How to prepare a pricing pack for builders
Give every bidder the same defined scope, information and pricing instructions. Resolve questions through one recorded clarification process.
by Jack Butler-Kettle · About 5 min readShare
Before you start
Confirm the scope to procure, the design information available and who may approve answers to bidders. Identify what remains incomplete.
A useful pricing pack explains what must be built, the required standard, delivery constraints and the proposed commercial terms. Drawings alone rarely answer every pricing question.
This is an outbound enquiry: a client inviting builders, or a contractor inviting subcontractors and suppliers. If you are pricing an incoming enquiry, use the estimating checks.
Step-by-step guide
1. Define the package and its interfaces
List the work included, exclusions, location and responsibilities. Identify who supplies access, temporary works, protection, waste removal, testing and making good.
For a home project, explain owner-supplied products and occupied areas. For a trade package, identify interfaces with the main contractor and adjacent trades.
Ask the designer to resolve technical ambiguities; do not quietly turn a missing detail into a bidder’s design obligation.
2. Assemble one controlled document issue
Include the drawings and revisions, specification, site information and scope or measured pricing schedule. Provide the proposed programme and relevant contract documents.
State document precedence and any design responsibility clearly. Identify surveys or information offered for reference rather than guaranteed accuracy.
A bill of quantities or schedule of works should complement the design information, not contradict it.
3. Specify how the price should be returned
Set a return date and contact for questions. Ask for the completed pricing schedule, programme assumptions, validity, tax basis, exclusions and alternative proposals.
Identify provisional items and require bidders to explain their allowances. Separate the compliant offer from alternatives so neither is mistaken for the other.
State selection criteria proportionate to the work, including relevant capability and delivery requirements.
4. Record and distribute clarifications fairly
Keep a query register with the question, approved answer, revision affected and date issued. Give all relevant bidders the same clarified basis.
Where the scope changes materially, allow an appropriate pricing response and identify the revised return requirements. Keep original submissions and revisions.
Do not disclose one bidder’s confidential pricing to others without an appropriate agreed basis.
5. Compare returns and close the gaps
Use the tender comparison guide to reconcile scope differences, allowances and qualifications. Obtain confirmation rather than silently adjusting a bidder’s contractual offer.
Clients, developers and subcontractors placing packages should select the corresponding procurement service for their role. Agree who invites bidders, answers questions and approves appointments.
Our Contractor tendering and comparison service aligns the enquiry scope and compares the contractor returns before appointment.
Before you finish: Check that every bidder received the same revisions and clarifications. Resolve material exclusions before agreeing an appointment.
Worked example
The facts
A fictional refurbishment enquiry includes flooring but does not say who removes the old finish.
What happens
One builder prices removal; another excludes it. The initial totals are not directly comparable.
The client issues a common clarification defining removal, disposal and preparation, then obtains revised prices.
The accepted scope and clarification are included in the appointment documents.
What this shows
A controlled enquiry reduces pricing ambiguity before it becomes a dispute over an omitted task.
Contract document register
Enter the exact revision and approval evidence. Keep superseded documents in the archive and identify them clearly.
Free blank template for your own project. The completed example is shown below. No email address required.
View the completed example
Completed fictional example
Westhaven refurbishment · 14 October 2026 · Version 1.0
Contract document register
Scroll across if needed to read the whole record. A dash means no value has been entered.
| Document | Revision / date | Status | Precedence / basis | Qualification / action | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Order WH-042 | Signed 1 Oct 2026 | Agreed | Order clause 2: first | Design limited to setting-out | Signed order PDF |
| Scope schedule | C / 30 Sep 2026 | Agreed | Second in order clause 2 | Excludes structural steelwork | Signed scope |
| Drawing P-104 | D / 7 Oct 2026 | Instruction received | Change from agreed baseline C | Price/time effect CH-07 unresolved | Instruction I-07 |
A list alone does not agree precedence or incorporate a document. Record the actual agreement.
Builder pricing pack checklist
Use the document register, schedule of works and tender comparison together. Issue the same revisions and clarifications to every tenderer.
Free blank template for your own project. The completed example is shown below. No email address required.
View the completed example
Completed fictional example
Westhaven refurbishment · 14 October 2026 · Version 1.0
Builder pricing pack checklist
Scroll across if needed to read the whole record. A dash means no value has been entered.
| Pack section | Included document / version | Purpose | Return requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brief and site information | Brief B-01; survey S-01 | Define project, access and constraints | Confirm visit and assumptions |
| Scope and drawings | SW-01 C; drawings A-01 C and P-104 C | Common work description and quantities | Price each item; identify exclusions |
| Commercial return | Pricing form PF-01; programme requirements | Separate price, VAT, duration and payment proposals | Complete qualifications schedule |
| Clarifications | Addendum AD-01 issued to all tenderers | Answer shared scope queries consistently | Acknowledge receipt in return |
The editable document is a pack assembly and issue record. Use the linked document register, schedule of works and tender comparison files for the individual schedules.