How do you write clarifications and exclusions for a landscape tender?

What are inclusions, exclusions, clarifications and assumptions?

They are the statements in a tender submission that define exactly what your price covers. The price is only a number; these statements tell the head contractor what that number buys. Each one does a different job.

• An inclusion is work you confirm is in your price, stated where the documents are ambiguous about who does it.
• An exclusion is work you have deliberately left out of your price, so it must be carried by someone else or priced later as a variation.
• A clarification explains how you have read or priced an item that is in your scope, such as which of two conflicting details you followed.
• An assumption is a condition your price depends on, such as site access or the order of trades, that the documents do not confirm.
• A qualification is any of the above that changes or limits what the tender asked for. Head contractors often use the word for the whole list.

An exclusion moves cost to someone else. A clarification or assumption sets the baseline a later variation is measured against.

Why do clarifications and exclusions protect your margin?

Clarifications and exclusions protect your margin by fixing the boundary of the work you priced. Without them, anything the documents leave unclear tends to be read as included, and the cost lands on you after the contract is let.

Landscape packages are especially exposed. The soft and hard landscape scope often overlaps with civil, hydraulic and electrical trades, ground conditions are rarely fully known at tender, and planting depends on works by others being finished first. Each of those is a place where an unwritten assumption becomes an unpaid cost.

A clear schedule also makes later claims easier. If you stated that your price assumed a single mobilisation, a second one has an obvious baseline to price against. Our guide to notifying a variation on a landscape subcontract covers what to do when that happens.

How do you write a clear exclusion?

A clear exclusion is specific, referenced and complete in one sentence or two. Someone reading it months later, without the tender in front of them, should know exactly what was left out and why. Follow these steps for every item.

1. Find the gap first. Read the scope, drawings and specification together and list every item that is unclear, conflicting or missing. Our guide on how to read a landscape tender scope walks through this.
2. Ask before you qualify. Raise a tender query where there is time. A clarified document is better than a qualified price.
3. Name the item precisely. Say "irrigation connection to the water meter", not "irrigation".
4. Reference the source. Quote the drawing number, detail or specification clause the item comes from.
5. Say what you did allow. Pair the exclusion with what is included, so the boundary has two sides.
6. Offer a path. Where it helps, say the item can be priced as a variation or at rates if required.
7. Number each item. Numbered items can be referred to in emails, levelling meetings and the subcontract.

Avoid catch-all lines such as "anything not shown on the drawings is excluded". They are hard to enforce and suggest you have not read the documents.

What do common landscape exclusions look like?

Common landscape exclusions cover ground conditions, services connections, works by others and items the documents leave undefined. The wording below is illustrative only. Adapt it to the documents in front of you, and replace the bracketed references with the real drawing and clause numbers.

• Rock excavation: "Excavation in rock or material that cannot be removed with standard excavation plant is excluded. Our price assumes ground conditions as described in [geotechnical report reference]. Rock can be priced as a variation if encountered."
• Contaminated soil: "Testing, handling and disposal of contaminated or hazardous material is excluded. Our price assumes all excavated material is suitable for disposal as clean fill or reuse on site."
• Irrigation connections: "Our irrigation price commences at the [isolation valve / connection point] shown on [drawing number]. Water supply up to that point, the meter and backflow device are by others."
• Power to controllers: "Power supply to the irrigation controller location is by the electrical contractor. Our price includes the controller and its connection once power is available."
• Works by others: "Subgrade preparation to the levels shown on [drawing number] is by the civil contractor. Our price commences from a prepared subgrade handed over to us in a trimmed and compacted state."
• Maintenance: "Our price includes the establishment maintenance period stated in [specification clause] only. Ongoing maintenance after that period is excluded."
• Undefined items: "Tree protection fencing is not shown on the drawings or described in the specification and has been excluded. We can price it on receipt of a layout."

Each example names the item, ties it to a document and says where your work starts. For maintenance scope, see how to price landscape maintenance and establishment.

When do too many qualifications hurt a tender?

Too many qualifications hurt a tender when they change what the head contractor asked you to price. At that point your bid is no longer comparable with the others, and it may be treated as non-conforming or simply set aside.

Watch for these warning signs in your own list:

• Excluding work the scope clearly allocates to the landscape package.
• Rejecting or rewriting contract conditions, such as security or liquidated damages, rather than raising them as a query.
• Pricing a different program, material or method from the one specified.
• Copying a standard exclusions list that is not tied to this project.

If you want to offer an alternative, such as a substitute product or a staged program, price the conforming tender first and submit the alternative separately, if the tender conditions allow alternatives. Check the conditions of tender for how departures must be presented. Where a contract term is unacceptable, that is a commercial and legal question: raise it, and get advice before signing.

How do head contractors read them in tender levelling?

Head contractors read clarifications and exclusions to make every bid comparable before they choose one. This process is called tender levelling: the estimator lines up each subcontractor's price against the same scope and adjusts for anything that is missing or different.

When your price excludes an item that other bidders included, the estimator will usually add an allowance to your number to cover it. That allowance is their estimate, not yours, and it can easily be higher than what the work would actually cost you. A cheap price with heavy exclusions can end up levelled above a fuller price.

Exclude only what you genuinely cannot price, include what you reasonably can, and make the list easy to read so the estimator does not have to guess. A clean, priced bill of quantities alongside the schedule makes levelling quicker and fairer. Our guide on improving your landscape tender win rate covers this further.

Summary table

The table below compares the main types of tender qualification, what each does and how to word it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between an exclusion and a clarification?

An exclusion removes a piece of work from your price entirely, so someone else must carry it. A clarification explains how you have read or priced something that is in your scope. Exclusions change what you are doing; clarifications change how your price should be understood.

Where do clarifications and exclusions go in a landscape tender?

Put them in a clearly headed schedule in your tender submission, usually straight after the price summary, and use the head contractor's own form if the tender provides one. Number each item so it can be referred to in correspondence and in the subcontract.

How many exclusions should a landscape tender have?

There is no right number. Include every exclusion that reflects a genuine gap or risk in the documents, and nothing that is already clear. A short list of specific, referenced items is read and accepted; a long generic list is often treated as non-conforming.

Can too many qualifications make a tender non-conforming?

Yes. If your qualifications change the scope, the contract terms or the program the tender asked you to price, the head contractor may treat the bid as non-conforming or load it heavily in levelling. Check the tender conditions on alternatives and departures before you submit.

Should I exclude rock excavation and contaminated soil?

If the documents do not define ground conditions, exclude rock and contaminated material from your price and offer to price them as a variation or at a schedule of rates. State what you have assumed the ground to be, and reference any geotechnical report you relied on.

Do exclusions carry into the subcontract?

Only if the subcontract says so. Exclusions in a tender letter are often lost when the head contractor issues its own subcontract. Check that your tender, including the exclusions schedule, is listed as a contract document before you sign, and get advice if unsure.

Key takeaways

• Inclusions, exclusions, clarifications and assumptions define what your tender price actually buys.
• Write each item as one numbered, specific statement referenced to a drawing or specification clause.
• Ask a tender query before you qualify, and pair every exclusion with what you did allow.
• Qualifications that change the requested scope, terms or program risk making the tender non-conforming.
• In levelling, head contractors add their own allowance for anything you exclude, which can cost you the job.
• Check your exclusions schedule is a listed contract document before signing the subcontract.