To understand what cost planners/estimators do and why they are needed.
Cost Planner / Estimator
By Jianpeng Deng
Updated on 16/01/2025
What is a cost planner? Why is a cost plan needed?
A cost planner is a professional responsible for estimating, analyzing, and managing the costs associated with a construction project.
For large projects, cost plans are created during the pre-tender stage to set budgets for the project. Once approved internally, they are passed on to the construction team, allowing contract administrators to package out the trades.
How do you determine a good cost plan?
A good cost plan should:
– capture nearly all costs that may be incurred throughout the project.
– include detailed trade breakups so that contract administrators can easily understand them when they take over the cost plans.
– be set higher than the actual cost, as all businesses ultimately rely on profits.
How is a cost planner different from a quantity surveyor?
(Based on my experience only)
Compare and Contrast
Cost Planner
– work for builder and developer companies.
– only focus on preparing cost plans; budgets are very important because they are directly related to profit and loss.
– have current market rates in mind because their company must manage multiple ongoing and completed projects to analyze these rates.
– have a deeper understanding of projects because their company usually specializes in certain sectors and areas.
– conduct site visits to better understand the projects and provide more accurate cost plans.
Quantity Surveyor
– work for consulting firms.
– also prepare estimates or cost plans, which serve as cost guides for their clients to decide whether to proceed with the projects. Preparing estimates is only one of many services they provide.
– normally use Rawlinsons to source rates, but these are not current market rates because they typically do not communicate directly with tradespeople.
– considering the variety of projects across different sizes and sectors, quantity surveyors naturally do not have a deep understanding of every construction detail; instead, they have a general knowledge of many aspects.
– don’t normally visit sites because it’s not typically required.