BIMTA FIELD GUIDE / 01

Before you
price BIM.

Know the work. Understand the cost. Make sure your trade benefits.

Built around the trade questions that matter: modelling, coordination, fabrication, technology, rates and reading the contract properly. Use this with your estimator, detailer and project lead before submitting a price.

Estimate software, hardware + fabrication costs →

Download blank PDF ↓

Choose a status for each item. Use Clarify for anything you cannot confidently price. Use Not required only when it is outside the agreed scope.

No login or submission. Your selections and notes stay in this page session and are not sent to BIMTA. Print or save as PDF before leaving or refreshing. Keep confidential project details out of this worksheet.

0 / 24 reviewed0 to clarify · 24 not reviewed

Read the scope before the rate.

A BIM requirement is work to price, not a blank cheque for more work.

Read the contract, specifications and BIM execution plan together. Record conflicting requirements for the responsible commercial team to resolve.Not reviewed

Name each deliverable, its receiver, due date and acceptance criteria. Separate design responsibility from trade detailing.Not reviewed

Check whether qualifications or exclusions are permitted. Submit scope questions before the question deadline; confirm the authorised change process.Not reviewed

Identify who produces the information, who benefits and who pays. Agree the payment milestones and required evidence.Not reviewed

Define what you are modelling.

Price the actual output. A detail label alone does not describe the effort.

List the systems, areas, geometry and information required. Include supports, openings and access clearances where they are in scope.Not reviewed

Confirm the starting drawings or models, revisions, coordinates and delivery dates. Allow time to check whether supplied content is usable.Not reviewed

Agree naming, units, file formats, model detail and checking rules. Test a sample with the person receiving it.Not reviewed

Define record models and handover data, including COBie only when required. Price collecting, updating and checking that information.Not reviewed

Price coordination and change.

The meeting is only part of the work. Preparation, revisions and repeat checks take time too.

Allow for meeting frequency, preparation, model uploads, issue reviews and agreed review rounds. Avoid undefined ongoing support.Not reviewed

Agree clash rules, tolerances and responsibility for resolving issues. Include installation sequence, service access and other trades' interfaces.Not reviewed

Confirm when design decisions and other trades' inputs are needed. Record what late or incomplete inputs could affect.Not reviewed

Agree how revised design, extra meetings and repeated exports are assessed and authorised. Record effects on hours, fabrication and programme.Not reviewed

Separate coordination from fabrication release.

An accepted coordination model does not automatically authorise the shop to build.

Confirm who supplies and checks manufacturer content, fabrication configurations, services and specifications for the actual products being installed.Not reviewed

List shop drawings, spools, cut lists, supports and machine outputs required. Identify checking, approvals and responsibility for engineering.Not reviewed

Name the person authorised to release work for fabrication. Agree the approved revision and how later changes reach the shop and field.Not reviewed

Allow for site verification, scans or surveys, layout and record updates where required. Confirm tolerances and responsibility for measurements.Not reviewed

Check the technology and the people.

A software licence is only one part of delivering the work reliably.

Confirm exact software and versions, including Revit, Navisworks or other specified tools. Separate authoring needs from viewing needs.Not reviewed

Identify who pays for licences, collaboration access, storage, hardware, add-ins and support. Include setup and project duration.Not reviewed

Check staff capacity, trade knowledge, training and review time. Test the exchange workflow before committing to an unfamiliar deliverable.Not reviewed

Agree permissions, model reuse, retention and security. Get permission before sending project information to external tools, including AI services.Not reviewed

Price the full effort. Keep the value.

Make the trade's benefit visible, and make the cost of providing it visible too.

Build hours for setup, modelling, coordination, fabrication outputs, checking, corrections, field support and handover. Identify allowances and limits.Not reviewed

Keep internal labour cost separate from the selling rate. Apply company overhead, risk and margin without counting the same cost twice.Not reviewed

Identify the trade's expected benefit, such as less rework or better installation planning. Name who will measure it and against what baseline.Not reviewed

Resolve open questions through the permitted bid process. Do not add prohibited qualifications or treat released hours as guaranteed profit.Not reviewed

What needs an answer before you price?

Record the open question, who needs to answer it and the date needed. Use the permitted bid process to record the agreed answer.

Questions / responsible role / date needed / pricing effect:

Track what BIM actually costs.

Use one Excel workbook per project. Set task budgets, record labour and allocated technology costs, and review forecast overruns. Includes 24 BIM-only cost codes, 150 task rows, 500 cost entries and concise instructions.

Download BIM project cost scorecard (.xlsx) ↓

Original BIMTA template. Costs remain in your saved file and are not uploaded to BIMTA. Internal tracking codes are not an industry classification standard.

Resolve the answers before you bid.

A checked box is a reminder, not a contract amendment or proof of approval. Have the commercial team confirm how agreed scope, limits and assumptions may be recorded. Some solicitations prohibit qualifications; use the permitted bid-question process before closing.

This is a practical discussion aid, not legal advice, a compliance certification or a promise of savings.