What documents do you need to price a commercial landscape tender?

The tender document checklist

Here is the full list of what an estimator needs to price a commercial landscape tender well, ordered from essential to helpful. If you have the first two, the work can start; the rest reduce the assumptions that have to be made and the risk that gets priced in as a result.

1. Scope or specification — essential. Defines what you are pricing.
2. Drawings — essential. Current, scaled, complete. Tells you how much.
3. Bill of quantities or pricing schedule — the format the head contractor wants pricing returned in.
4. Conditions of contract — the terms that carry cost and risk.
5. Site information — soil reports, service plans, survey, photos or a site visit.
6. Addenda and RFI responses — any updates issued after the tender went out.

The rest of this guide explains what each document does for the price, so you know why it matters and what it costs to leave it out.

Scope and specification

The scope or specification is the single most important document, because it defines exactly what you are being asked to price. It sets the boundaries of the work: what is included, what is excluded, and to what standard each item has to be delivered. Without it, an estimator is guessing at the extent of the job from the drawings alone.

On commercial landscape packages the specification also carries the detail that changes rates: the required soil depths, the plant sizes and species, the paving type and bedding, the maintenance period after completion. A drawing shows a garden bed; the specification tells you what has to go into it. Send this in full, including any trade-specific sections.

Drawings

The drawings are what the takeoff is measured from, so they need to be current, complete and to a stated scale. Send the full set issued with the tender as original PDFs at full size, not reduced prints or photos of a screen, because a drawing printed to the wrong scale produces quantities that are wrong at full cost.

For a commercial landscape tender the useful drawings usually include the landscape plans, planting and setout plans, hardscape and paving details, levels and grading, and any drainage or irrigation layouts. Native CAD files help where they exist but are not required. What matters is that every sheet referenced in the scope is actually in the set, and that you flag any that are marked preliminary or not for construction.

Bill of quantities or pricing schedule

If the head contractor has issued a bill of quantities or pricing schedule, send it, because it is the format your price has to be returned in. Pricing into the provided schedule means your submission maps line for line to how the head contractor is comparing bids, which makes your tender easier to assess and harder to mark down for being hard to read.

Where no schedule is provided, the estimator builds the BOQ structure from the scope. Either way, sending the schedule up front avoids repricing later into a different format on a deadline.

Conditions of contract

The conditions of contract carry cost and risk that never appear on a drawing. Retention, insurance requirements, liquidated damages, payment terms and the length of any defects or maintenance period all have a price, and pricing a tender without reading them is how contractors take on obligations they never allowed for.

You do not always need the full contract to produce a takeoff, but the terms should be reviewed before the price is finalised. A scope and contract review at tender stage is far cheaper than discovering an onerous term once the job is signed.

Site information

Site information is what lets an estimator price the risk items accurately rather than carrying a contingency for the unknown. Soil reports, service plans, a survey, site photos or a site visit each remove a guess from the price, and every guess removed is contingency you do not have to add.

The items that most often move a commercial landscape price are subgrade conditions, existing services, access and disposal. A soil report tells you what you are digging into; a service plan tells you what you have to work around; photos or a visit tell you how hard the site is to get plant and materials onto. None of these are essential to produce a BOQ, but each one makes the number tighter and more defensible.

What happens when a document is missing?

A missing document does not stop a tender being priced. A good estimator prices what the available documents support, flags the gap clearly, and states an assumption or exclusion rather than guessing silently. You end up with a price you can submit and a short list of exactly what was and was not allowed for.

That transparency is the point. If the soil report is missing, the price either excludes rock and difficult ground or carries a stated allowance, and you decide which. If a drawing is marked preliminary, the affected items are flagged as subject to the final issue. This is the difference between a price built on hidden guesses, which surface as disputes once the job runs, and one where every assumption is on the table before you submit. Send what you have, and the gaps get handled in the open. If you want the wider method, see our guide on how to price a commercial landscape tender.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum you need to price a landscape tender?

At a minimum you need the scope or specification and a current, scaled set of drawings. With just those two an estimator can produce a takeoff and a priced BOQ. Everything else improves accuracy and reduces the risk you carry, but those two are the floor.

Can you price a tender without a site inspection?

Yes. Most commercial landscape tenders are priced entirely from the drawings and scope without visiting the site. A site inspection or photos help price access, existing conditions and disposal, but they are not required to produce a complete BOQ.

What happens if a document is missing or unclear?

A good estimator prices what the documents support, flags the gap, and states a clear assumption or exclusion rather than guessing silently. That way you know exactly what has and has not been allowed for, and can chase the missing information or carry the risk knowingly.

What file formats should you send drawings in?

Send drawings as the original scaled PDFs issued with the tender, at full size rather than reduced prints. Native CAD files help but are not required. The key is that the drawings are current, complete and to a stated scale so quantities can be measured accurately.

Key takeaways

• Five documents price a tender: scope, drawings, pricing schedule, contract and site information.
• The scope and a current scaled drawing set are the minimum needed to start.
• The pricing schedule, contract and site info each cut the risk and contingency built into the price.
• Most tenders are priced from the drawings alone, without a site visit.
• A missing document is handled with a stated assumption or exclusion, not a silent guess.