A tender qualification is any condition, exclusion or assumption a tenderer attaches to a priced Bill of Quantities (BoQ) that departs from what the tender documents asked for. Most tender packs discourage them, and many treat them as grounds for rejection. The safer route is usually to raise the point as a formal clarification during the tender period, so the answer reaches every bidder and your priced BoQ stays clean.
This guide is for quantity surveyors at contractors, subcontractors and small consultancies. It covers what counts as a qualification, when one is defensible, how to word it, how the client's team deals with it afterwards, and what the separate 'qualification' stage (the selection questionnaire) asks of you.
TL;DR
- A qualification is a condition or assumption that changes the basis of your price. Tenderers are often forbidden from making them, and a non-compliant bid can be rejected.
- Raise doubts about quantities, descriptions and scope through the formal clarification process during the tender period, not inside the priced BoQ.
- If you must qualify, keep it specific: identify the item, the reason, and the cost effect, and make sure the tender instructions allow it.
- Qualifications are normally resolved in the post-tender stage, so a vague one invites a price adjustment you did not plan for.
- Separately, 'qualification' also describes the selection stage (SQ or PQQ), which tests suitability. It is a different exercise from pricing the BoQ.
Table of Contents
- Two meanings of 'qualification' in tendering
- Why the BoQ is the document tenderers should not touch
- What counts as a qualification
- Raise it as a clarification first
- When a qualification is defensible
- How to word a qualification that will survive evaluation
- What the client's team does with qualifications
- Protecting your own pricing before submission
- The other 'qualification': getting through selection
- Pre-submission checklist
- Where drawing-reading software fits
- FAQ
- Sources
Two meanings of 'qualification' in tendering
Search results for this topic mix two ideas, and it helps to separate them before going further.
1. Qualifications to the tender. These are caveats written into or attached to your priced submission: an exclusion, a stated assumption, a change to a BoQ description, a condition on validity or programme. They are what this article mostly covers.
2. Qualification of the tenderer. This is the selection stage, where a buyer assesses whether you are suitable to bid. Selection questionnaires assess financial standing, legal status and technical capability, while the invitation to tender (ITT) focuses on delivery of the specific contract. We return to it later in the article.
The two connect. A tender that passes selection can still be knocked out at evaluation if the pricing document has been altered.
Why the BoQ is the document tenderers should not touch
The BoQ is a contract document. RICS describes a bill of quantities as a list of items with identifying descriptions and quantities, and its purposes include enabling contractors to prepare tenders efficiently and accurately, and providing a basis for valuing work, interim payments and variations.
That last point matters. Every line in the BoQ later becomes a measurement and valuation reference. If one bidder has edited descriptions or inserted conditions, the client cannot compare bids like for like, and the contract documents become unclear. This is why tender instructions commonly state that the priced BoQ must be returned unaltered.
The tender evaluation documents published on Contracts Finder reflect this. One example states that tenderers may not alter or qualify the BoQ, and that points on legal or statutory matters should be raised as formal clarifications within the permitted clarification period. Always read the equivalent clause in your own tender pack, because wording and consequences vary between clients.
What can happen if you qualify anyway
The outcomes depend on the instructions you were given, but they generally fall into three groups:
- Rejection. The bid is treated as non-compliant and not evaluated further.
- Rejection of the qualification only. The client may ask you to withdraw it and hold your price. If your price relied on it, you are exposed.
- Post-tender adjustment. The client's team resolves the qualification with you and your price changes. RICS notes that the post-tender estimate is prepared after bids are evaluated and any qualifications are resolved, so the number on your Form of Tender is not always the final one.
None of these is a good place to be if the qualification was an afterthought.
What counts as a qualification
The definition is wider than many estimators assume. Anything that moves risk or scope away from what the tender documents set out can be a qualification, wherever it appears. That includes:
- a covering letter that says your price is based on assumptions the documents do not contain;
- a note beside a BoQ item that rewrites its description;
- a change to the quantity in an item, even where you believe the measure is wrong;
- an exclusion of an item or trade the documents include;
- conditions on the validity period, programme, access or payment terms that differ from the stated ones;
- a stated cap on or variation to the treatment of provisional sums or prime cost sums;
- a lump sum added outside the BoQ to cover a risk you have identified.
It is also worth noting what does not count. Pricing a line at a rate you consider commercially sound, including a nil or nominal rate where your overheads sit elsewhere, is a pricing decision rather than a qualification. Check the instructions on whether blank or nil rates are acceptable, as some clients treat them as incomplete.
Raise it as a clarification first
The most reliable way to deal with a doubt is to ask. The sequence below keeps the priced BoQ intact and gives you a record.
- Log the issue during take-off and pricing. Note the BoQ item reference, the drawing or specification reference, and what does not tally.
- Check against the documents. Look at the preliminaries, specification, drawing register and any addenda. Many apparent discrepancies are answered elsewhere in the pack.
- Frame a neutral question. Ask what the client wants priced, not what you think the answer should be.
