Define what the advance pays for
An anticipo is a payment to be accounted for under the actual agreement. Record its purpose, final amount, recipient, date and how it is credited later. Identify materials or bespoke products purchased before installation, where they will be kept and the evidence or contractual protection agreed for them. Do not assume a universal legal advance percentage or an automatic refund outcome for every cancellation.
This independent CDMX example concerns a renovation contractor, with owner purchases outside the contract. Define who can approve changes and how the contractor will report progress. A request for money, a delivery, an accepted stage and a bank transfer are different events; recording all of them as “paid work” makes the account unreliable.
Use a cumulative payment schedule correctly
Assume a base contract of MXN 140,000 final, already including its applicable tax, and an advance of MXN 14,000 credited to that price. This is a proposed agreement, not a statutory schedule. Cumulative values include earlier stages: do not add each full cumulative figure to the transfers.
| Payment event | Cumulative value | Previously paid | New transfer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advance credited to price | 14 000 | 0 | 14 000 |
| Verified first work stage | 42 000 | 14 000 | 28 000 |
| Verified second work stage | 98 000 | 42 000 | 56 000 |
| Base scope complete | 140 000 | 98 000 | 42 000 |
After the second work stage, transfers total MXN 98,000: 14,000 + 28,000 + 56,000. Match the claimed stage to specified quantities and appropriate records. The fact that a worker has attended for another week does not establish which package is complete or which materials have become installed work.
Approve variations with their credits
For each variation, record its reason, location, drawing revision, final price, removed-item credit and time effect before the affected work is authorised. Where the consumer-law framework applies, consent and transaction records matter; establish the legal route for the actual relationship rather than assuming every professional service is covered identically.
| Account line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Original contractor price | 140 000 |
| Accepted additions | 9 200 |
| Credit for omitted work | −3 200 |
| Revised contractor price | 146 000 |
| Payments already credited | 98 000 |
| Contractor balance before any agreed retention | 48 000 |
| Owner purchases outside contract | 40 000 |
| Independent fees | 6 000 |
| Separate logistics | 3 500 |
| Unspent fixed reserve | 12 000 |
| Whole-project funding provision | 207 500 |
| Total paid across project | 117 000 |
| Cash still to provide including reserve | 90 500 |
The revised contractor price replaces the old price; it is not another order to add in full. The original schedule’s final MXN 42,000 becomes a MXN 48,000 balance after the accepted changes, subject to the agreement. Paying both would overpay the revised scope.
Reconcile the whole project account
The MXN 117,000 paid consists of MXN 98,000 to the contractor, MXN 16,000 against included owner purchases and MXN 3,000 of included fees. Subtracting it from the MXN 207,500 provision leaves MXN 90,500, including the unspent MXN 12,000 reserve. That reserve is a provision for contingencies, not an invoice due today.
A MXN 16,000 advance against the MXN 40,000 product order leaves MXN 24,000 outstanding on that order. It does not make the products cost MXN 56,000. Treat a refund as an expected receipt until the money arrives and apply a supplier credit to the correct order.
Keep contingency separate from permission
If a further MXN 1,800 final variation is accepted and paid from reserve, committed cost rises by MXN 1,800 and the reserve falls to MXN 10,200. The funding provision stays MXN 207,500. If the owner preserves the reserve instead, the provision becomes MXN 209,300. Choose one treatment and record the decision.
Keep an unpriced risk on an open-questions list with a named next action. It is not approved expenditure merely because there is reserve money. Check changed bank details through a known contact before paying, and retain the transfer reference alongside the invoice and stage record.
Close each payment event with evidence
- Match the claim to the agreed scope and supporting records.
- Apply advance credits and previous transfers.
- Add accepted variations and subtract omissions.
- Record disputes separately from accepted amounts.
- Pay under the actual agreed terms.
- Update committed cost, paid total, outstanding balance and reserve.
Reno Pro can hold stages, purchases and recorded payments in one project. Keep accepted quotations and changes with those entries. The key control is the expected whole-project provision and what remains unpaid, rather than the bank total alone.
Sources, date and scope
Checked on 19 October 2026. Local examples concern Mexico City unless stated otherwise. All MXN amounts are invented calculation examples, not market prices or quotations. Each article describes an independent project. VAT is applied only under the example’s explicit assumptions; final amounts already include the applicable tax. Check diagnosis, design, procedures and contract conditions for the individual property with competent professionals.