The Checklist We Run Before Committing To A Price

Know What You're Actually Pricing

Before anything gets costed, make sure the scope is nailed down. Half finished drawings, missing specification pages and a "TBC" on the finishes schedule are the usual reasons a job runs over once it's on site. If the scope isn't clear, say so in your qualifications when the price goes out, don't just guess and hope.

List Every Cost Category, Not Just The Obvious Ones

Labour and materials get priced every time. What gets missed is everything around them, site management, welfare, temporary works, attendances, and the professional costs that sit outside the measured work. Go through the job category by category rather than relying on memory from the last similar contract, because no two sites are the same once you account for access and existing conditions.

Price Against Current Rates

Rates move. A price built on last year's subcontractor quotes without checking them again is a price that's already wrong before you've submitted it. Get fresh quotes where you can and price the rest against current market rates rather than a rate book nobody's touched in months.

Contingency And Risk, Written Down

Set a contingency figure and write down what it covers. Ground risk, access risk, and anything unusual about the existing building all belong in that figure. A contingency with no reasoning behind it is the first thing that gets cut when the client pushes back on price, and then you're exposed with nothing to point to.

Check Cash Flow Before You Sign Anything

A price can be right and still sink you if the payment terms don't match how the money goes out the door. Look at retention, payment periods and when your subcontractors expect to be paid before you commit to the contract, not after.

Review It Before It Goes Out

Have someone who didn't build the price check it before it's submitted. A second set of eyes catches the item that got missed or the rate that was typed in wrong, and it costs you nothing compared with finding the mistake three months into the job.

If you want a second opinion on a price you're building, Send your drawings. If you want to see how we structure this kind of checklist in practice, See a sample estimate.

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