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Cost Planning

Keeping Your Job's Numbers Honest From Start to Finish

My Project Estimating  ·  Cost Planning

A price at tender is a snapshot. The job itself moves, variations land, programmes slip, and a contractor who isn't tracking cost against that original number finds out how far off things are at the worst possible moment, usually at final account.

The forecast is only as good as the starting point

If your original cost plan was built on rushed quantities, every forecast you build on top of it inherits that error. This is why the measuring at the start matters more than the tracking spreadsheet you use afterwards. Get the base numbers right, against NRM2, and the forecast has something solid underneath it.

Track against the plan, not against memory

The contractors who stay in control of a job's cost are the ones checking actual spend against the original measured quantities on a regular basis, not relying on a feel for how things are going. A short review every few weeks catches drift long before it becomes a problem you can't recover from.

Variations need pricing the same way, every time

A variation priced quickly and loosely undermines the discipline you built into the original plan. Measure it properly, price it against the same rates and structure as the rest of the job, and it stays defensible if it's ever queried later.

Communication protects your margin as much as the numbers do

Clients and contractors up the chain don't like surprises. A contractor who can show a clear, measured position on cost at any point in the job, rather than a vague sense of where things stand, keeps the relationship steady and keeps disputes off the table.

Build it properly from the start

Good forecasting isn't a separate skill from good estimating, it's the same discipline applied throughout the job instead of just at tender. Start with quantities measured properly against NRM2 and the rest follows.

We measure and price your jobs against NRM2 from the drawings up, giving you a base you can track cost against for the life of the job. Send your drawings to get started, or see a sample estimate to see the detail behind our numbers.

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