- Submit through the stated channel before the clarification deadline. Use the portal or named contact, and keep the confirmation.
- Price on the answer. Responses are normally shared with all bidders, so everyone prices from the same basis.
- If no answer arrives, decide how to proceed. At that point you may have a case for a limited, clearly worded qualification, but only if the instructions allow it. Otherwise, contact the client again before the deadline.
The benefit goes beyond compliance. A good clarification question can change the tender for the better, since the client may issue an addendum that corrects the BoQ for all parties. If addenda change quantities late in the process, our seven-step triage for tender addendum quantities shows how to work out what has moved without re-measuring everything.
Example of a good clarification
Suppose the BoQ includes an item for a rendered finish to an elevation, but the drawing schedule shows a mixed brick and render finish with no areas given. A weak query is: 'Please confirm BoQ item 4.12 quantity is wrong.' A better one is: 'BoQ item 4.12 allows an area of rendered external wall finish. Drawing A-203 Rev C shows brick and render on the north elevation. Please confirm the area of render to be priced, or issue a revised item.' It names the item and the drawing revision, and it asks for a decision rather than offering an opinion.
Tying each query to a drawing revision is the habit that makes this work. Our piece on linking each BoQ line to its drawing revision explains the record-keeping behind it.
When a qualification is defensible
Some tender packs permit qualifications, or at least tolerate them when they are limited and clearly stated. Others say nothing. In these cases a qualification can be reasonable when:
- the design is incomplete and the BoQ reflects that, for example where information is described as provisional;
- there is a genuine conflict between documents that the client has not resolved after you asked;
- a site condition or third-party dependency cannot be priced without an assumption;
- the tender instructions include a mechanism, such as an alternative or variant bid, for offering different terms.
If the design is immature, the client should expect uncertainty to show in the pricing documents rather than in contractor caveats. Provisional sums and approximate quantities exist to carry that uncertainty openly. Our guides to provisional sums in a BoQ and to approximate quantities and price risk cover how those mechanisms work, so you can tell when a caveat is needed and when the document already handles the point.
How to word a qualification that will survive evaluation
If you have checked the instructions and decided that a qualification is permitted and necessary, these rules apply.
- Be specific. Name the BoQ item, the document and the revision. 'Subject to design development' is not a qualification an evaluator can resolve.
- State what it covers and what it does not. A narrow exclusion is easier to accept than a general one.
- Give the commercial effect. If the client agrees to remove the qualification, what is the price impact? Offering the figure helps post-tender resolution and avoids open-ended negotiation.
- Put it in one place. Use the section the tender instructions designate. Scattered notes across the BoQ look like an attempt to hedge.
- Do not contradict the form of tender. RICS guidance treats the Form of Tender as the definitive record of the final price. A qualification that undermines the stated sum makes the offer unclear.
- Keep a copy and your working. If a post-tender query arrives weeks later, you need to show how the qualification was priced.
Wording to avoid
| Weak wording | Why it fails | Stronger approach |
|---|---|---|
| 'Price excludes any unforeseen items' | Open-ended, cannot be priced or accepted | Identify the specific item or risk and raise it as a clarification |
| 'Quantities are subject to remeasurement' | Rewrites the contract basis if the contract is lump sum | Ask the client which basis applies, then price accordingly |
| 'Based on our own measure' | Signals that your quantities differ without saying where | Cite the BoQ items and the discrepancy in a clarification |
| 'Subject to contract' | Adds nothing and may be read as withdrawing the offer | Follow the validity and acceptance terms set out in the pack |
What the client's team does with qualifications
It helps to understand the other side. After bids are in, the client's cost manager or quantity surveyor reviews them for arithmetical errors, compliance and qualifications. RICS describes how the post-tender estimate verifies the tender sum against market conditions once qualifications are resolved, helping to keep the project within the funding level.
In practice that means your qualification has a cost to the client as well. They must price it, decide whether to accept it, and compare the adjusted figure with other bids. If your price is only competitive before the qualification is costed, expect the ranking to change.
Who produces the BoQ affects who owns the problem
The route to resolving a quantity query depends on procurement. RICS guidance notes that in traditional lump-sum contracts the client's quantity surveyor prepares the BoQ, while in design and build the responsibility often moves to the main contractor or works package contractors, who quantify the employer's requirements. If you are the one producing the BoQ, the issue is no longer qualifying someone else's document but making your own measure defensible. Our summary of how construction contracts use the BoQ sets out the differences by contract type.
Protecting your own pricing before submission
Most qualifications start as pricing anxiety late in the tender period. A tighter internal process reduces them.
- Reconcile quantities early. Run your own check on high-value items before the clarification deadline, not after.
- Keep a discrepancy register. One list of queries, responses and dates saves rework when an addendum arrives.
- Separate risk from rates. Where you want to price risk, do it through the rate build-up or a visible allowance, within what the instructions permit, rather than a condition.
- Check the arithmetic. Many clients correct errors under their own rules, which can change your total. Know what the pack says about arithmetical errors before you submit.
