Price for Work Done to Date (PWDD)

The Price for Work Done to Date (PWDD) is the main figure in each NEC assessment of the amount due. On Options A and B it values completed work at the Prices. On Options C, D and E it is forecast Defined Cost plus the Fee, so it doesn't measure progress at all.

This difference runs through everything about how the job is paid. See the NEC payment and Defined Cost guide for the overall picture and the PWDD definition for a shorter version.

The definition by main Option

Option	Basis	NEC4 ECC	NEC3 ECC
A	Total of the Prices of completed activities and groups	11.2(29)	11.2(27)
B	Completed quantities at the rates, plus the completed proportion of each lump sum	In 11.2: check your contract	11.2(28)
C	Defined Cost the Project Manager expects to have been paid by the next assessment date, plus the Fee	11.2(31)	11.2(29)
D	As Option C	11.2(31)	11.2(29)
E	As Option C	11.2(31)	11.2(29)
F	As Option C, using Option F's own Defined Cost	In 11.2: check your contract	11.2(29)

Options A and B: what "completed" means

An activity on Option A is either complete or it isn't. There's no percentage complete. It counts as complete when there are no notified Defects whose correction will delay following work. So:

• A minor snag that doesn't hold up the next trade doesn't stop an activity being paid.
• A failed concrete pour under a following trade does, even when the activity looks finished.
• An activity 95% done is paid nothing. That's why smaller activities on the Activity Schedule help cash flow.

Option A also allows groups of activities, where the whole group has to finish before any of it is paid. So check any grouping in the Activity Schedule carefully. Option B uses the same "without notified Defects" test on quantities, while lump sum items in a Bill can be paid in proportion.

Example on Option A

A fictional culvert has activities priced at £40,000 for excavation, £60,000 for the base and £80,000 for the walls. Excavation is done. The base has been poured but a notified Defect means it must be broken out, which holds up the walls. The walls are half built. PWDD is £40,000, even though much more has been spent.

Options C, D and E: a forecast, not a measurement

The word "forecasts" surprises people. The Project Manager isn't looking back at what's been paid. It is forecasting what will have been paid by the next assessment date. So the assessment looks ahead by up to one assessment interval, which is intended to keep the Contractor in funds rather than paying in arrears.

Illustrative assessment on Option C	Amount
Defined Cost actually paid to date, from the records	£800,000
Forecast Defined Cost to be paid before the next assessment date	£120,000
Disallowed Cost identified so far	(£20,000)
Total Defined Cost	£900,000
Fee at 6%	£54,000
Price for Work Done to Date	£954,000

The forecast then gets replaced by the actual figure next time and a new one is added on. So errors tend to correct themselves. A consistently high forecast is worth raising, though, since it could give the Contractor money ahead of need.

Where PWDD goes next

• It's the first line of the amount due in clause 50.
• It decides when retention under X16 starts, as it has to pass the free amount first.
• Until a first programme goes in, one quarter of it is held back under clause 50.5 in NEC4 or 50.3 in NEC3, if the Contract Data names no programme.
• On Options C and D, its final figure is compared with the Prices to give the share (clause 54 in NEC4, 53 in NEC3).

What people get wrong

• Using percentage complete on Option C. A progress measure isn't the contract test, however useful it is for management.
• Thinking it includes all payment. Retention, delay damages and other sums are separate lines in the amount due.
• Using "certified to date" as PWDD. The certificate shows the change in the amount due. The two figures won't match once anything else is in play.

Related guides

• NEC Payment and Defined Cost: The Complete Guide
• NEC Clause 50: Assessing the Amount Due
• NEC Clause 51: Certifying Payment
• NEC Clause 52: Defined Cost Accounting
• The Fee Under NEC
• The Prices

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.