Put the major cost categories into one planning view.
The calculator runs in your browser. BuildConnect UK does not ask you to upload quotations, invoices or personal financial information to use it.
Start with the contractor or construction allowance.
Keep costs outside the main construction price visible.
A contractor quotation is only one part of the project cost.
Professional and statutory costs
Architects, engineers, surveyors, building-control fees and other professional or approval costs may sit outside the construction quotation. Keeping them separate makes the overall affordability picture clearer.
Client-supplied products
Kitchens, sanitaryware, flooring, appliances, lighting and fitted furniture are often purchased directly by the client. Include purchase, delivery and any associated coordination or installation costs in your wider budget.
Uncertainty and contingency
Older buildings, incomplete design information and opening-up works can reveal unknowns. Keep uncertain allowances visible rather than assuming every early figure is fixed.
Already have builder quotations?
Use the free quote comparison tool to place up to five quotations onto a clearer like-for-like basis, including known exclusions and programme duration.
Compare builder quotesPost your construction project free.
Describe the project, location, approximate budget and programme so relevant construction companies can assess whether the opportunity fits.
Post a project — FreeWhat should I put in the construction amount?
Use your current contractor quotation, cost plan or construction allowance. If the figure excludes VAT, the planner can add a VAT rate for budgeting purposes. Confirm the actual tax treatment separately.
How should I treat provisional sums?
Keep them visible as uncertain allowances. As drawings, surveys and selections improve, replace provisional figures with firmer quotations where possible rather than treating early allowances as final costs.
Is the lowest possible budget the right target?
Not necessarily. A realistic planning budget should reflect the scope, quality level, project constraints and uncertainty. Understating known categories can create a misleading affordability picture before work starts.
Use this tool differently depending on your role.
Use it to make the next decision clearer.
Use it to separate the contractor price from VAT, professional fees, client-supplied products, uncertain allowances and contingency so the money available for the works is not mistaken for the total project budget.
Use it to reduce commercial ambiguity.
Use it to understand the wider client budget conversation. It can help explain why the construction price is only one part of the client's overall financial commitment.
Use it to support structured advice and procurement.
Use it as an early client-briefing structure to identify missing allowances and budget pressures before design or procurement decisions become difficult to reverse.
You stay in control of what becomes public and when you connect.
BuildConnect separates useful marketplace information from private account details. The controls differ by role, so clients, contractors and professionals can participate without having to make everything public.
Clients
Client contact details remain private until the client chooses to connect with a contractor. Start with the project information rather than publishing personal contact details.
Post a projectContractors
A public contractor profile is optional. If enabled after verification, selected company information can be published while private account details and insurance expiry dates remain private.
Create contractor accountProfessionals
Professional public profiles are optional and require approval. Work email addresses are not displayed publicly, and marketing updates have a separate optional opt-in.
Join professional network