Estimator measuring a floor plan with compasses for a tender

Construction Tender Pricing & Cost Planning

From early cost plans to a fully priced tender submission, with preliminaries, subcontract comparisons and risk items built out, not guessed.

An estimating team when you need one

Winning work depends on getting the price right: low enough to compete, complete enough not to lose money on site. Many SME contractors do not have an estimator available for every invitation to tender, so bids are either rushed or declined.

We take on the tender pricing function for you, or alongside your commercial manager. That covers measuring and pricing the works, building up preliminaries, running subcontractor enquiries and comparisons, and pricing provisional sums and risk, so you submit on time with a price you understand.

Earlier in a project, we prepare feasibility and elemental cost plans so developers and design teams can test options and set a realistic budget before tender.

What tender pricing covers

Full tender pricingEvery trade package measured and priced to your submission format
PreliminariesSite staff, set-up, welfare, plant, temporary works and programme-based costs
Subcontract comparisonsLevelled quotes so scope gaps and exclusions are obvious
Employer's BOQ checksGaps, errors and unpriced items identified before you commit
Cost planningFeasibility, elemental and stage-by-stage cost plans
Pre-tender estimatesIndependent baseline to check contractor returns against
Value engineeringPriced alternatives to bring a scheme back within budget
Post-tender supportClarifications, re-pricing and addenda after submission

What better tender pricing looks like

On a £3.1M mixed-use tender in the Midlands, the employer's BOQ had gaps and unpriced provisional sums, and the contractor had no estimator available. We identified 14 omitted items, worth an estimated £62,000 in cost that would otherwise not have been recovered, and built a £187,000 preliminaries schedule the contractor had no baseline to challenge without.

Good tender pricing is not only about the headline number. It is a price with clear qualifications and a known risk position, so if you win, you win work that makes money.

Frequently asked questions

Measurement and pricing of the works, a preliminaries build-up, subcontractor enquiries and comparisons, provisional sums and a list of qualifications and exclusions, delivered in the format your client asks for.

A cost plan is prepared during design to set and control a budget, usually by building element. A tender price is a contractor's detailed, priced offer to carry out a defined scope of works.

Yes. Many clients use us to handle specific packages or the measurement while their commercial manager leads the tender strategy and final adjudication.

It depends on the size of the project, the number of packages and the deadline. Send us the tender documents and we will confirm a fixed fee within 24 hours.

Yes. See our pre-tender estimate service for independent budgets and benchmarks before tenders go out.

Have a tender deadline?

Send us your drawings and scope. We'll confirm coverage, measurement standard and a fixed fee within 24 hours.

Get a free quote