Pre-Quote Cost Planning, lock your budget before design commits you to it
Cost planning is the discipline of fixing a defensible construction budget early in the design process and then policing it through every design stage. Costed prepares elemental cost plans aligned to the design stages, benchmarked against current London market rates, so design decisions are taken with their cost consequence already on the table, not discovered at quote.
- Aligned to the design stages, Stages 1–4.
- Built to elemental rules.
- Benchmarked against current London rates from live quotes.
- Refreshed at each design gateway, never a single static document.
| design stage | Cost plan output | What it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1, Preparation | Order of cost estimate | Is the brief affordable? |
| Stage 2, Concept | Formal cost plan 1 | Which option do we take forward? |
| Stage 3, Developed design | Cost plan 2, elemental | Has design crept past the budget? |
| Stage 4, Technical design | Cost plan 3, pre-quote | Is the project ready to quote? |
Why early cost planning saves more than late value engineering
The cheapest pound to remove from a construction project is the one that is never designed in. Once specification, structure and services are committed in Stage 3, the cost of reversing a decision rises sharply, both in fees and in lost programme. A live cost plan, refreshed at each design gateway, forces those decisions into the open while they are still cheap to change.
Where market rates actually come from
A cost plan is only as good as the rates underneath it. Costed benchmarks against live builder quotes from London projects in the same sector and value band, not against published price books that lag the market by 12–18 months. That is why our pre-quote numbers sit close to what contractors actually return.
Frequently asked
How accurate is a Stage 2 cost plan?
A Stage 2 cost plan should sit within roughly ±10–15% of the eventual builder quote. By Stage 3 the band tightens to ±5–10%, and by Stage 4 the pre-quote estimate should be within a few percent, provided design has been costed at each gateway rather than only at the end.
Do you provide cost planning without the rest of the cost expert service?
Yes. Cost planning can be commissioned as a standalone service, typically by architects, developers or homeowners who want independent cost intelligence at the design stage. We are equally happy to continue through quote and post-contract, but it is not a requirement.
What is the difference between and ?
is the rulebook for cost estimating and elemental cost planning, used pre-quote. governs detailed measurement of building works, used to prepare the priced spec that contractors price. The two rulebooks are designed to work together across the lifecycle.
Know what your project should cost. Before you build it.
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