Achievement Certificate vs Extract for Contractors
What goes into an achievement certificate, how to record excavations and executed items, and how it differs from the extract, so claims rest on sound figures.
Quick answer
An achievement certificate records the work actually executed on one work order after it passes quality inspection: excavations with their dimensions, implementation items with quantities and prices, the materials balance and a total value. An extract is the payment claim that groups the certificate values of many orders under one contract, then applies fines and VAT. The certificate comes first; the extract starts from its total.
Key takeaways
- The achievement certificate proves what was executed on one work order, in quantities and prices, after quality approval.
- The extract groups the certificate values of many orders under one contract, then applies fines and VAT.
- Accuracy starts during execution: excavations with all three dimensions and items taken from the contract’s own list.
- The materials balance settles what must be returned or issued; checked against the items, it exposes quantities with no materials behind them.
- In ELX the certificate total is calculated automatically, later edits require permission, and it prints on your letterhead.
In this article
The achievement certificate is the hand-off between quality approval and billing. For each work order it records what was actually executed, in quantities and contract prices, and its total then flows into the extract that bills many orders at once. A late or inaccurate certificate holds up the whole extract or sends it back for review.
What is a work order achievement certificate?
An achievement certificate, also called a completion certificate in some contracts, is prepared for a single work order once execution is finished and the work has passed quality inspection. It captures what was actually executed: excavations by type and dimension, implementation items with quantities and contract prices, the position of materials issued and received, and a total value for the works.
This guide covers what the certificate needs to contain in practice, not an official form of any particular body; check your contract for the required format and signatories.
The core idea: the certificate turns “work done” into “value that can be claimed”. Before it, progress is a completion percentage and a value derived from the estimate. After it, the work order has a value calculated from executed quantities, and that is what billing relies on.
- Achievement certificate
- Executed work on one work order, with quantities, prices and a total.
- Extract
- A payment claim grouping the certificate values of many work orders under one contract, with fines and VAT applied.
- Implementation items
- The priced list of work in a contract; each contract keeps its own list and prices.
- Materials balance
- What was consumed on site (issued minus returns from site), compared per material with what was received from the utility, and what must be returned or issued so the two match.
When is it issued in the work order journey?
The certificate closes the operational path, and it is where the executed work gets its value. In the path ELX tracks for a utility work order, the stages are:
- Work order: order, subscriber, location and contract registered.
- Site survey (Kashfia): site inspected and permit need decided.
- Excavation permit: tracked when the work needs one.
- Projects or Connections: execution, with excavations, items and materials recorded.
- Quality: each evaluation item marked as matching or not matching.
- Achievement certificate: executed quantities and value confirmed.
- Drawing: drawing files uploaded.
- Extracts, then archive: payment claimed and the order closed.
Quality is the gate. Do not prepare the certificate before quality approval: any item rejected afterwards means recalculating quantities and value. A failed item sends the order back to execution until it is fixed and re-inspected. Some orders also pass through a Replay stage before quality, depending on the excavation types used. See quality inspection for utility work orders for that stage, and utility work order stages explained for the full path.
What data does the certificate contain?
Whatever the printed layout, a certificate needs a stable set of data to hold up under review:
| Section | What it contains | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Work order data | Order number, type, location, coordinates and contract | Ties the certificate to one order, so work is never counted twice |
| Contractor | The party that executed the works | Attributes the work when several contractors or crews are involved |
| Excavations | Excavation type, length, width, depth and total | Full dimensions let a reviewer recompute the quantity |
| Implementation items | Description, unit, quantity, price and total | The basis of the value: quantity × price |
| Materials balance | Consumed on site, received from the utility, and the difference to return or issue, per material | Settles the materials position before billing, so nothing is left open on the order |
| Total and signatures | Total cost of works and approval blocks | Turns the certificate into an approved document |
Keep the supporting evidence with it: site photos, quality results and the stock documents for materials issued. Reviewers check figures against evidence, not against other figures.
How do you capture excavation quantities and executed items accurately?
Many certificate problems start long before the certificate, during execution. A quantity not recorded on the day gets estimated later, and estimates invite disputes. A practical sequence:
Record excavations on the day
Log each excavation path with its excavation type, length, width and depth. All three dimensions, not just a total, let a reviewer recompute the figure.
