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How-to · Commercials

Work the claim line by line, then certify it.

Raise the month's claim, set what you are prepared to pay against each trade, compare it with what the vendor asked for, and certify. Charlo carries the subtotals, the retention and the GST, so the only judgement you make is on the lines themselves.

Five stage journey Subtotals derived, never typed Certifying freezes the sheet
ProjectCharlo CPS
TitleAssess a progress claim
Contactai@charlo.com.au
RevB
StatusIssued for use
Sheet1 of 1
Section 01 · The idea

Every claim walks the same five stages.

Raise it, attach the files, assess it, certify it, issue the certificate. The strip across the top of the workspace shows where this month's claim has got to. Before you start you need a Claim schedule commitment with its schedule of values behind it, which is guide 09.

·The claim journey

One commitment, one workspace, one strip.

  • Raise. Open a draft claim for a period, such as 2026-08.
  • Claim files. Optional supporting files, such as the vendor's claim.
  • Assess. Set what you certify against each line.
  • Certify. Applies retention and GST and settles the claim.
  • Certificate. Issue it from a template.
Under the stripThe Commitment summary and the ledger. Adjusted contract sum, certified to date, retention held and released, balance to complete, then a row per claim.
FIG 01The claims workspace for PO-1004 Hydraulic services package with the five stage journey strip ringed in orange and labelled Where this claim is up to, above the commitment summary and a ledger holding one draft claim
The journey strip. The ledger below carries this month's draft.

·The claim schedule position

Where the money sits on every line, right now.

  • Click the Contract bar in the workspace to expand it.
  • Contract value, certified to date, this claim, cost to complete, % complete, per line.
  • Parents are subtotals. Charlo derives them from the lines beneath, so they cannot be typed on.
  • Total is pinned at the bottom and has to equal the adjusted contract sum.
  • Manage claim schedule and Open claim assessment sit above the table.
Read this firstBefore you assess anything, this table tells you what has already been paid on each trade. That is the number the vendor is claiming on top of.
FIG 02The expanded Contract section showing the claim schedule position for PO-1004, with a Wet areas subtotal over its two child lines, External works and Testing and commissioning, and a pinned Total row of $265,000.00
Wet areas is $175,000 because its children add to that, not because anyone typed it.
Section 02 · Walkthrough

Raise it, assess it, certify it.

All of it happens under Commercials, on Cost control, then Claims. Nothing is settled until you certify, so work the sheet as often as you need.

01Open the commitment

The Claims tab is a card per commitment.

  • Open Commercials, pick the project, go to Cost control then Claims.
  • Each card shows the vendor, the adjusted contract sum, certified to date and a progress bar.
  • The badge says how it claims: Claim schedule or Base fee.
  • Click the card to open its claims workspace.
FilterThe All vendors dropdown narrows the cards when a project carries a lot of packages. Import an unallocated claim underneath takes in a claim PDF that has no commitment yet.
FIG 03The Claims sub-tab showing three commitment cards, PO-1001 and PO-1002 with Base fee badges and PO-1004 with a Claim schedule badge ringed in orange, each listing vendor, adjusted contract sum, certified to date and a percent complete bar
Three packages on one project. The badge tells you how each one claims.

02Raise the month's claim

Drop the vendor's PDF, or enter it yourself.

  • Click Raise claim, top right of the workspace.
  • Drop PDF here hands the vendor's claim to Charlo, which reads the details out of it. The read carries on in Task Centre if you close the review.
  • Enter manually is the guided form when you already know the claim.
  • Either way, confirm the Claim period, such as 2026-08, and click Raise claim. The claim lands as a draft and the assessment sheet opens.
One open draftA commitment carries one draft claim at a time. Certify it, or delete it, before the next one can be raised.
FIG 04The Raise a claim wizard asking How do you want to start, with a Drop PDF here or click to browse zone and an Enter manually option
Charlo reads the vendor's PDF, or you type the claim in yourself.

03Read the assessment sheet

The claim schedule, turned into a working sheet.

