Variation Valuation Dispute
RemedialHourlyFor Subcontractors, Main Contractors & Clients
Where the sum is disputed, I argue which valuation basis the contract requires, whether contract rates, pro-rata, star rates or dayworks, and build your case on your own figures.
The problem
The variation is agreed to exist; the fight is about what it is worth. One side wants contract rates, the other says the conditions changed and the rates no longer apply, and the correspondence goes round in circles because nobody has pinned down which basis the contract actually requires. Valuation disputes are won on sequence: first establish which valuation rule the contract applies to this change, in this circumstance, then apply it to the figures. Argue the number before the basis and you spend the dispute defending a total the other side never accepts the foundation of.
The solution
I establish the valuation basis first: what your contract's valuation rules say, which rule this change falls under, and why, argued from the contract's own words and the circumstances, since contract rates, pro-rata adjustment, star rates or dayworks each has conditions this change must meet. Then I build the case on your own figures: your quantities, your rates, your records, structured the way the applicable rule requires and presented so the other side has to answer the basis before arguing the number. All quantities, rates and cost figures are supplied by you; I establish and argue the entitlement. The delivery ends at the Scott schedule and a supported settlement range: where the value most likely lands, and why.
What you receive
The dispute stops circling and starts narrowing: the valuation basis gets established, the figures get argued on that basis, and the other side has to engage with a Scott schedule line by line instead of batting away a number. Behind it sits a detailed written report: the basis, the figures, the evidence for each, and the settlement range. Answering later rounds, where they come, is a further instruction.
The Handover Pack accompanies the work with its dates and sources, likely outcomes and responses, scope boundaries and ready-to-send correspondence where needed.
Turnaround: the timetable is agreed in writing at scoping and then kept.
The working days start when the agreed scope and required inputs are available. Optional items do not hold the start unless the agreed scope says otherwise.
How it works
You send me the paperwork
The case is argued from the list below.
- A
The disputed variation: the instruction and its scope
EssentialWithout it: There is nothing to define what is actually in dispute, and the review cannot start
Where to find it: The instruction itself is in your own file or the contract administrator's sent items, and any drawings or scope issued with it usually travel in the same email.
Why I need it: What is actually in issue
- B
Both valuations, with build-ups
EssentialWithout it: The difference between the two figures cannot be explained, and the case cannot be built
Where to find it: Your QS holds yours; the other side's arrived attached to an email or an assessment.
Why I need it: The difference is only explicable from both build-ups
- C
The contract rates or bill of quantities, the pricing preambles, and the tender build-up behind any rate that may have to be rebuilt
EssentialWithout it: There is no rule set to test either valuation against, and a rebuild from a bill rate base cannot show the labour or plant content it adjusts
Where to find it: The commercial folder or order email; the priced bill is often a separate file, so check it comes too. The build-up sits with the estimator's files rather than with the bill.
Why I need it: The rules the valuation should follow, and the composition of the bill rate a rebuild starts from
- D
The records: allocation sheets, dayworks, plant returns, delivery tickets
ImportantWithout it: A rebuilt rate rests on published sources rather than your own resource, and it is marked as arguable at best
Where to find it: The site office files and your QS's working folders.
Why I need it: What proves the resource actually used
- E
The correspondence on this variation
ImportantWithout it: Anything already conceded by either side is missed, and the position may have to move once it turns up
Where to find it: The thread between your commercial team and theirs.
Why I need it: What has already been conceded, by either side
Copies are fine. Send what you have and I'll tell you what's missing. Download the client request PDF or editable Word version to pass to whoever holds the files.
- A
You supply the quantities, rates and records
The case is built on your figures. I don't measure or value the works; I argue what your figures are entitled to.
I establish the valuation basis
Which of the contract's valuation rules governs this change and why, argued from the contract's own words.
Valuation rule settled first.
The clause governing this change is recorded from the executed contract before any rate or quantity is argued, so figures stand on the right basis.
I build the case on your figures
Your quantities and rates structured the way the applicable rule requires, with the records that support each element.
Differences reconciled exactly.
The elements of difference must add back to the disputed total to the penny, each with its clause and evidence reference, before a position is stated.
I hand over the Scott schedule and the settlement range
The dispute lands as a Scott schedule the other side has to answer line by line, with a supported settlement range: where the value most likely lands and why. That is where this instruction ends; further rounds of exchange are a further instruction.
You put the case in your name
The valuation position goes to the other party from you, and you make every commercial call on settlement.
I hand over the basis, the figures and the evidence
Free Service Pack
A step-by-step Handbook, with the templates and working documents you need to carry out the work it covers yourself. You supply your own project information and records.
Follow the Handbook's scope and stopping points, and obtain independent advice where required. The pack is not project-specific advice or independent sign-off.
