Prepare a Bid Pricing Schedule

When not to use it

Don't use it to produce rates. The workflow lays out the rates and quantities you've already built up into a schedule the client can follow. If the job isn't priced yet, start with your estimate and your quotes.

If the client has issued its own pricing document, such as a bill of quantities or an activity schedule, price in that format and don't change the descriptions or quantities. A restructured return can be marked non-compliant, especially on public sector work.

Common mistakes

• Letting the tool add up the totals. Check every extension and the summary against your estimating spreadsheet and the form of tender.
• Copying exclusions from the last job without reading them against this scope.
• Qualifying so heavily that the bid can't be compared with the others, or reads as a counter-offer.
• Pricing preliminaries as one lump sum with no build-up, so there's nothing to fall back on when the programme changes.
• Forgetting the base date and whether the price is fixed or subject to fluctuations.

Frequently asked questions

What should a tender pricing schedule include?

A summary of section totals, the detailed breakdown with quantities, units and rates, the preliminaries, and your assumptions, qualifications and exclusions. The grand total must match the form of tender exactly. If the client sent its own pricing document, follow its structure.

What is the difference between a qualification and an exclusion in a tender?

An exclusion is something you haven't priced at all. A qualification is a condition on what you have priced, such as an assumed working pattern or a design that hasn't been issued yet. Keep both short and specific so the client can put a value on them.

How do you price preliminaries in a tender?

Build them up from the programme: site staff, welfare, plant, scaffolding, temporary works and the rest, split into time-related and fixed costs. RICS NRM2 gives a standard way to set them out. The durations and costs must come from your programme and quotes, not the tool.

What is the base date in a construction tender?

It's the date your prices are based on. If the contract allows for price changes, movements are usually measured from it. Check your contract and take advice on how fluctuations work under the form you're pricing.

Can AI price a tender for me?

No. It can structure your pricing, check the schedule is complete and flag items that need clarifying with the client. The rates, risk allowances and final number are the estimator's call, signed off by whoever approves the bid. Tender pricing is commercially sensitive, so use a business account with data controls switched on.