Client Terms and Conditions for Quantity Surveyors

What a good one includes

• A detailed breakdown of the exact surveying services provided, alongside a clear process for how additional work or project changes will be charged.
• Specific payment schedules, invoicing intervals, accepted payment methods, and consequences for overdue accounts, including interest rates and work suspension rights.
• A robust clause that caps your total financial liability to a realistic multiple of your fee or your professional indemnity insurance limit.
• Clear terms establishing that you retain ownership of your cost models, bills of quantities, and estimates until all fees are paid in full.
• A provision stating you are not liable for errors in your estimates if they stem from inaccurate or delayed data provided by the client or their architects.
• Plain rules on how either party can end the agreement, including how you will be compensated for work completed up to the termination date.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Relying on standard consulting contracts that do not address construction-specific risks, like design changes, ground condition variations, or building regulation delays.
• Neglecting to set a clear ceiling on your liability, leaving your business vulnerable to catastrophic claims that exceed your professional indemnity insurance coverage.
• Forgetting to define what constitutes out-of-scope work, which leads to disputes when clients expect free cost updates as their designs evolve.
• Linking your payment to project milestones managed by third parties, rather than your own document delivery dates, causing cash flow bottlenecks.

Frequently asked questions