  • Raising the claim opened it. To come back later, click Open claim assessment in the Contract bar, or the 3 dot on the strip.
  • The header carries the adjusted contract sum, previously certified, the draft certified amount and the draft remaining to complete.
  • Parent rows are derived, with a caret to fold them away and greyed cells you cannot type on.
  • Bottom lines have boxes: this payment, this payment %.
Two ways to enterType dollars in This payment, or a percentage in This payment %. Either one drives the other.
Retention by lineLine retention overrides in the header opens per-line retention boxes, there for splitting retention by trade. Most of the time you leave it alone: the retention actually held comes from the commitment's Claim setup and is worked out when you certify.
FIG 05The assessment sheet for Claim 1, 2026-08, listing a Wet areas parent row with greyed derived cells above Ground floor wet areas, Level 1 wet areas, External works and Testing and commissioning bottom lines carrying editable This payment and This payment percent boxes, with a pinned Total row and Cancel, Download JSON, Save assessment and Certify buttons
Five lines. Only the four bottom lines can be typed on.

04Work down the bottom lines

Charlo does the adding up while you type.

  • Set the amount you are prepared to certify on each bottom line.
  • The parent above it moves as you type, and so does the total.
  • Cost to complete updates on every row, so overclaiming shows itself.
  • Remove and + Add line item change this claim's sheet only. Neither rewrites the commitment's claim schedule.
  • Save assessment keeps the work without certifying.
Show your workingThe small = button beside a derived figure explains how Charlo arrived at it.
FIG 06The assessment sheet with amounts typed into three bottom lines and the Wet areas parent's This payment cell ringed in orange and labelled Adds up as you type, now reading $60,000.00, with the pinned Total updated to $75,000.00
Bottom lines typed. The parent and the total follow instantly.

05Compare it with the vendor's claim

Their figures beside yours, with the gap called out.

  • Click Vendor comparison in the sheet's header. The vendor block appears and the sheet scrolls wide.
  • Vendor's claim is their cumulative claim. Vendor's previous is what they had claimed before this one. Vendor's amount is what they are asking for this claim.
  • Assessment less vendor shows in red where you are certifying less than they asked for.
  • Click the pill again to hide the block.
Where the numbers come fromDrop the vendor's PDF when you raise the claim and the AI read fills the block in. Otherwise type the figures yourself, because Vendor's amount is an editable box on every bottom line.
FIG 07The assessment sheet with the Vendor comparison pill ringed in orange, showing Vendor's claim, Vendor's previous and Vendor's amount columns and red Assessment less vendor figures totalling minus $10,000.00
The vendor asked for $85,000. This assessment certifies $75,000.

06Certify, and what that locks

The point where the claim stops being a working document.

  • Click Certify when every line reads correctly.
  • A confirmation names the figure: Certify $75,000.00 ex GST. Retention will be calculated from Claim setup, then GST and the payable total will be frozen. Click Certify claim.
  • Charlo works out retention held, GST, amount due this certificate and total payable, and freezes them in the sheet's header.
  • The sheet turns read only with a Certified chip, and Issue certificate lights up on the ledger row.
If you got it wrongThe ⋮ menu on the ledger row offers Reopen, which puts a certified claim back into draft. That is the way back, so use it before the certificate goes out, not after.
NextGuide 11, Set up a claim certificate, takes this certified claim and turns it into the document you send.
FIG 08The read-only assessment sheet for the certified Claim 1, 2026-08, with its header block ringed in orange showing certified this claim $75,000.00, retention held $7,500.00, GST $7,500.00, amount due this certificate $67,500.00 and total payable $75,000.00
A certified claim. Read only, with the money worked out and frozen.
Section 03 · More help

Ask Dylan any time.

WhereThe Help button sits in the bottom-left corner of Charlo CPS. It opens Dylan, Charlo's help assistant: ask a question in plain words and Dylan answers from the how-to guides. The Library button in the panel opens the whole How-To Library.
Before thisSet up a trade breakdown claim: the vendor, the commitment and the claim schedule.
After thisSet up a claim certificate: turning the certified claim into the document you send.
AskStuck on your own claim? Send a real example to ai@charlo.com.au.