Budget and Quotation Review
Independent review of construction budgets, quotations, and proposals before signing, paying, or choosing a contractor.
What is it?
It is a technical review of a budget or quotation provided by a builder, contractor, or supplier. I review line items, exclusions, assumptions, payment conditions, and potential cost overrun risks before you sign, pay, or move forward with incomplete information.
What is it for?
It helps you understand whether the budget is clear, whether the scope is comparable, and which points should be clarified before committing money. This service helps you detect economic gaps, differences between proposals, and risks that could later become change orders, extras, or disputes during construction.
Who is it for?
This service is for property owners and investors who already have drawings, a preliminary design, a budget, a quotation, or a contractor proposal, but are not sure whether the information is complete, whether the costs are comparable, or whether the scope is well defined.
When should you request it?
- Are about to sign a contract with a construction company.
- Are about to approve a construction quotation.
- Have several proposals and do not know how to compare them.
- Received one offer that seems much lower than the others.
- Have a budget with global line items that are not clearly explained.
- Are not sure what is included and what is excluded.
- Are being asked by the contractor to approve payments and want to review the backup.
- Are seeing extras, changes, or cost differences.
- Want an independent second reading before committing more investment.
Service Details
What is included
- Review of the budget provided by the contractor.
- Identification of missing line items.
- Review of assumptions, exclusions, and unclear items.
- Basic comparison of quotations, if applicable.
- Observations on cost overrun risks.
- Key questions to clarify before signing.
- Brief memo with main findings and alerts.
What is not included
- A new budget prepared from scratch.
- Architectural design or engineering design.
- Legal review of contracts.
- Full formal bidding process.
- Direct negotiation with contractors.
- Permanent construction supervision.
- Automatic approval of payments.
Duration
3 to 12 business days
Deliverables
Executive memo, cost overrun alerts, observations on budget items, and questions to clarify before signing, paying, or choosing a contractor.
Estimated Investment
Starting at $950 USD
Frequently Asked Questions / FAQ
What is the difference between this service and the Project Risk Assessment?
The Budget and Quotation Review focuses on quotations, line items, exclusions, assumptions, payment conditions, and economic risks.
The Project Risk Assessment reviews the overall status of the project: stage, available information, design, permits, budget, hiring, risks, and critical decisions.
If your main concern is the budget, this service is more direct. If your concern is the entire project, it is better to start with a Project Risk Assessment.
Will you tell me whether the budget is expensive or cheap?
I help you understand whether the budget is clear, complete, well supported, and comparable with other proposals.
It would not be serious to say that something is expensive or cheap without reviewing scope, drawings, location, specifications, conditions, and level of detail.
The important question is: what are you really buying, and what risks are you accepting?
Can you compare several quotations?
Yes. This service is useful when you have two or more proposals that are difficult to compare.
Many times, one quotation appears cheaper because it excludes items, uses different assumptions, or does not include certain works.
The review helps organize those differences before you make a decision.
Does this service replace a formal bidding process?
No. A formal bidding process requires bidding documents, contractor questions, proposal leveling, evaluation criteria, and a more structured process.
This review works as an independent technical reading to help you understand risks before signing, paying, or moving forward.
What documents do I need to send?
Ideally, you should send:
- The budget or quotation you received.
- Available drawings or preliminary design.
- Finish schedule, if available.
- Scope offered by the contractor.
- Payment conditions.
- Schedule, if available.
- Contract or commercial proposal, if you already have one.
If you do not have everything, I can still review the available information and point out what is missing before you make a decision.
What happens if the budget is incomplete?
I show you which points should be clarified before moving forward. The goal is not to block the project. The goal is to help you request more precise information, compare proposals better, and reduce decisions made with incomplete data.
Can you review payments during construction?
Yes, but that normally belongs to a different scope: Owner’s Representation, Project Execution Control, or Project Control Recovery.
This service should stay focused on reviewing budgets and quotations before signing, paying, or choosing a contractor.
Before signing, let’s review what you are accepting
A construction budget does not only define a price. It also defines scope, exclusions, risks, payments, changes, and responsibilities. Before signing or choosing a contractor, let’s review whether the quotation is clear, complete, and aligned with what you actually want to build.