Construction Glossary
Cost Plan
Definition
A cost plan is an early estimate of what a project will cost, broken down by element such as substructure, frame, roof and finishes. It is built before detailed drawings exist, often using rates per square metre and benchmark data. The plan is refined as the design develops. It gives developers and clients a budget to design and make decisions against.
Cost planning starts at the concept stage and grows in detail as the design firms up. Early on it may use floor area and historical rates, and later it moves to elemental and then measured figures as more information becomes available.
A good cost plan flags where the money is going and where the design is pushing the budget, so changes can be made on paper rather than on site. In the UK these are usually structured to RICS New Rules of Measurement.
Why it matters
For a developer the cost plan is the difference between a scheme that stacks up and one that loses money. It lets you test viability, secure funding and steer the design before you are committed to expensive decisions. Catching a budget problem early costs far less than catching it on site.
We prepare elemental cost plans from your early drawings so you can set a realistic budget and keep the scheme viable as it develops.
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