Building the quote: overheads, margin and contingency
How a professional assembles a price from materials, labour, plant, subcontractors, overhead and margin — and why the contingency is not optional. Then apply the same structure to your own project so you know the true number.
Not planted yet — but the plan for it is final
The practical task and the checklist below are exactly what this lesson will teach. What is missing is the written explanation and the curated links, each one fetched and verified before it ships.
In the meantime the checklist is genuinely usable on its own. Take it outside.
Do this on your own block
Field journal entry
Project cost plan
Build a full cost plan: materials, plant hire, subcontractors, disposal, your own labour hours, and a contingency percentage. Compare the total against the budget you committed to in Phase 1 and state how you will close any gap.
Saved to your workbook
Sign in to write this straight into your project workbook — or just keep it in a notebook.
Checklist
- Every take-off line has a price against it
- Subcontractor quotes are real quotes, not estimates
- A contingency percentage is included and justified
- The total is compared against your Phase 1 budget