one is, so the right document is raised at the right time.
Running bill (RA bill)
An interim bill raised while the work is still in progress, claiming the cumulative measured work to date less the previous RA bills. A project usually has several, one every period or milestone, so the contractor is paid as the job moves.
Final bill
The last bill, raised at completion, that settles the full and final account. It accounts for all work done, adjusts any earlier measurement, releases the retention that is due, and closes the contract. There is one final bill per project.
GST tax invoice
The tax-compliant document that carries the GST, the HSN or SAC code and both GSTINs. Each RA bill and the final bill is issued as a GST tax invoice, so the client has a proper invoice and your returns reconcile cleanly.
One flow, the right document each time
In Cornerstone AI you do not keep these as separate systems. The same measured-progress flow raises each RA bill as a GST tax invoice during the project and the final bill at the end, with retention released on the final bill. The client always gets a compliant invoice, and your Tally books and GST returns stay in step without anyone re-typing a bill.
See the construction billing flow, step by step
Here is a real bill. RA Bill 03 on the “Marina Residency” villa in Chennai, from measured progress to a tracked receivable.
Enter the work done to date, the bill builds itself
The billing engineer records the cumulative quantity executed against each BOQ item: civil, finishing so far, and so on. The software values each at the contract rate, totals the up-to-date work at Rs 52 L, and subtracts the Rs 38 L already claimed in RA Bills 01 and 02. RA Bill 03 is a gross of Rs 14 L, built from measured progress, not a guess.
Retention, advance recovery, and a GST tax invoice
From the Rs 14 L gross, 5 percent retention of Rs 0.7 L is held for the client, and Rs 1 L of the mobilisation advance is recovered, leaving a net of Rs 12.3 L. The bill is issued as a GST tax invoice with the correct GST, HSN and GSTIN, so the client receives a compliant document and the figure flows straight to Tally and the GST return.
Billed is not collected, so track the receivable
The client pays Rs 10 L against the Rs 12.3 L net, so Rs 2.3 L stays as an open receivable on the project. Cornerstone AI tracks billed against collected, so the owner sees not just what was invoiced but what is actually in the bank and what is still owed. Set against job cost, the real margin on the villa is clear.
Just ask, and the GenAI chat reads your billing
Alongside the normal billing screens, the built-in GenAI assistant lets anyone ask about bills, collection and receivables in plain English. No ledger to open, no report to build.
| Billed (net) | Rs 50.3 L |
| Collected | Rs 48.0 L |
| Receivable | Rs 2.3 L open |
No ledger to open. Just type the question.
Every Cornerstone AI module can be run the normal way, with bills, invoices and a receivables screen. On top of that, the GenAI chat lets you ask about billing in plain language. Ask “what have we billed this project?”, “what is overdue?”, or “how much retention is held by clients” and the assistant reads your live billing data and answers in seconds, with a table when that helps.
That means an owner can watch cash coming in, from a phone, without opening a single ledger. They just ask. It is what makes Cornerstone AI usable by a whole team, not only the billing engineer.
The GenAI chat is a core Cornerstone AI capability, implemented within the application. Examples shown are illustrative of how it answers.
Modern construction billing software features
Everything a builder needs from construction billing software and RA bill software: bill the measured work, stay GST-compliant, and collect what you are owed.
RA bills from BOQ
Raise a running account bill from cumulative measured quantities against the BOQ.
GST tax invoice
Every bill is a GST-compliant tax invoice with HSN or SAC and both GSTINs.
Running-total maths
The cumulative-less-previous calculation is done for you, so bills never double-claim.
Retention held
Retention deducted on each bill and tracked for release at the agreed stage.
Advance recovery
Recover a mobilisation advance across bills until it is fully adjusted.
Final bill
Close the contract with a final bill that settles the account and releases retention.
Billed vs collected
Track what is invoiced against what is in the bank, with a clear receivable.
Receivable ageing
See which client bills are overdue and by how long, so you chase on time.
