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Getting a price before you instruct

Client side: Proposed instructions

The Client wants to know what this change will cost before anyone commits to it. How do I ask without instructing it?

Where the contract stands

Use a proposed instruction. Under NEC4 clause 65.1 the Contractor prices the change first and nothing happens on site unless the instruction is later given (61.2 in NEC3). Set the date by which it may be given, and allow for the three weeks to quote. A late or missing reply means the price falls away.

Read the guide: Getting a price before an instruction

This is our plain-English summary, not legal advice. Your own contract, including any Z clauses, decides.

In Contract Status, step by step

  1. Raise the proposed instruction

    Choose + Add on Proposed Instructions, describe the change and ask for the quotation, with the date you may instruct by. Only your side has this button.

    Proposed instruction PI-0002 with details, a may instruct by date, a reply due date and a proposed quotation from the contractor

    PI-0002: GRP handrails, quoted at £4,280.00.

  2. Read the quotation and reply

    The quotation appears on the same record, with the amount, any change to Completion and proposed Key Dates. Reply to quotation is your next step, and the reply date counts down.

    The contract page with the Proposed Instructions button in Contract Actions

    Proposed Instructions has its own button on the contract page.

  3. Instruct and accept in one step

    If the answer is yes, one reply gives the instruction, notifies the compensation event and accepts the quotation. You can also ask for a revised quotation, or say it will not be given.

    Proposed instruction PI-0001 marked implemented, with a reply reading instruction given, notified as a compensation event and quotation accepted, linked to CE-0005

    PI-0001: the linked event, CE-0005, is implemented on the quoted price.

All screens are from the upgraded app, using a fictional water company, Kestrel Valley Water, and its made-up contractors.

What happens next on the other side

The Contractor sees the request on their Action List and quotes on the record. If the quotation is accepted, the Prices change with it. Under NEC4, a quotation that is not accepted can itself be a compensation event (60.1(20)).

See it on a contract you can click through

The guided tour lets you walk the same fictional account yourself. Or book a demo, and bring the situation you are dealing with.

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More examples