Structure it by heads, not by grievance
Split your final account into separate heads, because an account that reads as one long complaint gets one short reply. Measured work, variations, loss and expense, retention and disputed set-offs each have their own basis and their own evidence, and each deserves an answer on its own terms.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
If the account is already one pile, see what to do when the final account is due and your position needs checking.
Why it matters
Send one long grievance and your main contractor answers it in one paragraph: the job overran, your costs are your own, claim not accepted. That is easy, because your account never told them what to accept. Measured work needs a measure. A variation needs its instruction. Loss and expense needs its event and its cost. A disputed set-off needs the notice that was or was not sent. Run those together and the weakest evidence drags down the strongest. Nobody can pay one line without seeming to concede the rest. Separate heads make part agreement possible, and that is how accounts actually settle.
How to do it
- List the heads your subcontract recognises: measured work, variations, provisional sums, loss and expense, retention, and the set-offs you dispute.
- Put each item under one head only, and note which clause or record supports that head.
- Give each head its own summary sheet with the sum claimed, the sum certified and the difference.
- Write the explanation for each head separately, in the order the subcontract adjusts the sum.
- Put a one-page summary at the front that adds the heads up to the total claimed.
Example
Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.
The facts
A groundworks subcontractor's account has been rejected twice as a single letter claiming £180,000 above the certified sum. The commercial manager rebuilds it before the third submission, separating the heads and attaching the evidence for each.
What happens
- Measured work remeasure: £60,000 above the certified quantities, supported by marked up drawings.
- Variations: 22 instructions valued at £70,000, each cross referenced to its instruction number.
- Loss and expense: £35,000 for one prolongation event, with the cost records for that period.
- Disputed contra-charges: £15,000 deducted without a Pay Less Notice, listed with the dates the deductions appeared.
Heads claimed
| Head | Amount |
|---|---|
| Measured work | £60,000 |
| Variations | £70,000 |
| Loss and expense | £35,000 |
| Disputed contra-charges | £15,000 |
| Total | £180,000 |
The outcome
Within a month, the main contractor agrees the measured work and 19 of the 22 variations, worth £118,000. That leaves £62,000 across three heads to negotiate, not the whole £180,000 to argue about.
To have this set up for you, see our Final Account Dispute Prevention service.