Schedule of rates (SOR): definition and example
A list of rates for types of work, without firm quantities, used to price and value work as it is measured.
By Jack Butler-Kettle · Updated
Guidance for England and Wales. Check the contract, amendments and facts that apply to your job.
What it means in practice
Read this alongside NRM 2: Detailed measurement for building works.
A schedule of rates provides prices for defined units of work. The descriptions, measurement rules and included allowances determine how a rate is used. A rate for one specification or working condition may not be appropriate for a materially different item.
Retain the agreed descriptions as well as the numbers. Variation recovery can help connect measured changes to the applicable valuation basis.
Worked example
The facts
A schedule prices a defined type of painting at £12 per square metre.
What happens
The subcontractor measures 50 square metres of matching instructed work.
It checks that preparation and access conditions fall within the rate's description.
What this shows
The illustrative £600 valuation follows only after confirming that the rate applies to the work measured.