GCC Payment Certificate: Process, Timelines and Retention

On a public civil contract, cash only moves when a signed payment certificate does. Under the SAICE General Conditions of Contract (GCC), every month follows the same chain: your statement, the engineer’s check, the certificate and then payment. A weak link anywhere in that chain costs you weeks of cash, often on a contract where the client already pays slowly.

This guide explains how a GCC payment certificate works under GCC 2015, the edition that still governs most live civil contracts. It covers who does what, the time limits for certifying and paying, what goes on the certificate, how retention is held and released, and what you can do when payment is late. It is a working guide for contracts managers, quantity surveyors (QSs) and site agents, not legal advice. Your contract data and any special conditions always come first.

What Is a GCC Payment Certificate?

A GCC payment certificate is the document in which the Employer’s Agent certifies the amount due to the contractor for the work done to date. Under GCC 2015, you submit a monthly statement. The Employer’s Agent checks it and certifies what is due under clause 6.10.1. The employer then pays against that signed certificate.

The Employer’s Agent is the person named in the contract data to act for the employer. On civil work this is usually the consulting engineer, and a resident engineer often acts for them on site. In everyday speech, most people still call it “the engineer’s certificate”.

Certificates are cumulative. Each one values everything done to date, then deducts retention and the amounts already certified. The difference is this month’s payment. If last month was valued too high or too low, this month corrects it. GCC 2015 also lets the Employer’s Agent correct a previous certificate in a later one.

Who Does What in the Monthly Cycle?

Three parties touch every certificate: the contractor prepares the claim, the Employer’s Agent checks and certifies it, and the employer pays it. Delays usually come from missing evidence at the first step, not from the arithmetic. Knowing each party’s job helps you send a statement that gets certified first time.

Step	Who	What happens	GCC 2015 link
1. Measurement	Contractor and Employer’s Agent	Work done is measured, often jointly, and agreed	Clause 6.7
2. Monthly statement	Contractor	Statement of the amount you consider due, with supporting measurement	Clause 6.10.1
3. Certification	Employer’s Agent	Checks the statement and certifies the amount due	Clauses 6.10.1 and 6.10.4
4. Tax invoice	Contractor	Invoice for the certified amount, where the law requires one	Clause 6.10.4
5. Payment	Employer	Pays the certified amount	Clause 6.10.4
6. Disagreement	Either party	Dissatisfaction is handled through the claims and disputes procedure	Clause 10

On remeasured work, step 1 decides most of the value. Our guide to remeasurement by chainage explains how measured quantities are agreed before they reach the certificate.

How Long Do the Engineer and the Employer Have?

Under the standard GCC 2015 wording, the Employer’s Agent must deliver the payment certificate within 7 days of receiving your statement, and the employer must pay within 28 days of receiving the signed certificate. Payment also depends on a valid tax invoice where the law requires one. Your contract data can change these periods, so check it.

So, on the standard wording, the money should arrive about five weeks after you deliver your statement. Two details often stretch that in practice:

Special Non-Working Days. SAICE’s own GCC 2015 corrections and FAQ points out that, by default, Special Non-Working Days (such as public holidays and the builders’ break) are left out of time calculations. It recommends that the contract data say the 28 days for payment include them. If your contract does not say so, the December break can push a payment date well into January.
The receipt date. The 28 days run from the employer’s receipt of the signed certificate. If nobody records that date, nobody can prove when payment fell due.

Record four dates for every certificate. The day you delivered your statement, the day the Employer’s Agent signed, the day the employer received the certificate and the day the money arrived. Without them, an interest claim becomes an argument instead of a calculation.

What Goes on a GCC 2015 Certificate?

A GCC 2015 certificate builds up the value of work to date, adds adjustments, takes off retention and previous payments, then adds VAT. Clause 6.10.1 lists what the Employer’s Agent takes into account, including penalties under clause 5.13 where they apply. Every line needs a document behind it, or it will be taken out.

Line	What it covers	Evidence the engineer wants
Work done to date	Measured permanent and temporary works at bill rates	Agreed measurement by chainage or section
Variations	Changes ordered under clause 6.3, valued under clause 6.4	The variation order and its valuation
Contract price adjustment	Price adjustment under clause 6.8, where the contract data provides for it	The formula, weightings and indices in the contract data
Materials on site	Materials not yet built in, valued under clause 6.10.2	Invoices or receipts, and proof they are on site
Less retention	Retention at the rate and up to the limit in the contract data	Clause 6.10.3 and the contract data
Less previous certificates	Amounts already certified	Your certificate register
Penalties	Penalties for late completion, where they apply	Clause 5.13
VAT	VAT on the amount due	A valid tax invoice

Our guide to GCC 2015 vs GCC 2025 payment certificates works through a full certificate in rand and shows what changes under the new edition.

How Does Retention Work Under GCC 2015?

Retention is a share of each certificate the employer holds back as security, at the rate and up to the limit set in the contract data. Under clause 6.10.5 of GCC 2015, half is released on the Certificate of Completion. The other half is paid within 14 days after the Defects Liability Period ends.

The employer may hold back the cost of defect work still outstanding. If the contract has no Defects Liability Period, the full retention is paid on the Final Approval Certificate.