Tally export
Bills and receipts export to Tally, so the books stay current without re-keying.
Retention and advance recovery on an RA bill
The gross value of work done is rarely what the contractor is paid in a bill. Two standard deductions sit on almost every RA bill, and getting them right is what keeps the account clean to the final bill.
Retention, the client’s security
The client holds back a percentage of each RA bill, often 5 or 10 percent, as security that the work is sound. It is deducted from the gross of every bill and accumulates as a retained balance. Cornerstone AI tracks that balance across all bills, so at the agreed stage, usually the final bill or the end of the defect-liability period, the exact retention due for release is known and claimed, not forgotten.
Advance recovery, paying back the start
If the client paid a mobilisation advance at the start so the contractor could begin, that advance is recovered a slice at a time from each RA bill until it is fully adjusted. Cornerstone AI recovers the right amount on each bill automatically, so the advance is cleared on schedule and neither side has to track it on a separate sheet.
Net claimed, correct every time
Gross work done, less retention, less advance recovery, gives the net claimed on the bill. Done by hand across many bills and two deductions, this is where errors creep in and disputes start. Because the software carries the running retention and the advance balance, the net on every RA bill is right, and the account reconciles cleanly all the way to the final bill.
Billed is not collected, and the gap is your cash
The most dangerous habit in construction finance is treating a raised bill as money in the bank. It is not. The bill is a claim; the cash is what the client actually pays, and the gap between them is the receivable that decides whether a profitable job also has money to run on.
A profitable job can still run out of cash
A builder can be winning on margin and still unable to pay wages, because the client is slow and the receivable is large. Tracking billed against collected turns that risk from a vague worry into a number: this project has billed Rs 50 L, collected Rs 48 L, and Rs 2.3 L is open. The owner can chase the specific overdue bill, plan the week’s cash around what is really coming in, and stop assuming an invoice equals income.
Cornerstone AI keeps billed, collected and the open receivable live per client and project, with ageing that shows how late each bill is. The client relationship and the money owed sit together, so a reminder is a click, not a search through a ledger.
| Client / bill | Open | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Skyline RA-04 | Rs 4.5 L | 18 days |
| Marina RA-03 | Rs 2.3 L | 6 days |
| Lotus RA-02 | Rs 1.1 L | on time |
| Total billed | Rs 1.9 Cr | |
| Collected | Rs 1.82 Cr | |
Sample data shown for illustration. Figures and ageing buckets are configurable.
Sample: an RA bill, as the client receives it
This is what construction billing software should produce: a clean running account bill showing cumulative work against the BOQ, the previous bills deducted, retention, advance recovery and the net claimed.
| Line | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Work done to date | measured BOQ | Rs 52.0 L |
| Less RA 01 + RA 02 | previous bills | Rs 38.0 L |
| Gross this bill | RA 03 | Rs 14.0 L |
| Less retention 5% | held by client | Rs 0.7 L |
| Less advance recovery | mobilisation | Rs 1.0 L |
| Net claimed | plus GST | Rs 12.3 L |
Sample data shown for illustration. Rates, retention percent and advance terms are configurable.
Construction billing examples: everyday tasks
Common things billing and accounts teams do with client billing every day.
Enter work done to date
Record the cumulative quantity against each BOQ item and the bill builds.
Raise RA Bill 03
Claim the running total less the previous bills, no double-claiming.
Issue a tax invoice
Produce a GST-compliant invoice with HSN and GSTIN for the client.
Apply retention and recovery
Hold 5 percent retention and recover a slice of the advance automatically.
Record a part receipt
Log the payment and keep the open receivable on the project.
Find overdue receivables
Ask the GenAI chat which client bills are overdue and by how long.
See it live on your own billing
Book a free, no-obligation demo. We will raise an RA bill from measured BOQ progress on data shaped like yours, apply retention and advance recovery, issue it as a GST tax invoice, and show the billed-versus-collected receivable, so you can see billing that matches the work and the cash.
Construction billing software, explained for Indian builders
Bill the work, not a guess
When RA bills are made by hand, the quantity claimed drifts from the quantity built, because the person billing is working from memory or a stale measurement sheet. Over- or under-claiming both cause trouble: one invites a dispute, the other starves the contractor of cash. Construction billing software raises the bill from the measured progress against the BOQ, so the claim is the work, and the client has little to argue with because the numbers tie to the contract.
The running-account method prevents the common error
The single most common RA bill mistake is billing this period’s work instead of the cumulative total, which double-counts or misses quantities across bills. Because Cornerstone AI always claims the to-date total and subtracts the previous bills, that error cannot happen. A quantity corrected in a later bill self-adjusts, because each bill restates the full position. The account stays reconciled from RA 01 to the final bill without a manual tie-out.
GST done once, at the source
Billing is where a builder’s output GST is created, and getting it right at the invoice saves a reconciliation headache at return time. Because each bill is a proper GST tax invoice with HSN and GSTIN from the moment it is raised, the output tax is correct at the source and flows to Tally and the GST return without rework. The invoice the client holds and the figure in your return are the same number.
Collection is the half everyone forgets
Raising the bill feels like finishing the job, but the job is not done until the money is in. Builders who track only what they billed are flattered by a big invoice figure while their bank account tells a different story. By keeping billed against collected and ageing the receivable, Cornerstone AI makes the second half of billing, actually getting paid, as visible and as chased as the first. Cash stops being a monthly surprise.
Billing and cost, the two halves of margin
A project’s margin is simply what you billed the client less what the job cost you. When billing is the money-in side and job costing is the money-out side, both on the same project record, the margin is not a year-end calculation, it is a live number. The owner sees, per project, the gap between what has been billed and what has been spent, which is the truest early signal of a job’s health.
Billing inside the ERP, from BOQ to bank
A standalone billing or invoicing tool can print a GST invoice, but it does not know the job. It cannot pull the agreed BOQ rates, it cannot see the measured progress, it cannot carry the running retention and advance across bills, and it cannot tell billing apart from cost. So the RA bill is rebuilt by hand each period, the running account is reconciled on a spreadsheet, and the receivable lives in someone’s head.
In Cornerstone AI billing runs the length of the project. It draws the rates from the proposal and the agreement, bills measured progress as RA bills and a final bill, carries retention and advance across every bill, issues each as a GST tax invoice to Tally, tracks billed against collected, and sits opposite job cost to show margin. One record runs from the BOQ to the bank, which is what lets the GenAI chat answer “what have we billed, what is collected and what is overdue” with a real number instead of a guess.
How to choose construction billing software
When you compare construction billing software, look for RA bills raised from measured BOQ progress, the cumulative-less-previous running-account maths handled for you, retention and mobilisation-advance recovery carried across bills, a proper GST tax invoice on every bill, a final bill that closes the account, billed-versus-collected tracking with receivable ageing, and a clean Tally export. Most of all, look for billing that sits inside the project where the BOQ, the agreement and the cost already live, not a separate invoicing tool. Cornerstone AI does all of this inside a full construction ERP. Explore the proposal module the rates come from, the job costing module it sits opposite, or the Cornerstone AI overview.
Construction billing software FAQ
What is construction billing software?
What is an RA bill in construction?
How is an RA bill calculated?
What is the difference between a running bill and a final bill?
Does it produce GST tax invoices?
How does retention and advance recovery work on a bill?
Does it track billed versus collected?
Does billing connect to the BOQ and job cost?
How much does it cost in India?
Who builds and supports it?
Book a free construction billing demo
See Cornerstone AI raise an RA bill from measured BOQ progress, apply retention and advance recovery, issue a GST tax invoice, and track billed against collected. Then ask the GenAI chat what is overdue. No technical experience needed.
iStudio Technologies · No. 5, 1st Floor, Arcot Road, Valsaravakkam, Chennai – 600087 · +91-8807003902 · info@istudiotech.in
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