Guide
Writing a scope of work subs actually price
A vague scope gets you vague bids. If the request says “complete the restroom renovation per plans,” every bidder fills in the blanks differently, and you get three prices for three different jobs. A scope subs can actually price tells them exactly what's in, what's out and where their work starts and stops. Here's how to write one.
A scope of work doesn't have to be long. On a small commercial or TI job, one or two pages per trade is plenty, as long as it answers the questions an estimator would otherwise guess at. The rest of this guide walks through those questions in the order estimators ask them.
Why estimators price around vague scopes
Put yourself in the estimator's seat. They have a few hours to price your job along with five others. When the scope is unclear, they have two choices: price everything they might be on the hook for and risk losing the job, or price the narrow reading and exclude the rest. Most choose the narrow reading. It keeps them competitive, and the exclusion list protects them.
That's not dishonest. It's how bidding works. But it means the low bid is often just the bid that read your scope most narrowly. The fix is to leave less to interpretation.
The eight parts of a scope subs can price
1. The documents, by name and date
List every drawing sheet or set, the specifications (or “notes on drawings” if there's no spec book), and every addendum, each with its date. Ask bidders to confirm the same list in their bid. Half of all scope arguments start with two people looking at different revisions.
2. The work, as line items
Break the trade's work into separate lines a bidder can mark Included, Excluded or Add $. Don't write a paragraph. A list works because each line forces a yes or no. Each trade page has a standard checklist you can start from. Delete what doesn't apply and add anything specific to your project.
Made-up example
Vague: “Provide all electrical work for the new break room.”
Priceable:
- Four new duplex receptacles on the counter wall, GFCI where required (confirm with your design team/AHJ), on two new circuits from panel LP-2.
- Dedicated circuits for refrigerator, microwave and dishwasher, per the equipment list.
- Replace six existing 2x4 light fixtures with owner-selected LED fixtures. Fixtures furnished by contractor, per the fixture schedule.
- Relocate one existing switch to the new door location, and patch the old box with a blank cover.
- Panel schedule updated, typed.
Invented project, for illustration only.
3. The edges: where the work starts and stops
Most gaps aren't in the middle of a trade's work. They're at the edges, where it meets another trade. Say it plainly:
- “Plumbing scope starts at the existing cleanout in the corridor and ends at the fixtures.”
- “Electrical provides power to the rooftop unit disconnect. Mechanical connects from the disconnect to the unit.”
- “Drywall contractor provides wood blocking at all wall-hung casework, grab bars, TV mounts and toilet accessories shown on sheet A-5.”
When two trades touch the same item, name one of them. If you're not sure who should carry it, ask both to price it as a separate line and decide after bids are in. The trade pages list the common handoffs under “Related trades”.
4. What's excluded, and who carries it
Write your own exclusions before the bidders write theirs. If the owner is buying the appliances, say so. If the landlord's vendor has to do the fire alarm programming, say so. For each item you're leaving out of a trade, name who's carrying it: the owner, another trade by name, or “not in this project”. Avoid writing “by others” yourself. It's the same gap you're trying to close.
Some teams use NIC (not in contract) on the drawings for work that's out of the project entirely. That's fine, as long as everyone reads it the same way.
5. Owner-furnished items
If you're buying anything yourself, like light fixtures, appliances, signage, furniture or kitchen equipment, list each item and say what the contractor does with it. Receive and store it? Uncrate and install it? Just connect it? An owner-furnished item that nobody installs is still your problem on move-in day.
6. Allowances, alternates and unit prices, defined
- Allowances: give a dollar amount and what it covers (“$4,000 allowance for tile material, furnished only, labor in base bid”). Every bidder carries the same number, so the allowance can't move the comparison.
- Alternates: describe each one as a clear add or deduct to the base bid (“Alternate 1: add luxury vinyl tile in corridor in place of carpet tile”).
- Unit prices: pick the items most likely to change quantity, give a unit, and ask what the price includes (“each additional floor box, installed and wired, per each”).
7. Site conditions and logistics
These cost real money, and bidders can't price them unless you tell them. Cover:
- Working hours, and any work that must happen after hours or on weekends.
- Whether the building is occupied, plus any noise, dust or odor limits.
- Access, parking, staging, elevator use and loading dock rules.
- Where debris goes: the contractor's own dumpster, a shared one, or one the owner provides.
- Landlord or building rules, such as required vendors, insurance certificates and shutdown procedures.
- What's known about existing conditions, and what isn't. If you have photos or a survey, include them.
8. Schedule, submittals and closeout
Give the expected start, the required completion date and any milestones, like “ceiling grid closed by” or “power on by”. Then list what you need at the end: as-builts, warranties, O&M manuals, attic stock, training and final cleaning. Closeout items are cheap to price up front and annoying to chase later.
Words that make scopes harder to price
Some common phrases feel complete but leave the estimator guessing. Swap them for specifics:
| Instead of | Write |
|---|---|
| “Complete” or “turnkey” | The line items, plus the edges |
| “As required” or “as needed” | A quantity, a location, or a unit price |
| “Per code” | What the design team has shown, plus “confirm with your design team/AHJ” on open items |
| “Match existing” | The product, color or finish, or a sample to match |
| “Coordinate with other trades” | Who provides what, at each handoff |
| “Repair as necessary” | An allowance or a unit price for repairs |
Use a simple responsibility list for shared items
For the handful of items that touch several trades, a short table saves a lot of back-and-forth. List the item down the left and the trades across the top, and put one X per row. Typical rows on a TI job: blocking, ceiling removal and replacement, patching and painting after MEP work, power to equipment, fire alarm tie-ins, floor prep, and debris removal. If a row has no X, you've found your gap before anyone bid on it.
Send it the same way to everyone
Once the scope is written, send it, word for word, to every bidder for that trade, with a bid form that asks for the same things in the same order. The bid package builder does that for you. Pick your trades, fill in the project details, and it produces the checklists, bid instructions and a bid form you can print, copy or download as Word. If you prefer a letter, the scope letter template covers the same ground.
When bids come back, answer questions in writing and share the answers with every bidder. Then compare them in the leveling sheet. The guide on how to level bids on a small TI job walks through that part.
Scope of work checklist
- Documents listed by name, date and addendum number
- Work broken into line items bidders can mark Included, Excluded or Add $
- Edges written out at every trade handoff
- Exclusions written by you, each with a named carrier
- Owner-furnished items listed, with what the contractor does with each
- Allowances with amounts, alternates as clear adds or deducts, unit prices with units
- Hours, occupancy, access, staging, debris and building rules spelled out
- Start, completion and milestone dates
- Closeout items listed
- Vague words replaced with specifics
General guidance, not legal, engineering or estimating advice. Check scope against your own plans, specs and contract, and confirm code questions with your design team/AHJ.
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