Payment Clock Ontario

Know every construction payment deadline before it costs you.

Prompt payment, the new annual release of holdback, and Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) clearance certificates, worked out for your role on the project. Free, no sign-up.

Construction Act, as amended January 1, 2026Calendar daysAdd deadlines to your calendar
I'm the

Your invoice

The day the owner received your proper invoice.
Optional. Leave blank if none was given.
Optional. Leave blank if you haven't been paid.
What makes an invoice "proper"?
  1. Contractor's name and address
  2. Invoice date and the period the work or materials were supplied
  3. The contract or subcontract it's billed under
  4. Description of what was supplied, with quantities
  5. Amount payable and payment terms
  6. Name, title, phone and mailing address of who gets paid
  7. Anything else your contract requires
Example dates. Replace them with your own.
Add all to calendar (.ics)
Coming soon

Deadline reminders by email

We're building a tracker that remembers these dates for you. Tap the button if you'd use it; that tells us what to build first. No email needed.

  • Every project and invoice in one list
  • An email two days before anything is due
  • A warning before a subcontractor's clearance certificate expires
The rules behind the clock

Three deadlines Ontario contractors get caught on

28 / 7 / 7

Prompt payment

The owner pays a proper invoice within 28 days. Each payer below pays within 7 days of being paid, and no later than day 35 (general contractor) or day 42 (subcontractor) unless it gave a notice of non-payment. Disputes need a written notice of non-payment, on time.

New in 2026
14 days

Annual release of holdback

The 10 per cent holdback is now released on every anniversary of the contract date. The owner publishes a notice within 14 days, and each payer passes holdback down within 14 days of receiving it.

90 days

WSIB clearance certificate

A clearance certificate is valid for up to 90 days. Without a current one, you can be liable for a subcontractor's unpaid premiums, up to the labour value of the contract.

Questions

Before you rely on a date

What if a deadline lands on a weekend or holiday?

The clock counts calendar days. Under Ontario's Legislation Act, a deadline that ends on a Sunday or holiday moves to the next day that isn't one, and the calculator moves it for you. Those holidays include Easter Monday and Remembrance Day but not the August Civic Holiday. Saturday isn't a holiday, so Saturday dates are flagged rather than moved: act by Friday to be safe.

My contract was entered into before 2026. When is the first annual release of holdback?

The transition rule in section 87.4 of the Construction Act sets it at the second anniversary of the contract date that follows January 1, 2026, and that's what the calculator uses. That first release covers all the holdback kept before it. Contracts entered into before July 1, 2018 stay under the old Construction Lien Act.

I'm a subcontractor. How do I know when the general contractor's invoice reached the owner?

Ask the general contractor; the Construction Act lets you. That date sets the whole payment chain. If the general contractor has already paid you, enter that date too: you then have 7 days to pay your own subcontractors.

Is this legal advice?

No. Payment Clock works out dates from the Construction Act and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board's clearance certificate policy. It doesn't review your contract. Confirm anything important with a construction lawyer.