Close-out is where contractors leave the most money on the table. Based on CALIM's data across more than 50 projects, here are the most common close-out failures and how to prevent them.
Key takeaways
- Contractors typically leave 3% to 8% of contract value unrecovered at close-out - QAR 3 to 8 million on a QAR 100 million project.
- Retention is released in two stages, but many contractors miss the deadline to apply or accept delays without pushing back.
- A properly prepared final account captures every entitlement: variations, claims, daywork, provisional sum adjustments and cost escalation.
- Outstanding claims are often abandoned once notified, submitted or rejected, representing real money spent but never recovered.
The pattern is consistent: the project reaches substantial completion, the team demobilises, attention shifts to the next project, and close-out becomes an afterthought, leaving:
- Retention releases delayed.
- Final account submissions incomplete.
- Outstanding claims abandoned.
- Defects liability obligations managed reactively rather than proactively.
The financial impact is significant. In CALIM's experience, contractors routinely leave between 3% and 8% of contract value on the table during close-out. On a QAR 100 million project, that is QAR 3 to 8 million - money earned but never recovered.
Retention release is the most common failure. Most contracts provide for retention release in two stages - half at substantial completion, the balance at the end of the defects liability period. Many contractors miss the deadline to apply, or accept delays without pushing back.
Final account submission is the second failure. A properly prepared final account captures every entitlement - variations, claims, daywork, provisional sum adjustments and cost escalation - valued and documented to the contractual standard. A poorly prepared one leaves money behind.
Outstanding claims are the third failure, falling into one of three traps:
- Notified but never fully particularised.
- Submitted but never followed up.
- Rejected but never challenged.
At close-out, these abandoned entitlements represent real money that was spent but never recovered. Running each one through a claim readiness check is a quick way to see which are strong enough to revive and which are not.
At CALIM, we treat close-out as a commercial exercise, not an administrative one. We prepare final accounts that capture full entitlement, pursue retention releases on schedule, and resolve outstanding claims before the project team disperses and institutional memory is lost.
Tools and next steps for this topic
CALIM Contracts Desk
Contracts, Claims & Commercial Advisory
Reviewed for accuracy by CALIM's senior leadership: Dr. Varghese Koshy Panicker (Founder & CEO), Adv. Jayakumar Madapattu (Co-Founder & CLO), Tins Varghese (Co-Founder & CCSO).
This article is general information about construction contract practice, not legal advice. Entitlement, notice requirements and time bars turn on the specific wording of your contract and the governing law, which vary between projects and jurisdictions. Obtain advice tailored to your contract before acting on anything set out here.