Quick start

The fastest path from a fresh Retainage install to seeing a retention withholding hit the ledger on a real invoice.

The happiest path

1. Install Retainage from the SuiteApp Control Centre. Code Library installs as a dependency if it isn't already in place.
2. Create a Retainage Configuration record for your subsidiary. Set the four required general-ledger accounts (Retention Debit, Retention Credit, Bill Debit, Bill Credit) and the Retention Claim Receivable Item. In single-subsidiary accounts select Parent as the subsidiary.
3. Set a default retention rate at the project level — open the project, locate the Invoice Retainage % field on the Retainage subtab, and enter a value (for example, 10%).
4. Save an invoice on the project. On save, the system posts a companion Retainage Withheld journal that moves the retained amount from accounts receivable to the balance-sheet retention account configured on your subsidiary's record.
5. Open the project's Retainage subtab to see the new withholding row, the running balance, and the link back to the source invoice.

That's the capture half of the cycle. The release half — issuing a retention claim — is covered in Issue a retainage claim.

Walkthrough

What success looks like

• The Retainage subtab on your project shows a non-zero Invoice Amount Retained.
• The Retainage Withheld journal lists the new entry, debiting the Retention Debit account and crediting the Retention Credit account.
• The original invoice's accounts receivable balance has been reduced by the retained amount — only the non-retained portion is outstanding for settlement.

Common stumbling blocks

• Save fails with a posting error. Almost always a missing Configuration record for the invoice's subsidiary, or a wrong account selected. Open the Configuration record and confirm each account belongs to the same subsidiary as the invoice.
• No retention is calculated on save. Check that the project's Invoice Retainage % is set and not zero. If you've enabled retention tiers on the project, the flat percentage is ignored — see Set up retainage on a contract.
• The withholding journal does not appear. The journal posts asynchronously on save via a user-event script. Refresh the project's Retainage subtab. If it still doesn't show up after a minute, check that the project has at least one Project record link on the invoice (Retainage uses the project to attribute the withholding).

Next steps

• Install & configure — full configuration walkthrough including tax retention and OneWorld
• Set up retainage on a contract — vendor- and project-level default rates, caps, and tiered matrices