The Most Essential Guide to Provisional Sums for Subcontractors

In episode 27 of The Subcontractors Blueprint podcast, Jacob Austin educates us on Provisional Sums. He clarifies ways in which undesigned works are included in a subcontract such as Prime Cost Sums, Provisional Quantities and Provisional Sums. He stresses the importance of the difference between Defined and Undefined Provisional Sums, and the implications this has on your programme and price. He discusses strategies for pricing Provisional Sums as well as how they should be implemented during the course of a project. The episode is a resourceful guide for subcontractors seeking to navigate the complexities of Provisional Sums effectively.   KEY TAKEAWAYS: Provisional sums are means of including undesigned or undecided scope of works in a project, giving the client or contractor some certainty that there is some budget for it. Prime Cost Sums, Provisional Quantities, Defined and Undefined Provisional Sums are all means of including incomplete design in a subcontract, and each is treated differently. Prime Cost Sums specify a ‘budget’ amount to be included in a rate to buy an unspecified material. The rest of the work described in the rate should be priced properly, allowing the ‘budget’ to be omitted and the real cost added back to make a complete rate. Defined Provisional Sums require the subcontractor to make allowance in their programme, period and preliminaries for the management and completion of the provisional works. Whereas, Undefined Provisional Sums should be excluded from the programme and preliminaries and the likes. Subcontractors should challenge the validity of Defined Provisional Sums if they do not contain sufficient information to properly describe or allow that work to be priced.   BEST MOMENTS: "The whole idea behind provisional sums is that it's a means of including a kind of a budget for some unknown bits of work and getting that into the contract to give the client a bit of cost certainty." “That's opened your eyes to some of the tricks and stunts that you might see around Provisional Sums and what you can do to protect yourself from them.” “that won't stop some unscrupulous contractor out there from telling you it's a defined Provisional Sum and refusing to give you an extension of time for it.” “These are the kind of fine margins that can win or lose you a project.”   Jacob is on a mission to help the 1 million SME contractors working within the construction industry. If you've taken something of value from this episode, please share the podcast with someone you know, and pass the value on. HOST BIO: Meet Jacob Austin, a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with a rich background at construction industry giants Balfour Beatty, Kier, and Vistry Group. With extensive involvement in education, health, and residential projects spanning various scales, from £1000s to £100M in concurrent developments, Jacob brings a unique perspective. Having collaborated with numerous small businesses, he's now committed to sharing his expertise to drive their success. Join Jacob on his podcast, where he blends his profound insights and personable approach to offer guidance, industry secrets, and inspirational stories.   LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-austin/  Instagram - www.instagram.com/qs.zone/  www.qs.zone/all-links