NEC3 software should apply NEC3's own rules for as long as your NEC3 contracts run, not treat them as a dated version of NEC4. Long framework and term contracts mean many teams still run NEC3 alongside new NEC4 work, so the system has to keep each edition's clause numbers, registers and late reply rules apart.
This page covers the April 2013 edition of the NEC3 ECC unless stated. It sits under the NEC contract management software guide. If you need a refresher on the form itself, see what NEC3 is.
What is specific to NEC3
| Topic | On an NEC3 contract | Risk if the system assumes NEC4 |
|---|---|---|
| Words | Employer, Works Information | Letters use the wrong defined terms |
| Early warnings | Clause 16; Risk Register; risk reduction meetings | Letters cite clause 15, which deals with something else in NEC3 |
| Register timing | No fixed period for the first register or the revised one (16.4) | False overdue flags from NEC4's one and two week periods |
| Programme not answered | Late reply is a compensation event (60.1(6)), with no deemed acceptance | The system wrongly moves the Accepted Programme |
| Instruction to quote | 61.1 | Wrong number on the letter |
| Proposed instructions | 61.2, with a reply within 2 weeks under 62.3 | Wrong route or wrong period |
| Compensation event list | 60.1(1) to 60.1(19) | Offers (20) or (21), which don't exist here |
| Implementation | Clause 65 | Cites clause 66 |
| Tests and Defects | Tests at 40 and 41; Defects at 42 to 45 | All the numbers are one out, which is easy to miss on a letter |
| Final assessment | No clause 53 process | A close-out step the contract doesn't have |
Many periods are the same in both editions: the eight weeks in 61.3, the two weeks in 31.3 and the quotation periods in 62.3. So errors tend to be in clause references and late reply rules rather than the everyday dates. The comparison of NEC3 and NEC4 covers the rest.
What Contract Status does
- Version per contract. Each contract holds its NEC version, so NEC3 and NEC4 contracts can sit in one account with the right words and registers on each. An NEC3 contract shows the Risk Register and risk reduction meetings.
- Clauses from your library. Clause numbers on records and letters come from your company's library for that version, including any changes made for Z clauses. Where there is no clause in the library, it shows no number at all.
- Programme late replies. Deemed acceptance of a programme isn't offered on NEC3 contracts. Under the contract, the late reply remains a compensation event (60.1(6)).
- Quotation and notification late replies. NEC3 has the failure notice route at 61.4, 62.6 and 64.4. Where it applies, the record counts down and shows what can be done.
- Your own terms. Words for the two sides and for instructions are set for your account, so screens can match the usage your team already has.
Test scenario: one contract of each
Take a fictional NEC3 Option C contract and a fictional NEC4 Option C contract, both with a programme awaiting a reply for three weeks and a notice of a compensation event. In any system, check that:
- the NEC3 contract offers no deemed acceptance of the programme, and the NEC4 one does;
- the letter for the instruction to quote cites 61.1 on NEC3 and 61.2 on NEC4;
- a Disallowed Cost note, if the system has one, uses 11.2(25) on the NEC3 contract and 11.2(26) on the NEC4 one;
- the register names differ and neither contract shows the other's term;
- a report across both groups them sensibly, without implying the rules are the same.
Why it matters on long contracts
Where an NEC3 contract has run for years, the older records matter too. An adjudicator or a new commercial manager may later need to see what was said, when and against which programme. See keeping an audit trail on what to retain.
If you are transferring a running contract from another system or a spreadsheet, ask about historic records before you start: open compensation events and the Accepted Programme in force need to be right from day one. To plan that for a live NEC3 contract with Contract Status, book a call.
Related guides
- NEC Contract Management Software
- Contract Administration Software for Construction
- Construction Contract Management Software
- Subcontract Management Software
- NEC Payment Application Software
- NEC4 Contract Software
See how this works in practice
Click through Contract Status with sample contracts: raise the notice, reply to it, and watch both sides of one record.
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This guide is general information in our own words, not legal advice. Your contract and its Contract Data always govern. NEC, NEC3 and NEC4 are trade marks of Thomas Telford Ltd; Contract Status is not affiliated with or endorsed by NEC.