Pick items from the contract list
Choose implementation items from the contract’s own list, with their unit and price. Free-text items tend to be rejected or repriced.
Link materials to items
Every material issued to site should have an executed item behind it. Predefined links between materials and items make a missing item or an excess quantity easy to spot.
Reconcile the materials balance
Compare net issued to site with net received from the utility and settle what must be returned or issued. See material reconciliation per work order.
Review, then move it on
Check excavations, items and the total against the quality notes, attach the supporting documents, then move the order on.
The three-dimension rule
Store length, width and depth for every excavation path, even if the contract prices trenching by length alone. Complete dimensions settle later questions about quantities and catch errors before the extract.
Achievement certificate vs extract: what is the difference?
The two are easy to confuse because both carry money. But the certificate proves the work, while the extract asks to be paid for it. Side by side:
| Aspect | Achievement certificate | Extract |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | One work order | Many work orders under one contract |
| Timing | After quality approval | After the certificates it covers are issued |
| Content | Excavations and items with quantities and prices, plus the materials balance | Certificate values, fines, net value, VAT and invoice total |
| Purpose | Prove what was executed and what it is worth | Claim payment for a batch of work |
| Reference numbers | Work order number | Extract number and PO number |
| What follows | The order moves on to drawing, then extracts | Once its approval date is entered, its orders are archived |
The extract usually starts from certificate values, then applies fines, VAT and any deductions the contract sets, so a certificate error travels into the extract unchanged. For the extract itself, read what a contractor extract (mustakhlas) is.
Why certificate accuracy matters for payment
A certificate does not set the payment date on its own, but it affects it. Under FIDIC 1999 conditions, the employer must pay the amount due under each Interim Payment Certificate within 56 days after the Engineer receives the contractor’s Statement and supporting documents (Sub-Clause 14.7). If payment is late, the contractor is entitled to financing charges on the unpaid amount (Sub-Clause 14.8).
A FIDIC Interim Payment Certificate is issued by the Engineer on the basis of the contractor’s Statement, so it is a different document from a work order achievement certificate, and these terms apply only where your contract adopts FIDIC. The practical point still holds: the payment clock depends on a statement that arrives complete, with its supporting documents.
If yours is a government contract under Saudi Arabia’s Government Tenders and Procurement Law, note that the version currently published by the Ministry of Finance allows a government agency to issue change orders that raise the contract value by no more than 10% or cut it by no more than 20%. When actual work departs from the contract, documented executed quantities per work order show where, and by how much. The Ministry announced Cabinet approval of a new law on 5 August 2026, and the announcement gives no effective date, so always check the terms that govern your contract.
Common mistakes that delay the certificate
The delay is rarely in the arithmetic; it is in the data before it. Common reasons a certificate is late or sent back:
- Quantities that do not match materials issued: an executed quantity no material issue supports, or materials issued with no item to match.
- Excavations without full dimensions: a length with no width or depth, or a total nobody can recompute.
- Items outside the contract list: free-text descriptions or prices that differ from the contract’s.
- Materials left open on site: unrecorded returns or unapproved issue requests.
- Unclosed quality notes: an item sent back with no evidence that it was fixed.
- Missing attachments: photos or reports the reviewer expects but cannot find.
- Orders piling up: orders wait for a certificate because nobody notices they are past their time limit.
Most of these come down to one habit: record the data when it happens, in one place tied to the work order.
See how a certificate total flows into the extract in ELX
In a demo, we show how ELX calculates the certificate total from quantities and prices, then brings it into the extract with the fine and VAT.
How ELX prepares and prints the certificate
ELX is a bilingual cloud (SaaS) service, hosted and operated by Matrix, that runs in the browser with no servers needed on the contractor’s side. It is built for electricity-network contractors in Saudi Arabia to carry each utility work order from registration to archive. The achievement certificate is its own stage in the extracts and achievement certificates module, after execution and quality and before drawing and extracts.
- Straight after quality: the order moves to the certificate once every evaluation item passes, and completion is raised to 100% (it is capped at 95% during execution).
- Data carried over from execution: executed excavations and implementation items with quantities and prices, plus the materials balance per material: actual quantity consumed on site, quantity received from the utility, and the difference to issue or return.
