---
title: "Progress Payments on a Commercial Build: How Payment Claims Work"
description: "On most commercial builds, you pay as the work progresses rather than all at the end. That keeps the project funded and moving, and it’s governed by a specific law: the Construction Contracts Act 2002. Knowing how it works means…"
url: "https://steelspan.co.nz/advice/progress-payments-on-a-commercial-build-how-payment-claims-work/"
updated: "2026-11-09"
category: "Kitset & Build Process"
---

# Progress Payments on a Commercial Build: How Payment Claims Work

On most commercial builds, you pay as the work progresses rather than all at the end. That keeps the project funded and moving, and it’s governed by a specific law: the Construction Contracts Act 2002. Knowing how it works means no surprises when an invoice arrives, and no accidental disputes.

*This post is a general guide, not legal advice.*

## Payment claims

A payment claim is a request for payment for work done. To be valid under the Act, it must:

- be in writing
- identify the contract, the work and the period it covers
- state the amount claimed and the due date
- show how the amount was calculated
- say it is made under the Construction Contracts Act 2002
- come with the prescribed information sheet explaining how to respond and what happens if you don’t

## Payment schedules: how to dispute a claim

If you don’t agree with a claim, you respond with a **payment schedule**. It must be in writing, identify the claim and state the amount you’ll pay (the scheduled amount, which can be $0). If that’s less than the claim, you must explain how you worked it out and why.

Under Steelspan’s terms, a payment schedule must reach us within 5 working days of the claim, and payment is due 5 working days after the claim.

## What happens if you don’t respond

If you don’t provide a payment schedule in time and don’t pay, the claimed amount becomes due. The contractor can then:

- recover the full amount as a debt through the courts
- refer the matter to adjudication
- suspend work under the Act

In other words, ignoring a claim is the one response that guarantees you’ll owe all of it.

## Why progress payments help you too

- Work keeps moving, because subcontractors and suppliers are paid on time.
- You pay for what has actually been done, claim by claim.
- Problems surface early, at the next claim, rather than in one big argument at the end.

## How Steelspan invoices

Our payment terms are set out in the construction contract (a small works contract or NZS 3915) and in our published terms. Every invoice comes with a payment claim sheet as the Act requires. If anything on a claim looks wrong, tell us straight away, in a payment schedule, and we’ll sort it out. Prompt payment throughout a project shows it’s a genuine partnership, with both sides honouring their part: we get the job done, and the payments come in. As a family business, keeping on top of that is important to us.

## Talk to Steelspan

Questions about how payments work on your project? Ask before you sign. Call 0800 787 726 or email info@steelspan.co.nz.