1. Three requirements and what each solves
Each solves one particular thing, and none replaces another. The three together are the minimum set.
| Requirement | What it solves |
|---|---|
| A common structure | comparability: the same line means the same content for everyone |
| Quantities | duplicated work and quantity disputes: everyone prices the same amount |
| Unit prices | the pricing of variations: a variation gets a price without negotiation |
Three requirements answer three different problems, and that is precisely why there are three of them rather than one. None of them covers another's ground.
2. Why these three
Three justifications, and the third is practical. They already exist within the company, as covered by the article on the two documents. They reveal neither costs nor margin, since a unit price is a selling price. And they are verifiable, that is the client sees at once whether the requirement has been met.
A requirement whose fulfilment cannot be checked is not a requirement: an empty cell in a prescribed form is immediately visible, a missing line in a free-form document is not. The check has to be provided for.
3. What happens when one is missing
Three situations leave half the benefit unrealised, and the third is the most frequent. It concerns the timing of the requirement.
| What is present | What is lost |
|---|---|
| Structure without quantities | every tenderer calculates the quantity, and the results differ |
| Quantities without a structure | the amounts are the same, but the lines cannot be compared |
| Structure and quantities without unit prices | variations cannot be priced |
The cost of the third emerges only during construction. A unit price costs nothing at the moment it is asked for and saves throughout the whole construction period.
4. A fourth requirement, which is optional
One addition, not always necessary.
A breakdown of the lines by stage or by payment schedule is useful where the project is long or where funding arrives in instalments. On a smaller project it adds work without a corresponding benefit.
The professional recommendation is a question of timing: ask for it when the payment schedule has to be agreed in any case, not on every project. Afterwards the form is already agreed.
5. How to word the requirement
Three sentences suffice in most cases, and the third is the most important. It concerns whether the quantities bind.
Prices are to be submitted on the attached form, whose lines and names are not to be changed. A unit price and a line total are to be given for each line. The quantities are provided by the client, and it must then be said whether they are binding or indicative.
The third is covered by the article on requiring a structured tender. Where it is left unsaid, the tenderer does not know who is responsible for the accuracy of the quantities, and adds a risk allowance.
Summary and four practical rules
Three requirements solve three different problems: structure solves comparability, quantities solve duplicated work and quantity disputes, unit prices solve the pricing of variations. All three already exist within the company, reveal no margin and are verifiable, which is the decisive quality of a requirement. Where one of the three is missing, half the benefit is lost, and the most frequent gap is the absence of unit prices, whose cost emerges only during construction.
Four rules: ask for all three together, since alone each solves only part. State whether the quantities are binding, which is the most frequent omission. Provide a form, not a description, since compliance with a form can be checked. Add the fourth requirement only where the project needs it.
This article offers professional orientation as at the date of verification. It replaces neither a quotation nor the assessment of a competent specialist.