Accounts Receivable

6 Months Ended

Jan. 24, 2015

Receivables [Abstract]

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable consists of the following:

	January 24, 2015			July 26, 2014
	(Dollars in thousands)
Contract billings	$	248,361		$	258,254
Retainage and other receivables	19,957			15,323
Total	268,318			273,577
Less: allowance for doubtful accounts	(1,032		)	(836		)
Accounts receivable, net	$	267,286		$	272,741

The Company grants credit under normal payment terms, generally without collateral, to its customers. The Company expects to collect the outstanding balance of accounts receivable, net, including retainage and amounts on which it has filed construction liens, within the next twelve months. Except as described below, there were no material accounts receivable amounts representing claims or other similar items subject to uncertainty as of January 24, 2015 or July 26, 2014.

With respect to certain accounts receivable balances, the Company has statutory lien rights that may assist in its collection efforts. As of January 24, 2015, the Company's accounts receivable include approximately $20.1 million for past due balances from a customer on a rural project funded primarily by the Rural Utilities Service agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (the “RUS”) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The loan made by the RUS is secured by certain assets of the customer. The Company has stopped work on the project and has filed construction liens with respect to work on the project representing approximately $17.7 million of the accounts receivable balance. In addition, other creditors have also filed construction liens against the customer. In July 2014, the Company was included in a lawsuit brought against the customer to foreclose the construction lien that the creditor filed on a parcel of property owned by the customer on which the Company has also filed a lien. The customer is progressing on a plan that would include payment to creditors having construction liens, including the Company, if the plan is completed. In the event the customer does not pay the balances owed, the amount the Company collects through the enforcement of its liens or other actions will depend on the value realized on the assets underlying the liens as well as the amount owed to, and priority of, other creditors. See Note 17, Commitments and Contingencies, for further information regarding the construction liens and related litigation.

The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the failure of its customers to make required payments. During the three and six months ended January 24, 2015 and January 25, 2014, write-offs to the allowance for doubtful accounts, net of recoveries, were not material.