A copied estimating rate can carry an old mistake into every tender
The estimate is quick because the rate already exists
Suppose the business keeps winning work priced from the same estimating sheet. A labour or material rate has been copied forward for months, but nobody can explain which supplier quote or job result first supported it.
Review the reusable rates before assuming the wins reflect unusually efficient delivery. A small error in a commonly used input can affect many tenders without appearing as a large mistake in any single row.
Find the source and date of the rate
Identify whether it came from an actual supplier offer, a completed job or an internal estimate. Record the date and the circumstances in which it was considered appropriate. Keep the supporting document available.
An old rate may still be useful as history. It should not appear current merely because the spreadsheet was saved yesterday. Distinguish the age of the input from the date the file was last opened.
Check the unit and inclusions
Confirm whether the rate is per item, hour, metre or another unit, and which quantities the estimate uses. Identify whether delivery, waste, setup or supervision is included elsewhere or omitted.
business.gov.au advises including relevant costs when using cost-plus pricing. Apply that check to the components of the rate rather than adding a blanket allowance on top of an unexplained number.
Compare with recent relevant evidence
Choose completed work with reasonably similar conditions and compare the rate's assumption with actual costs. Explain differences in access, quantity, crew or specification before deciding the old rate is wrong.
Do not replace it with the lowest recent cost simply to remain competitive. A particularly easy job may be as unrepresentative as a difficult one. Have the estimator document the basis for the revised working input.
Control changes to shared inputs
Name the person who can update the library and record material revisions. Keep the rate version used for a submitted tender so a later change does not rewrite the historical estimate.
If a corrected input affects quotations already sent, identify them for review. Do not automatically reprice an accepted contract; obtain advice about the actual agreement and any proposed change.
Test the next estimates with the corrected basis
Check whether the updated rate fits the next job's conditions and whether the resulting price and cash needs are workable. Review the first actual results instead of assuming one correction fixes every tender.
If repeated underestimation has created debts the business cannot manage, bring the affected job figures to CRP. The useful explanation is which input was wrong and what changed, not simply that the market is competitive.