Speak to JMI INSIGHTS & PRACTICAL GUIDANCE
Practical notes for property owners, estate teams and construction clients. Understand your costs, your team and the agreement behind the work.
Important notes for clients
Time, P&G, variations and material prices.
Clear communication. Clear responsibility.
Contract types, explained in everyday language.
01 / THE MONEY BEHIND THE BUILD
A project budget represents real money and real plans. These are some of the cost pressures worth understanding before work starts.
Preliminaries and Generals, often called P&G, cover requirements such as site facilities, supervision, security and temporary services. Some costs are fixed; others depend on time or the value of the work.
Important note A longer programme can mean more cost. Who pays depends on the cause, the contract and the required procedures.
Moving a window may affect brickwork, lintels, plaster, finishes and orders. A variation can also change the sequence of work and completion date.
Before you decide Please ask what the change costs, what other work it affects, and whether it changes the programme.
Material prices can change between the first estimate, tender and purchase. The agreement determines whether and how those changes can affect the contract price.
Important note An increase in a supplier's price does not automatically become an extra amount payable by the client.
An allowance may change when the final choice or scope is confirmed. Site conditions, access restrictions and missing scope can also affect costs.
Check the whole picture Identify exclusions and allowances. Include professional fees, approvals, contingency and applicable taxes in the overall budget.
“What assumptions does this price rely on, and what could change them?”
02 / PEOPLE, PROTOCOL & RESPONSIBILITY
In a well coordinated project, people know who decides, who advises, who instructs and who carries out the work.
THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE / A WORKING CONVERSATION
Here is how a well coordinated, professionally administered building project can work. Follow the people, the information and the responsibility.
CLIENT → PRINCIPAL AGENT
The client explains a request, concern or proposed change through the agreed project contact. The principal agent records it and identifies the people who need to respond.
PRINCIPAL AGENT ↔ PROFESSIONAL TEAM
The architect, engineer and relevant specialists review their disciplines. The client's QS assesses cost, with contractor input where needed. Return to the client for decisions or funding approval when required.
AUTHORISED PRINCIPAL AGENT → CONTRACTOR
The principal agent, or authorised delegate, issues the instruction within the contract and appointment. Current drawings, scope and the change record need to reach the people affected.
MAIN CONTRACTOR ↔ SITE TEAM
The contractor plans and carries out the instructed work, coordinates subcontractors and suppliers, and records progress. New site questions return through the agreed route to the responsible professional.
CONTRACTOR ↔ CONTRACTOR'S QS
The contractor's QS values progress, prices changes and updates forecasts, applications and supporting records. They help manage the contractor's commercial submissions and formal contract administration.
CONTRACTOR'S TEAM ↔ CLIENT'S TEAM
The client's QS reviews commercial information; designers clarify technical matters. The principal agent issues the assessments or certificates assigned to the role. Client decisions and payment follow the agreed contract.
The conversation continues throughout construction. The principal agent coordinates the client side, the contractor coordinates its site and commercial team, and the relevant professionals resolve matters within their appointments.
THE CONTRACTOR'S QS / THE RECORD BEHIND THE PROGRESS
Measure and value work completed, reconcile previous applications and keep the current payment submission supported by records.
Price instructions, keep a variation register and update the anticipated contract value and programme implications.
Track relevant supplier prices or indices. Assess any adjustment under the agreed pricing provisions. A global price rise is not automatically an extra payable by the client.
Maintain instruction, query and claim records. Submit required notices and supporting details to the named recipient within the contract's procedures and deadlines.
Important note for clients: The contractor's QS acts for the contractor. The client's QS assesses costs for the client. A copy sent to a QS does not replace a formal notice that the contract requires to be sent to someone else.
Illustrative communication model for an employer designed building project with a principal agent. The signed contract, appointments and agreed protocol determine authority. Consultation and direct technical coordination can run in parallel; urgent instructions and safety matters follow the applicable procedures.
EXPLORE A SPECIFIC SITUATION
A conversation on site can have cost and time consequences. Please confirm who may issue instructions, how changes are recorded and who must receive formal notices.
KNOW YOUR TEAM
Select a role to see its responsibilities, communication route and limits of authority.
The QS assesses cost. The designer resolves design. The contractor controls construction. Contract instructions and certificates come from the person authorised to issue them. One person may hold more than one appointed role, but the responsibilities still need to be clear.
03 / CONTRACTS, IN EVERYDAY LANGUAGE
What kind of work does it suit? How involved is it? Who can make which decisions? Start with these plain language notes.
The client decides the brief and funding, the contractor delivers its obligations, and the named administrator has defined powers. The chosen form, completed particulars and amendments set the limits.
LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER
Payment, claims, risk and administration, explained without a one size fits all score.
Scroll across to compare every column
Payment protection means the actual payment, security and remedy provisions. A label such as strong or weak cannot replace reading them.
Suspension means pausing work under an available contractual or legal right. An administrator's stop instruction is a different issue.
A notice is a formal communication that must follow the required route, content and timing. A discussion or meeting minute may not be enough.
Important note: Check the edition actually signed and all amendments. Do not assume the same notice period, suspension right or dispute route applies to every agreement. An extension of time and an entitlement to extra money are separate assessments.
These are JMI editorial reading guides, not official complexity ratings. Every option is a binding agreement. A shorter document still needs careful completion and administration.
BEFORE YOU SIGN
General educational guidance for South African construction clients. Project suitability and authority depend on the selected edition, amendments, professional appointments and completed documents. These notes do not determine a particular party's contractual entitlement.
A GOOD PROJECT STARTS WITH UNDERSTANDING
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