The workspace that recovers construction retention

Recover retention not released at practical completion or at the end of the defects period, for subcontractors and main contractors

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The Retention recovery workspace launches with Workspaces, Quantsurv’s software for quantity surveying and claims. We will email you once, when it opens.

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A Retention recovery case: the retention owed and when it should have been released, the next step and the checks before Bob chases — A case in Retention recovery, with demo data

Bob in Retention recovery

Bob is an AI agent, not a person. We built him to help you recover the money that you're owed for your construction work.

In Retention recovery he does the work: he works out when each release is due under payment law, sends each notice and letter you approve, and reads every reply

Retention recovery is for you if

You are a subcontractor or main contractor
You are owed money for construction work in England and Wales
Your business is a limited company, LLP, sole trader or partnership, and is not insolvent
The sum is not yet in dispute

What Bob chases and what he sends

For retention not released when it fell due

Retention recovery: when to use it, what Bob works out, what he needs from you and when he hands the case to Quantsurv
Use Bob when	Practical completion has passed and the first share is still held The defects period has ended and the rest is unpaid You are not sure when your retention is due
What Bob works out	How much retention is held, and the share due at each release When each release falls due: practical completion, then the end of the defects period, plus any period your contract adds The final date for payment of each release Whether your release application stands as the sum due, or a payee’s notice in default is needed
What Bob needs from you	Your contract’s retention terms, the practical completion date, the defects period and any release application you made
When Bob hands the case to Quantsurv	Release tied to the main contract, retention kept for defects, possible insolvency, or a release more than six years old

The letters Bob sends

Step 01
Payee’s notice in default
Only where needed
Section 110B
Step 02
Reminder
7 days to pay
Step 03
Formal demand
7 days to pay
Step 04
Adjudication
Bob asks you first

Recording a payment on a Retention recovery case, and Bob working out what is still due — Recording a payment on a retention case, with demo data

Control and security

Every step Bob takes follows rules you can see

How you stay in control of Bob, and how he treats the payer and your data
Your approval	You check every fact Bob reads from your document, and choose what he sends. He emails you at each step.
Pause Bob	Choose Pause Bob on any case, or Pause everywhere, and no more letters go until you choose Resume Bob
Letters in your name	Letters go in your business’s name, from your details, so the payer deals with you. Each carries a short case reference, so a reply finds the right case.
Payee side only	Bob works for the party being paid, on every contract where money is owed to you
Quantsurv’s check	A Quantsurv QS checks every formal letter, and every letter from a new account, within 1 working day. Once Quantsurv trusts your account, reminders can go without the check.
How Bob uses AI	Rules decide. Bob reads. His AI reads your documents and their replies and asks you about the facts; fixed rules work out what you are owed, which letter is due and when it goes. Letters and replies use fixed wording.
Fair to the payer	Letters go only between 9:00 and 16:30 on working days, and Quantsurv’s own rule allows no more than one letter in 7 days to the same address, apart from statutory notices and replies. A complaint, made by replying to any letter, puts all letters to that address on hold until a person has looked into it.
Your data and record	Your cases are private to your account and to Quantsurv, and Bob’s AI provider, Anthropic, may process your documents outside the UK. Every letter, reply, decision and payment is kept with its date and who made it, linked so a later change can be found, for six years after a case closes. Bob’s section of our privacy notice will be published before sign-up opens. Privacy notice

Bob, a QS or doing it yourself

What each option does for you

Bob compared with hiring a QS or doing it yourself
	With Bob	Hiring a QS	Doing it yourself
Chases what you are owed	Yes	Yes	Yes
Notice dates and sums worked out for you	Yes	Yes	No
Letters prepared and sent for you, in order	Yes	Yes	No
Formal letters checked by a QS before they go	Yes	Yes	No
A full record kept for you	Yes	Yes	No
A QS ready if they dispute it	Yes	Yes	No
A live view of every case and what comes next	Yes	No	No

What Bob does not do

Give legal advice. Quantsurv is not a firm of solicitors
Decide disputes or part payments
Go to court. Court work goes to Quantsurv or a solicitor
Promise you will be paid
Send texts or WhatsApp messages

Questions about Retention recovery

What if they dispute it?

Bob sends nothing more and hands the case to Quantsurv, whose QS tells you the options

When Bob hands the case to Quantsurv

What happens when they reply?

If they say they have paid, Bob asks you before counting it. After a promise to pay, Bob waits until that date. Anything unclear goes to Quantsurv.

When should retention be released?

Usually half at each release, but your contract decides the shares and the dates

What Bob works out

What if I have no written contract?

Tell Bob you are not sure of the payment terms. Where a contract does not set them, the Scheme for Construction Contracts applies. Quantsurv checks those cases before Bob chases.

How quickly does the first letter go?

Upload as soon as a payment is late. Quantsurv opens new accounts within 1 working day, and the first letter goes once Quantsurv has checked it.

How Quantsurv checks the letters

Does Bob connect to my accounting software?

Yes, to Xero: Bob reads each payment himself, so you need not confirm it. QuickBooks, Sage and FreeAgent are not connected yet.

Can Bob check a document without starting a case?

Yes. Choose Check a document: Bob reads one document and tells you what is due under it, and by when. He sends nothing.

Can Bob take on every payment under one contract?

Not yet. Projects are coming next: one contract where you are paid, with each recovery workspace you have running on it. Until then, start a case for each payment.