Final account and reports

A final account that shows its working

Every adjustment from the original contract sum to the final balance due, in the order RICS sets out, so the client can follow it without a covering letter explaining the spreadsheet.

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From contract sum to balance due, line by line

The argument at final account is almost never about the total. It is about one adjustment the client did not expect and cannot trace.

QScope lays out the ladder: original sum, variations, omissions, provisional sums, remeasurement, dayworks, fluctuations and loss and expense, then what has been certified and what remains.

  • Adjustments follow the RICS final account order
  • Only non-zero lines print, so the statement stays readable
  • Retention release shown explicitly, not folded into a total
  • Certified to date deducted gross, with retention added back once
Final Account
Statement, 11 Essex Road
Original contract sum£219,250.33
Variations, approved+£1,000.00
Provisional sums adjusted(£2,400.00)
Adjusted contract sum£217,850.33
Less certified to date, gross(£84,115.00)
Add retention release+£4,205.75
Final balance due, excl VAT£137,941.08

Every adjustment named, not folded into a total

The argument at final account is almost never about the total. It is about one adjustment the client did not expect and cannot trace back to anything.

QScope lists each category on its own line, in the order RICS sets out, and prints only the ones that are not zero so the statement stays readable.

  • Provisional sums adjusted against what the work actually cost
  • Remeasurement, dayworks and fluctuations each on their own line
  • Loss and expense stated separately, because it is not subject to retention
  • Omissions carried as negative figures rather than a quietly smaller total
Final Account
RICS adjustments
Provisional sums adjusted(£2,400.00)
Remeasurement+£1,180.00
Dayworks+£940.00
Loss and expense+£2,600.00
Omissions(£3,150.00)
Net adjustment(£830.00)

Where the adjustments to the contract sum come from

The £1,000 for variations on the account is not a lump. It is the variation register, each change valued under a named rule and tied to the instruction that authorised it.

QScope carries the approved variations into the adjusted contract sum and keeps the basis of valuation behind each one, so a challenged adjustment can be traced to its clause and its instruction.

  • Basis of valuation held against every variation
  • Additions and omissions both carried through
  • Certified percentage tracked against each variation
  • The register reconciles to the adjustment on the account
Variations
VO-01 Additional window to gable
Basis of valuationContract rates
Contract clauseJCT 5.6.1
Extension of time2 days
Loss and expenseNo
Subtotal£1,000.00

The release that closes out the account

Certified to date is deducted gross at £84,115, because retention has not been paid yet. The £4,205.75 held then comes back on its own line as a release.

QScope carries the retention through as an explicit release, matching the retention notice, so the client can see the security returned rather than quietly netted off.

  • Certified to date deducted gross, not net
  • Retention release shown as its own line
  • Half at practical completion, half at making good
  • Balance reconciles to the retention notice
Retention
Release into the account
Retention held on certificates£4,205.75
Released at practical completion(£2,102.87)
Released at making good(£2,102.88)
Added back to the account+£4,205.75

Loss and expense stands on its own line

Loss and expense is not subject to retention and it is not a variation. Folding it into another figure is how a £2,600 ascertainment becomes an argument at the final account.

QScope carries the ascertained total to the account on its own line, each head linked to the delay event it arose from, so the client sees what was allowed and on what basis.

  • Ascertained total carried as its own line
  • Each head linked to the delay event that caused it
  • Not subject to retention, so kept off the retained figures
  • Claimed and ascertained shown separately, because they are different numbers
Loss and expense
Ascertained to the account
Prolongation£1,900.00
Disruption£700.00
Claimed, all heads£4,100.00
Ascertained to the account+£2,600.00
Questions

What surveyors ask before they start

Does the final account handle omissions and provisional sums?

Yes. Omitted work carries through as a negative adjustment, and provisional sums, remeasurement, dayworks, fluctuations and loss and expense each have their own line so the client can see what moved and why.

Why is certified to date deducted gross rather than net?

Because retention has not been paid yet, so it is added back on the next line as a release. Deducting net would quietly lose the retention from the account. The statement shows both steps rather than hiding the arithmetic.

Can I issue a cost report before the job finishes?

That is the point of it. Anticipated final cost against the approved budget is available from the first valuation, and the variance is shown as a figure rather than a colour, so it survives being printed in black and white.

What if my client wants their own reference on documents?

Enter their purchase order or reference in the project settings and it prints on certificates and reports, so their accounts team can match it without emailing you.

Related

The rest of the commercial picture

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Not your whole portfolio. One live job, one certificate. If it does not save you time the first time you use it, walk away and take your data with you.