Glossary
Unit price (in a bill of quantities)
A unit price (Einheitspreis, EP) is the price for one unit of a bill of quantities position, such as one metre or one piece. Quantity times unit price gives the item total, and the item totals add up to the bid total.
In short
In US federal procurement, FAR 52.211-18 “Variation in Estimated Quantity” applies when the actual quantity of a unit-priced item varies by more than 15 percent above or below the estimated quantity. An equitable adjustment is then made on demand of either party, based only on the costs caused by the variation above 115 or below 85 percent.
In Germany, construction work is usually awarded at unit prices (Einheitspreisvertrag, VOB/A 2019 § 4 Abs. 1 Nr. 1) for parts whose quantity the client states by measure, weight or number of pieces. Those quantities come from the material takeoff. A lump sum (Pauschalvertrag, § 4 Abs. 1 Nr. 2) only fits where the work is exactly determined and no change is expected.
In a GAEB X84 bid, each item carries the quantity (Qty), the unit (QU), the unit price (UP) and the item total (IT).
Example
Position 01.01.0010, HT waste pipe DN 110, 48.5 m at 18.40 per m gives 892.40. If 52 m are installed, the deviation is about 7 %, so 18.40 per m still applies. The German band for this is 10 % of the contract quantity (VOB/B § 2 Abs. 3), so the contract unit price holds.
What to watch for
The unit price covers material and labour for one unit. A supplier’s price per pack or per bar has to be converted to the LV unit first, see unit of measure.
Within the 10 % band of VOB/B § 2 Abs. 3, or the 15 % band of the FAR clause, the contract unit price is not adjusted. The quantity risk sits in the unit price inside that band.
A Bedarfsposition without total also needs a unit price.
Your unit prices end up next to the competitors’ in a bid tabulation, position by position.
Not to be confused with
Lump sum (Pauschalpreis): one price for the whole work, not for each unit.
Item total (Gesamtbetrag): quantity times unit price.
A supplier’s list price: the price of an article. It is not the price of a position in a bill of quantities.
<Item RNoPart="0010">
<Qty>48.5</Qty><QU>m</QU>
<UP>18.40</UP><IT>892.40</IT>
<!-- HT-Abwasserrohr DN 110 -->
</Item>Related terms
Material takeoff (quantity takeoff)
A material takeoff (Mengenermittlung, quantity takeoff) is the counting and measuring of the quantities of work and material for a project, from the drawings before construction and by measuring what was built afterwards (Aufmaß).
Bid tabulation (bid tab)
A bid tabulation (Preisspiegel) is a table that sets the received bids side by side, usually item by item with unit prices and totals, so the client can compare them after the bids are opened.
Change order
A change order is a change to the work, or extra work, that the client orders after the contract has been awarded. In Germany the contractor’s price for it is the Nachtragsangebot (Nachtrag).
Bedarfsposition (provisional item)
A Bedarfsposition (also Eventualposition) is an item in a German bill of quantities for work that is only carried out if the client orders it during construction. Without total, the bidder states a unit price only.
Unit of measure (UoM)
A unit of measure (UoM) is the unit in which a quantity is counted or measured, such as piece, metre, square metre, kilogram or pack. Every order line, LV position and catalogue article has one.
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