- Review and adjust: select the contractor, add notes and attachments, adjust excavations and items, add items from the catalogue, or refresh them from the links between materials and items.
- A calculated total: the certificate total (quantity × price) is calculated and stored for use in extracts.
- Controlled later edits: in the certificate section of the work order report, users with edit permission on certificates can change each item’s executed quantity, and the total is recalculated.
- Printed on your letterhead: work order number and type, site coordinates, an items table (description, unit, quantity, price, total) and the total cost of works, with signature blocks for the field supervisor, the contractor’s representative and the approving head of the executing department.
The materials figures come from the warehouse and materials module, where every receipt, issue and return is recorded against the same work order, so the balance appears on the certificate screen without side spreadsheets.
Like every stage, the certificate stage has its own time limit and relay mode. Orders reach it automatically or through a distribution basket, where a dispatcher assigns each one to a user, who gets a real-time in-app alert. When settings make delay justifications mandatory, an overdue order cannot be relayed without one, and the dashboard splits the stage’s orders into within the limit and late.
Maintenance and emergency orders follow a separate flow. Depending on settings, they can be relayed straight to the achievement certificate, and they have their own certificate list.
After the certificate and drawing, the extracts team picks a contract and a work description, and the system imports the orders that have achievement certificates, with their values. A fine is entered per order; net value, VAT at the rate set in settings and the invoice total are then calculated.
What ELX does not do
ELX prints the certificate in its own layout on your company letterhead; it is not an official form of the utility or of any other body. ELX does not submit certificates or extracts to the utility’s systems or to any government platform, and it does not issue e-invoices. For the e-invoicing rules themselves, see our e-invoicing guide for contractors.
Want to see how the certificate stage works in ELX? Request a demo and follow the path from quality to extract. If your contract calls for a different layout or other signatories, ask about customisation: Matrix tailors screens, reports and stages to each contractor’s needs.
Checklist before printing and relaying the certificate
- Every quality item passed, with no open notes.
- Every excavation path has its excavation type, length, width and depth.
- Every item comes from the contract list, with its unit and price.
- The materials balance is closed: no pending returns or issue requests.
- Executed quantities match the materials issued.
- The contractor is selected and supporting files are attached.
- The total has been reviewed before printing and signing.
With this list complete, the certificate is a document you can defend, and the extract becomes a sum of trusted figures.
Want to see ELX on your own projects?
Request a demo from our team on WhatsApp and see how work orders, extracts and warehouses run in one system.
Frequently asked questions
What is an achievement certificate in utility projects?
An achievement certificate is a document prepared for each work order after execution is finished and quality is approved. It records the work actually executed: excavations by type and dimension, implementation items with quantities and contract prices, the materials balance and the total value of the works. It is the basis for the payment claim that follows, so its quantities must be verifiable on site and on paper.
How is it different from an extract?
An achievement certificate covers a single work order and proves what was executed on it, in quantities and prices. An extract is a payment claim that groups the certificate values of many work orders under one contract, then applies fines and VAT to reach an invoice total. The certificate comes first, and any error in it carries straight into the extract.
How is the certificate value calculated?
The value is each item’s executed quantity multiplied by its contract price, summed across all items. In ELX the system calculates this total automatically and stores it, so the extracts team imports it later instead of retyping it. The accuracy of the value therefore depends on the quantities recorded during execution and on the prices in the contract list.
Can certificate quantities be adjusted after preparation?
Yes. In ELX this needs a specific permission. In the certificate section of the work order report, a user with edit permission on certificates can change each item’s executed quantity, and the system recalculates the total automatically. The edit controls are hidden from users without that permission, so changes stay with the people you authorise.
Who signs the printed certificate?
The required signatories vary by contract, so check its terms. The certificate ELX prints has signature blocks for the field supervisor and the contractor’s representative, plus an approval block for the head of the executing department. It prints on your company letterhead with the work order number and type, site coordinates, the items table and the total cost of works. It uses ELX’s layout with your letterhead, not an official form of any body.
How can I see which work orders are waiting for a certificate?
In ELX the certificate stage has its own list of incoming orders, with orders past their time limit marked in a different colour. The dashboard shows each stage’s orders split into within the time limit and late, and clicking the late slice lists those orders and the user holding each one, so you can see where work is stuck and who has it.