What is a progress claim?
A progress claim is your builder's request for payment. It states what has been built since the start of the works and how much he is asking you for it. On a well run building site, every payment matches a written progress claim.
Think of it as an invoice for progress. It is always read next to the signed quote, because each line of the claim repeats a line of the quote. If you have not signed yet, start by reading your builder's quote properly: everything else rests on it.
How builders ask for money in Senegal
In practice, the request rarely arrives as a tidy document. Most often it takes one of these forms:
- A WhatsApp message or voice note: « The walls are done, send the next payment. »
- A request by stage: foundations, walls, slab, roof, finishes
- A request as a percentage: « We are at 60 %, send 60 % of the quote. »
- An advance to buy cement or steel, or to pay the workers
None of these is dishonest in itself. The problem is that they do not say what has been built. An overall percentage cannot be checked. « The walls are done » does not say how many square metres are up, or whether some sections are still missing. Only a request that details quantities can be checked.
So ask your builder, from the contract onwards, for a written claim with every payment request. A simple sheet or a photographed table is enough, as long as the lines are there.
What a progress claim should contain
A clear claim fits on one page. For each line of the quote concerned, it shows:
- The line of the quote, for example « blockwork walls », with its unit price
- The quantity built to date: in square metres, cubic metres, metres or units
- The cumulative amount: the quantity built since the start, multiplied by the unit price in the quote
- What has already been paid: the total of your previous payments, advances included
- The retention, if your contract provides for one: a sum kept until the end of the works, as a guarantee for the finishes and the snagging list
- The amount requested: the cumulative amount, minus what is already paid, minus the retention
The key word is « cumulative ». A good claim always starts again from the beginning of the works and adds up everything done. Everything already paid is then taken off. That way, a mistake in an earlier claim is corrected in the next one, instead of piling up.
Checking a progress claim, line by line
Checking a claim does not mean judging whether the site is « going well ». It means redoing one simple calculation for each line:
Amount justified = quantity really built on site × unit price in the signed quote
The quantity comes from the site, not from the message. It has to be measured: the length and height of the walls built, the number of columns cast, the area of slab poured, not just formed. The unit price comes from the signed quote, not from a new price announced on the phone. If the builder wants to change a price, that is a separate discussion, to be settled in writing before the work.
Dated, located photos
A photo sent on WhatsApp says neither where nor when it was taken. It may come from another site, or from three months ago. To count as proof, a photo must be dated, located on your plot and taken from several angles, with a landmark you recognise: a corner of a wall, the gate, the neighbour's house.
What to set aside: « not to be paid now »
When a line in the claim is not built, or not finished, its amount goes into a separate column: « not to be paid now ». This is not a refusal. It is a postponement: the sum will be due once the work is done and seen on site. It protects both sides. You do not advance money for work that does not exist yet, and your builder knows exactly what is left to do to get paid.
Some typical items to set aside: a slab formed but not poured, walls built without their ring beam, materials delivered but not yet installed, extra work never agreed in writing. On that last point, read our guide on extra work.
Advance or work done: keep them apart
Many builders ask for an advance at the start, to set up the site and buy the first materials. It can be discussed. But an advance is not a payment for work: it is money sent before anything is built. So it must be recovered, that is deducted, from the following claims.
The trap: the advance is forgotten in the calculation, and the claim asks for the full amount of the walls as if nothing had been sent. That is why the « already paid » line must include all your advances. Keep a record of every transfer: Wave, Orange Money, bank transfer or signed receipt.
The safest approach is still paying by built stages, each instalment linked to a stage that can be seen on site. We explain it in detail in our guide to paying for your build in stages.
Example: a progress claim checked
Example, with round figures to show the method. The builder sends his second claim. He asks for 5,500,000 FCFA. On site, every line is measured.
Example of claim no. 2
- Blockwork walls, 10,000 FCFA per m² in the quote. Requested: 400 m², so 4,000,000 FCFA. Measured: 320 m² built. Justified: 3,200,000 FCFA. Not to be paid now: 800,000 FCFA, for 80 m² not yet built on the courtyard side.
- Columns, 50,000 FCFA each in the quote. Requested: 40 columns, so 2,000,000 FCFA. Counted: 40 columns cast. Justified: 2,000,000 FCFA.
- Slab, 20,000 FCFA per m² in the quote for 150 m². Requested: half, so 1,500,000 FCFA. Seen on site: formwork in place, steel being fixed, concrete not poured. Justified: 0 FCFA. Not to be paid now: 1,500,000 FCFA.
- Cumulative: requested 7,500,000 FCFA, justified 5,200,000 FCFA. Already paid, advance included: 2,000,000 FCFA.
- Amount justified by the work observed: 5,200,000 minus 2,000,000, so 3,200,000 FCFA. Not to be paid now: 2,300,000 FCFA.
In this example, the builder loses nothing. The 2,300,000 FCFA set aside will be justified once the courtyard walls are built and the slab poured. On your side, the money you send matches what is built.
How SEETLU checks your payment request
You send us your builder's claim, or simply his WhatsApp message, with the signed quote. Then:
- A SEETLU technician visits your site, on a date agreed with you
- He measures what is built for each line requested: areas, volumes, units
- He takes dated, geolocated photos sealed in the SEETLU app: they cannot be retouched without it showing
- The report arrives within 24 hours of the visit, in your client area
- It gives, line by line, the amount justified by the work observed and what is not to be paid now
You then decide, report in hand, and you can share it as it is with your builder. You pay your builder directly: your money never goes through SEETLU. We do not build and we do not hire the workers. Your builder runs the works; SEETLU represents you.
See what a report looks like in our example of a site monitoring report. To have someone on your side from choosing the builder to the final account, read about the role of the client side quantity surveyor and the client side project manager.
How much does checking a payment request cost?
It is included in the Comfort (99,000 FCFA per month) and Premium (300,000 FCFA per month) site monitoring plans. With the Essential plan (39,000 FCFA per month), each payment request checked costs 35,000 FCFA. Plan prices apply up to 100 m², then per m². For a quote not yet signed, see our quote check.
Frequently asked questions
My builder asks for a payment without any written document. What should I do?
Ask him for a simple claim: the lines of the quote concerned, the quantity done for each and the amount. A handwritten table, photographed, is enough. We can also work from his message and the signed quote: the SEETLU technician measures on site what is built for each line.
What is the difference between a progress claim and the final account?
A progress claim asks for payment for part of the works, adding up everything done since the start. The final account settles the works once everything is finished, with the agreed extra work and any retention. See our guide to the final account.
What does « not to be paid now » mean in the report?
It is the part of the request that does not yet match work seen on site: a line not started, not finished, or extra work without a written agreement. It is not a refusal. That amount will be justified once the work is done and seen at a later visit.
When does the report arrive?
The date of the visit is agreed with you when you send the request. The report arrives within 24 hours of the visit, in your client area, with the sealed photos.
Does the building money go through SEETLU?
No. You pay your builder directly: your money never goes through SEETLU. We do not receive, hold or block any sum. We tell you what is built and the amount justified by the work observed.
Is your builder asking you for a payment?
Send us his request and the quote on WhatsApp. A SEETLU technician visits your site, and the report gives you the amount justified by the work observed. Included in the Comfort and Premium plans, 35,000 FCFA per request with the Essential plan.
Read also: reading a building quote · extra work · paying for your build in stages · all our guides
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