Tendering and estimating, 29 October 2026
Filling in a priced tender spreadsheet or schedule of rates
To fill in a tender pricing schedule, price every line in the client's format, using rates you've built from labour, materials, plant, overheads and margin. Don't add rows, change quantities or leave blanks without saying why. Check the arithmetic and that the total matches your form of tender. On a schedule of rates, your rates are the price.
What's the difference between a pricing schedule and a schedule of rates?
A pricing schedule or priced bill lists items with quantities: you enter a rate, and quantity × rate gives the amount. A schedule of rates lists items with no quantities, or with estimates only, because the client doesn't yet know how much work there'll be. You price a rate per unit and get paid on what you do.
Schedules of rates are common on term contracts, frameworks and responsive repairs, such as council or housing association maintenance. RICS NRM2 notes that its rules can be used to develop standard or bespoke schedules of rates for term contracts and framework arrangements. If you're bidding for those, see how a small firm gets on a council or housing association framework.
The difference matters for risk. With a quantified bill, a wrong rate costs you that one line. On a schedule of rates, a wrong rate costs you every time that item is ordered, for the length of the contract.
How do you build a rate?
From the bottom up: what it costs you to do one unit, then your overheads and margin on top. Here's a rate for 100 mm blockwork per square metre.
Unit rate: 100 mm dense blockwork, per m²
Built from a block size of 440 × 215 mm with 10 mm joints. Rates are an example; use your own.
| Blocks per m²1 ÷ (0.45 m × 0.225 m) | 9.9 |
| Blocks with 5% waste9.9 × 1.05 | 10.4 |
| Blocks10.4 × £1.60 | £16.64 |
| Mortarallowance per m² | £2.50 |
| Labour: bricklayer and labourer0.8 hours × £60 an hour for the pair | £48.00 |
| Direct cost per m²£16.64 + £2.50 + £48.00 | £67.14 |
| Overheads12% of direct cost | £8.06 |
| Cost per m² | £75.20 |
| Rate at 15% margin£75.20 ÷ 0.85 | £88.47 |
Work out your overheads properly rather than guessing a percentage: overheads per man-day shows how. And be clear whether your margin figure is markup or margin, because the two give different rates: see markup vs margin.
How do you fill in the client's spreadsheet?
Carefully, and in their format. Clients compare bids line by line, often by pasting them into one sheet. Anything that breaks the format makes your bid harder to compare and can make it non-compliant.
- Save a copy and work on that.
Keep the original as sent so you can check you haven't changed anything.
- Read the preambles and instructions first.
They tell you what each rate must include, such as "rates to include all labour, materials, plant, overheads and profit", and how to treat items you don't price.
- Price every line.
If you're not pricing a line, write "included" (and say where) or "not applicable" as the instructions allow. A blank cell can be read as included at no cost.
- Don't change the quantities.
If a quantity looks wrong, raise it as a clarification or note it in your qualifications. Don't re-measure in the sheet.
- Price preliminaries and provisional sums where the sheet says.
Site set-up, welfare, supervision and skips go in preliminaries, not spread across rates, unless the instructions say otherwise.
- Check the formulas.
Make sure quantity × rate is working on every line and the totals pick up every section.
- Match the total to the form of tender.
The figure on the signed form must match the spreadsheet to the penny.
What does a priced extract look like?
Here's a short extract from a priced schedule for a small extension, with the arithmetic checked.
| Ref | Item | Qty | Unit | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F10/1 | 100 mm dense blockwork, inner skin | 16.26 | m² | £88.47 | £1,438.52 |
| F10/2 | Facing brickwork, half-brick skin | 16.26 | m² | £112.00 | £1,821.12 |
| F30/1 | Cavity tray over openings | 2 | nr | £45.00 | £90.00 |
| Total carried to summary | £3,349.64 |
Check each line: 16.26 × £88.47 = £1,438.52; 16.26 × £112.00 = £1,821.12; 2 × £45.00 = £90.00. Total £3,349.64. The brickwork and cavity tray rates are for illustration.
What should you check before you submit?
Run through the whole return, not only the sheet. Even a loft conversion tender can run to 20-odd pages with several attachments. That's typical, and it's easy to miss a requirement buried in attachment five.
A groundworks and civils firm we spoke to, with seven staff and about £1m a year of mainly commercial subcontract work, described working this way: "I'm doing it all on pen and paper." It works, but it's slow, and the arithmetic check is where mistakes hide. If the tender is scored on quality as well, how 70/30 tenders are scored shows how much weight the price carries.
For what to write alongside the schedule, see tender qualifications and exclusions. If the quantities came from your own measuring, the take-off guide covers how to check them, and pricing a bill of quantities covers the bill format in more detail.
Where Nexley fits
Nexley is the AI back office for UK trade firms: five AI assistants run your tenders, quotes, buying, scheduling and invoicing. It connects to the tools you already work in, you run it all from WhatsApp, and you approve everything. £799 a month.
For priced schedules, Nexley reads the client's spreadsheet and preambles, fills each line with rates built from your labour costs, merchant prices, overheads and margin, and keeps the format as sent. It checks the arithmetic and flags blanks, odd quantities and missing returns. You review the rates and approve before it's submitted.
Common questions
Can I change the quantities in a client's bill?
No. Price the quantities given and raise any you think are wrong as a clarification or a qualification. On many contracts, the client carries the risk of errors in its own bill and corrects them later, so changing them in your bid only makes it harder to compare.
What do I do with items I'm not pricing?
Follow the tender instructions. Usually you write "included" with a reference to where the cost is, or "not applicable". Don't leave the cell blank, because a blank can be treated as included at no charge.
How do I price a schedule of rates with no quantities?
Build each rate so it pays on its own, at the smallest likely order. Small orders cost more per unit in travel and set-up, so check whether the schedule has minimum charges or a separate call-out rate. If not, allow for it in the rate.
Do my rates include VAT?
Usually not. Most tender schedules ask for rates excluding VAT, with VAT shown separately or added by the client. Check the instructions and say clearly on the form of tender whether your total includes VAT.
Sources
- RICS: NRM2 detailed measurement for building works (PDF)
- Designing Buildings: NRM2, detailed measurement for building works
- GMH Planning: NEC newsletter on bills of quantities
- MKM: 440 × 215 × 100 mm solid concrete block
- GOV.UK: Procurement Act 2023 guidance, assessing competitive tenders
Every rule, rate and date above was checked against these sources on the date shown at the top.
Topic: Tendering and estimating
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