- Track cost outcomes after the win. Once you are awarded, the margin you priced has to be tracked in the accounts. This walk-through of job costing setup in QuickBooks shows one way contractors keep estimates and actual costs side by side.
If you want to benchmark rates before they go into a bid, see our guide to construction cost benchmarking methods. For quantity checks specifically, the NRM2 workflow for tender quantities covers how to review your measure before submission.
The other 'qualification': getting through selection
Before a BoQ is ever priced, you may have to qualify to bid. Buyers use a selection questionnaire, formerly a PQQ in many public sector processes, to test suitability. Published evaluation guidance describes mandatory pass/fail criteria that often include exclusion grounds such as insolvency, grave professional misconduct or tax non-compliance.
For construction, PAS 91 is the publicly available specification setting out standard prequalification question modules. Its aim is to reduce the burden of repeated paperwork on buyers and suppliers, and buyers are advised to request only the minimum documentation needed to assess capability.
What this means for you:
- Keep a ready bank of answers. Health and safety, insurance, financial standing, references and policies are asked for repeatedly. Maintain them in one place and update them on a schedule.
- Answer the question asked. Selection tests suitability. The ITT tests delivery and price. The local government guidance warns against repeating at ITT stage what was asked at selection, so if you see duplication, that can be a legitimate clarification.
- Check for proportionality. Where a questionnaire seems disproportionate to the contract, raise it through the stated route rather than leaving blanks.
- Do not confuse the stages. A strong selection answer does not excuse a non-compliant priced BoQ, and a clean BoQ does not rescue a failed pass/fail question.
For a real example of how project-specific questionnaires are structured, see this published selection questionnaire appendix on Find a Tender, which opens with health and safety questions before moving to other topics.
Pre-submission checklist
Before you send a priced BoQ, run through this list.
- Have you read the tender instructions on alterations and qualifications, and noted the consequence of breaching them?
- Is every query logged with an item reference, drawing revision and date raised?
- Have all clarification responses and addenda been reflected in your quantities and prices?
- Is the BoQ returned in the format and file type requested, with every item priced or marked as the instructions require?
- Does the covering letter contain any assumption that behaves as a qualification?
- Do the Form of Tender sum and the BoQ summary agree?
- Is there a copy of the submission and your working stored for post-tender queries?
Where drawing-reading software fits
Qualifications often begin with a doubt about quantities, and that doubt is easier to settle when each measured line can be traced to its source drawing. QuantiFlow is in development: it reads construction drawings and produces a draft Bill of Quantities for a quantity surveyor to review and sign off. The judgement about what to price, query or qualify stays with you. Plans are listed on the QuantiFlow site as Solo at £69 per month and Business at £299 per month, with Enterprise priced on request. For a wider view of the field, our guide to quantity takeoff software for UK QS firms sets out what to look for, and the question of which BoQ format to use is worth settling before you start.
FAQ
What are the qualifications in a tender?
The phrase has two uses. In pricing, a qualification is a condition, exclusion or assumption a bidder attaches to its offer. In selection, it refers to the criteria a bidder must meet to be invited to tender, such as financial standing, legal status and technical capability. Check which one the buyer means before you respond.
Can I add notes to a priced BoQ?
Only if the tender instructions allow it. Tenderers are often told not to alter or qualify the BoQ, and a bid that does so can be treated as non-compliant. If you are unsure, ask through the formal clarification process before the deadline.
What happens to a qualification after tender?
The client's team reviews it during evaluation and may accept it, reject it or ask you to withdraw it. Where it is accepted, the price may be adjusted in the post-tender stage, so the final contract sum can differ from your original figure. A specific qualification with a stated cost effect is far easier to resolve than a general one.
Is a clarification the same as a qualification?
No. A clarification is a question put to the client, and the answer is usually shared with all bidders. A qualification is a condition in your own offer. Where you can resolve a doubt by asking, a clarification is normally the safer choice.
Does a PQQ or selection questionnaire replace the ITT?
No. The selection stage tests whether you are suitable to bid, and the ITT tests how you will deliver the specific contract and at what price. Buyers are advised not to repeat at ITT what they asked at selection.
Sources
- Contracts Finder: tender evaluation document
- RICS: New rules of measurement (NRM2), October 2022 update
- Local Government Association: construction related procurement, PAS 91 prequalification questionnaires
- Find a Tender: Appendix B Selection Questionnaire
Recommended
- Preambles in a BoQ: rules, risks and drafting guidance
- 10 BoQ Errors to Avoid: Audit Controls for Practising QS
- Seven BoQ Review Steps for UK QSs, Tied to Standards and Contracts
- Which bill of quantities format should you use?
This article is for general information only and is not professional, legal or commercial advice. Quantity surveying decisions should be taken by a qualified professional with reference to the specific project, drawings and contract in question. Content is produced with AI assistance and reviewed before publication. QuantiFlow Ltd accepts no liability for reliance on it.