An example makes the cash effect clear. Say the contract data sets a limit and your retention has reached R2,400,000 by the end of the works:

Release point	Share	Amount (illustrative)
Certificate of Completion	Half of retention held	R1,200,000
14 days after the Defects Liability Period ends	The other half, less any outstanding defect work	R1,200,000
Total released		R2,400,000

Two errors are common. The first is to keep deducting retention after the limit is reached. The second is to forget the second release. On a long public contract, retention that nobody tracks is often paid late, or not at all. Diarise the end of the Defects Liability Period on the day you get the Certificate of Completion.

Still building certificates and retention schedules in spreadsheets? Sakha keeps measurement and progress, payment certificates and contract admin, and project documents in one cloud software built for South African civil contractors: see a product demo.

What Can You Do When Payment Is Late?

GCC 2015 gives you interest on late payment and, in the end, a right to terminate if the employer fails to pay a certified amount. Under clause 6.10.6, overdue amounts carry interest at the prime overdraft rate charged by your bank, compounded monthly. The employer may set off amounts it is owed, but must give written notice with reasons.

Take these steps in order:

Check the due date. Work from the receipt date of the signed certificate and the period in your contract data.
Send a written reminder as soon as the date passes. Keep it factual: certificate number, amount, due date.
Calculate interest from your bank’s prime overdraft rate, compounded monthly, and add it to a later statement.
Know your termination right. Under clause 9.3 of GCC 2015, if the employer fails to pay an amount due under a payment certificate, you may give written notice to remedy it. If it is not remedied within 14 days, the contract sets out your right to terminate. Termination is a serious step. Follow every notice step exactly and take legal advice first.

GCC 2025 changes this area. It gives clearer rights to suspend or terminate for non-payment, so check which edition governs each contract before you act.

What If You Disagree With the Certificate?

If the Employer’s Agent cuts lines from your statement, treat it as a records problem first and a dispute second. Most cuts happen because evidence was missing: a measurement that was not agreed, or a variation without a written order. Fix the evidence and claim the amount again on the next statement, since certificates are cumulative.

If the cut is a real disagreement, GCC 2015 sends any dissatisfaction with a certificate through the claims and disputes procedure in clause 10. That procedure has its own notice periods. Diarise them on the day the certificate arrives, not when you decide to fight it.

Keep a simple register of every line the engineer reduced, why, and what you did about it. Patterns show up fast. If the same type of item is cut every month, the problem is how your team records it on site.

How Does the Final Payment Certificate Work?

The final payment certificate closes the money on the contract, so every open item must be settled or claimed before it is issued. GCC 2015 deals with it in clause 6.10.9. After the Certificate of Completion, the Employer’s Agent can ask you for further information under clause 6.10.8 to prepare the final account.

Before the final account, check that:

every variation is valued and agreed, or formally claimed;
the final measured quantities are agreed for every bill item;
contract price adjustment is applied up to the last valuation;
penalties, if any, are correct;
retention released matches retention held.

The final value also matters beyond this contract. The cidb uses completed contract values and payment certificates as track record. Our guide to CIDB CE grading for civil contractors explains how that evidence supports your next grade.

How Do You Keep Certificates Clean Every Month?

Clean certificates come from a live record kept as the work happens, not a spreadsheet rebuilt at month end. The certificate is only the last step of a chain that starts with measurement on site and written instructions for every change. If those are current, the certificate almost writes itself.

A monthly routine that works:

Agree measurement with the resident engineer before the work is covered up.
Never act on an oral instruction without confirming it in writing the same day.
Carry last month’s cumulative figures forward. Do not retype them.
Check retention against its limit and advance recovery against the amount advanced, where the contract has one.
Record the four certificate dates.

Civil construction management software such as Sakha links measurement, variations and certificates in one record, so the cumulative figures carry forward and the dates are captured as they happen. Check each step against the official SAICE GCC 2015 document and your contract data.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a GCC payment certificate?

It is the document in which the Employer’s Agent certifies the amount due to the contractor under the SAICE General Conditions of Contract. Under GCC 2015, it follows the contractor’s monthly statement under clause 6.10.1. The employer pays against the signed certificate.

How long does the employer have to pay under GCC 2015?

Under the standard wording of clause 6.10.4, the employer pays within 28 days of receiving the payment certificate signed by the Employer’s Agent. A valid tax invoice is needed where the law requires one. Check your contract data for any change to this period.

How long does the engineer have to issue the certificate?

Under the standard GCC 2015 wording, the Employer’s Agent delivers the certificate within 7 days of receiving the contractor’s statement. Contract data can change this, so check each contract.

When is retention released under GCC 2015?

Half is released on the Certificate of Completion. The other half is paid within 14 days after the Defects Liability Period ends, less the cost of any outstanding defect work. With no Defects Liability Period, the full amount is paid on the Final Approval Certificate.

What interest applies when a GCC 2015 payment is late?

Clause 6.10.6 provides for interest at the prime overdraft rate charged by the contractor’s bank, compounded monthly. GCC 2025 changes the late payment rules, so check which edition your contract uses.

The Bottom Line

A GCC payment certificate is a monthly chain: measurement, statement, certificate, invoice and payment. Each link has an owner and, under GCC 2015, a time limit. Know the 7-day and 28-day periods and record the dates that start them. Track retention to its limit and to both release points. Use interest and notice rights when payment is late, and follow the steps exactly. Above all, back every line with evidence made on the day the work was done. That is what turns a certificate into cash on time.

Related guides: