---
title: "Retainage"
description: "Retainage — A part of each progress billing that the buyer withholds, by contract, until the work is complete. The buyer owes it from the day the work is billed, so it stays a liability, shown apart from amounts currently due."
canonical: "https://lopifi.com/glossary/retainage"
---

# Retainage

> Retainage — A part of each progress billing that the buyer withholds, by contract, until the work is complete. The buyer owes it from the day the work is billed, so it stays a liability, shown apart from amounts currently due.

Source: https://lopifi.com/glossary/retainage
Part of: Lopifi — Planned: US GAAP books on autopilot, checked by a CPA (https://lopifi.com)

---

**What is retainage?** In accounting, retainage means a part of each progress billing that the buyer withholds, by contract, until the work is complete. The buyer owes it from the day the work is billed, so it stays a liability, shown apart from amounts currently due.

## Words this system refuses for it

- deposit
- holdback in UI copy
- accrual

- **Category:** Payables
- **Specified in:** [Lexicon](https://lopifi.com/md/docs/domain/lexicon)
- **Related:** liability