Final Account Dispute Prevention
PreventionOptional monthly check10 working days
Build your final account as the job runs, then check its evidence and value before submission.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
Get a free report on your claim. About three minutes; no obligation.
The problem
Changes keep rolling forward without agreement, and nobody has clear responsibility for the account or its supporting records. As the job finishes and the submission date approaches, unresolved items remain to be valued and evidenced.
Already submitted and cut, rejected or ignored? See Final Account Claim.
The solution
We set up a running account, train your team and check their first month. Before submission, we test each item and identify any fixable gaps. If the job is already finishing, the review comes first; the running-account routine follows for your next job.
What you get
You receive a running account showing the evidence and agreement status for each item, supported by a deadline diary and a tested team routine. A pre-submission review identifies the strong items, remaining gaps and realistic values.
Includes a Handover Pack: key dates and sources, next steps, likely responses, scope limits and any ready-to-send letters.
Fee: Fixed set-up fee, including the pre-submission review, agreed in writing before work starts. Optional monthly checks have a fixed fee agreed first. Pause between jobs or stop at month-end.
Need it faster? Ask on the first call: an express turnaround is quoted in writing where the diary allows it.
How it works
You tell us about the job
Start with a free call. Agree the scope, fixed fee and timetable in writing, then send the records listed below.
What you get: A written scope, fixed fee and timetable
- A
The signed subcontract
A complete PDF, every schedule and amendment included.
Where to find it: The job's commercial folder or the order email.
Why we need it: Every line of the account is valued and tested against the subcontract's rules, so the account is only as good as the copy in front of us.
How we will use it: It supplies the valuation basis, the rates, the notice rules and what the account may and may not contain.
- B
The account as it stands, or your final account so far
In its original Excel file, not a PDF printout; whatever exists, however early.
Where to find it: Whoever keeps it, your QS or your accounts team, holds the working file.
Why we need it: The running account is built from what you already have. A printout hides the formulas and links, which is where accounts usually go wrong.
How we will use it: We set up the running account from it, or test it item by item where the job is already finishing.
- C
Instructions, confirmations and the variation register
The instructions as dated PDFs or scans; the register in its original Excel file, every line included, not a summary of totals.
Where to find it: The site instruction file, the email trail with the main contractor, and your QS's variation tracker.
Why we need it: Changed work is only as strong as the instruction behind it, and unpapered change is the first thing an assessor strikes.
How we will use it: We match every variation line to its instruction and its payment history, and flag every line still standing on nothing.
- D
Every application and certificate so far
The complete run, from the first valuation to the latest; a partial set leaves gaps the reconciliation cannot see past.
Where to find it: Your QS's file of applications, Payment Notices and certificates.
Why we need it: The account has to reconcile against what has actually been applied for and paid. A missing certificate is exactly where a variation goes unaccounted for.
How we will use it: We reconcile the account to the certified history, valuation by valuation, before any line is valued.
- E
Any measures or valuations
As Excel spreadsheets.
Where to find it: Your QS's working folders.
Why we need it: An account whose quantities can be remeasured survives assessment; one that cannot gets discounted wholesale.
How we will use it: We trace the account's quantities to the measures, so each line carries its proof.
- F
Who will keep the account
A name, and a deputy for when that person is away.
Where to find it: Your own decision: usually the QS or commercial manager who makes the applications.
Why we need it: A running account nobody owns goes stale within months, and the routine has to be built around the person who will actually keep it.
How we will use it: We write the routine for that person and prove it with them on the next live valuation.
Copies are fine. Send what you have and we will tell you what's missing.
- A
We set up your running account
We read your subcontract for its rules and dates, then set up the account with one line per change. We write a simple routine and show your team how to keep it.
What you get: Your running final account, one line per change, each with its proof
You run it on your next application
Your surveyor updates the account for your next application, with us alongside. We check it, fix any slips and hand the routine over to your team.
What you get: Your checked account and written routine, handed over to your team
We check it each month, if you want
With the optional Ongoing check, we read the account each month. A short note flags anything unpriced, unagreed or missing its proof, and any date coming up.
What you get: A short monthly note on anything that needs action
We review it before it goes in
We test every item the way your main contractor's surveyor will, and name the fix for any weak ones. Then you decide what goes in and send it.
What you get: A verdict on every item and a realistic range for the account
We close with a running account and a reviewed final account
Get a free report on your claim
Answer the questions below for a free PDF report by email. Allow about three minutes; choose “Not sure” where needed.
Your report explains where you stand, the next steps to take and the records to gather. It also sets out how we could help for a fixed fee, with no obligation.
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