Cost-plus, explained
The client sees what the builder sees.
Transparency here is operational reality, not a slogan. It shows up in your inbox every fortnight for the life of the project.
Why cost-plus suits complex architectural projects
Architecturally designed homes are not standard products. Designs evolve during documentation. Scopes are non-standard. Site conditions vary.
A single fixed price for that kind of project doesn't remove the uncertainty — it hides it. The builder prices every risk into the number as a risk premium, and you pay for that risk premium whether or not the risk ever happens.
Cost-plus takes the opposite position. You pay what the project actually costs, plus an agreed margin.
How it works here
Every fortnight, a full financial reconciliation.
01
Updated cost spreadsheet
02
Current programme
03
Supplier invoice evidence
04
The amount owing
05
The budget to completion
Actual costs are recorded as they occur and tracked openly against the budget to completion. Supplier invoices are made available with the reconciliation — not summarised, shown.
Where fixed pricing does apply
Defined structural components are different. Formcraft walls, basements and measurable concrete packages are systemised work, backed by around thirty years of estimating data.
The project as a whole runs cost-plus. We can fix the costs of the structural components up front, so the big-ticket item has certainty.
Stage 1
Indicative structural price
Prepared from substantially complete architectural drawings. Accurate enough to make real decisions with.
Stage 2
Fixed structural price
Confirmed once engineering is complete and coordinated. A fixed number for the defined structural scope.
The numbers you'll see, in plain terms
- Fixed structural costs
- Defined structural components — Formcraft walls, basements and measurable concrete packages — priced fixed.
- Confirmed quotes
- Supplier and subcontractor quotes obtained and confirmed during the build, passed through for approval.
- Allowances
- Nominated figures for items not yet selected, reconciled against actual cost as selections are made.
- Provisional estimates
- Best-estimate figures for work not yet fully defined, replaced by actuals as the work is done.
- Actual cost-plus expenditure
- What was actually spent, plus the agreed margin — evidenced by supplier invoices to provide full transparency.
Enquiries
Discuss a project