● Free tool — no signup to calculate

When do you actually get your retention money back?

Enter your contract value, retention %, and practical completion date. We'll work out the exact release dates under standard UK defects liability terms — first moiety and final release.

Contract details

Fill in your contract details and the certificate appears here.
FIRST DUE
Certificate of Retention Due
RF-000000
Contract value
Retention held
Practical completion

Save these dates — we'll email you before each release is due.

Saved. We'll email you a reminder before release — and you'll be first to know when RetainFlow connects directly to Xero.
Why these dates

Two certificates, two release dates — not one.

01 · PRACTICAL COMPLETION

First moiety

Once the certificate of practical completion is issued, the first half of retention is typically due — this is where most subbies start chasing, and where most contractors go quiet.

02 · END OF DEFECTS LIABILITY PERIOD

Final release

The second half sits with the client through the defects liability period — usually 6 or 12 months — released once the certificate of making good defects is issued. This is the date that gets forgotten.

The problem

Retention doesn't show up on a statement. It just quietly disappears into a spreadsheet.

5%
typical retention held per contract in UK construction — real cash, sitting with the client for months
£65
what some subbies already pay per claim just to track and recover money that's rightfully theirs
0
native way to track retention by contract inside Xero today — it's still a manual spreadsheet