For businesses getting quotes
10 Tips to Choose the Right Commercial Contractor
Sviatoslav JerdetchiiCEO & Founder of Craftex. Updated , 6 min read
The short answer
Choose a commercial contractor by running a fair tender: a clear brief, a short list of firms who build jobs like yours, and quotes compared on scope, programme and risk, not just the total.
- Write a one-page brief before you ask anyone for a price.
- Shortlist three firms with similar projects at your size.
- Compare exclusions, provisional sums, preliminaries and programme.
- Sign a written contract before any work or large payment.
Three quotes land on your desk. One is far below the other two. That gap is the most useful thing you'll learn in the whole tender. Either the cheap contractor found a better way to build it, or they priced something different. More often, it's the second.
Why that happens, and how a cost plus contract removes the reason for it, is explained in our insider's guide.
This guide shows how to choose a commercial contractor in the order you'd actually do it: brief, shortlist, tender, compare, sign. Each tip says what to ask and when to walk away. It's the checklist we'd want a client to use on us. Getting quotes now? Book a site visit and add us to the list.
How to choose a commercial contractor in five stages
Choosing a contractor is a short process, not a single decision. Each stage removes a different risk.
| Stage | What you do | Risk it removes |
|---|---|---|
| Brief | Write down what you're buying | Quotes that price different things |
| Shortlist | Pick three firms who build jobs like yours | A firm out of its depth |
| Tender | Send the same brief and drawings to each | Unfair comparisons |
| Compare | Line up scope, programme and risk | The cheapest quote that isn't |
| Sign | Agree a written contract | Disputes about what was agreed |
The ten tips below follow these stages. If you want the traits that separate good firms from average ones, read our guide to commercial construction companies in London.
Before you ask for prices
1. Write down what you're buying
Contractors can only price what you describe. Write a one-page brief first. It should cover:
- what the space is for and how many people use it;
- the date you need it and your budget;
- whether you need design as well as construction;
- anything fixed, such as a lease end or an opening date.
Our guide on how to brief a contractor lists what to include. A construction project plan helps too.
Walk away if: you can't yet say what three contractors would all be pricing.
2. Decide how you want to buy it
Do you want one firm to design and build, or a designer first and a builder after? Design and build gives you one contract and one point of contact. The traditional route keeps the designer independent. We compare the two in design and build vs traditional procurement.
Also decide whether you need a fit-out specialist or a general builder. See fit-out contractor vs general contractor. If it's a fit-out firm you need, our guides on what fit-out companies do and finding the right commercial fit-out company in London go deeper.
3. Shortlist on similar projects, not on size
A firm used to very large schemes may not put its best people on a £500,000 office fit-out. A small builder may struggle in a live City building. You want a contractor for whom your project is normal.
Ask: "Show me two or three projects like mine, with the value, size and programme."
Walk away if: everything is "confidential", or the examples are a different type of work.
When you send out the tender
4. Send every firm the same information
Send the same brief, drawings and dates to every contractor. Give them the same time to price. Offer each a site visit. If one firm gets extra information, tell the others too.
A fair tender is the only way to compare quotes. It also tells good contractors you're serious, so they put real effort into pricing.
5. Insist on a site visit before the price
A price given before anyone has seen the building is a guess. The real costs hide in the services, the structure and the landlord's rules.
A good contractor will also improve your brief. At our Hackney warehouse project, the client gave us an initial electrical layout. We substantially enhanced it. The unit had no natural outflow for wastewater, so we designed a pump system to carry it away.
When the quotes come back
6. Compare scope, not totals
Put the quotes side by side and line them up. Most "cheap" quotes are cheap because something is missing.
| Line | What to check |
|---|---|
| Exclusions | What each quote leaves out |
| Provisional sums | Allowances for work not yet designed, and whether they are realistic |
| Preliminaries | Site management, welfare, scaffolding, waste and insurance |
| Design responsibility | Who designs what, and who carries the risk |
| Fees and consents | Building control, statutory fees and the landlord's costs |
| Programme | Start date, completion date and long-lead items |
Whatever the job, from a small refit to a full commercial fit-out and refurbishment, these lines are where comparisons go wrong.
Walk away if: a contractor won't explain a gap, or their price only works if nothing changes.
7. Compare programmes as hard as prices
A price without a realistic programme is half a quote. Ask for the programme as a document, with the critical path and the long-lead items. Then ask which three things would delay it.
At Beaumont House the client had five weeks left on the lease. Other contractors quoted at least 12 weeks. We were on site two weeks after the first call and finished the 750 sq m office in three. More on delivering projects on time and on budget.
8. Find out who actually does the work
Most contractors subcontract some trades. What matters is how much, and who is in charge on site every day.
Ask: "What share of the labour is your own? Who is the site manager? Who is my single point of contact?"
Walk away if: the person who sold you the job disappears the day you sign.
Happy with the end result. Tight timeline but they pulled it off. The team worked late shifts and even weekends to help us open the doors on schedule. Site was always left tidy at the end of the day and no surprise charges either. Good communication throughout. Would definitely use Craftex again.
Before you sign
9. Check insurance, duties and the contract
Ask for the insurance certificates. Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement for employers, with at least £5 million of cover. Expect public liability cover and insurance for the works too.
Check the legal roles. Under the CDM Regulations 2015, a business client must make suitable arrangements for managing the project. Since October 2023, where more than one contractor is involved, you must appoint a principal designer and a principal contractor in writing. Larger projects must also be notified to HSE.
Then read the contract. It should set out the scope, price, programme, how changes are priced, the payment schedule and the defects period.
Walk away if: the contractor wants to start before the contract is agreed, or asks for a large payment up front.
10. Judge how they behave before you pay them
The tender is the best preview you'll get. Did they visit the site? Did they ask questions you hadn't thought of? Did they tell you something you didn't want to hear?
At The Gloucester Arms, we surveyed the fabric and services before construction. Our programme held a contingency for the defects old pubs hide. That's the kind of bad news worth hearing before you sign.
Red flags in any commercial tender
How Craftex answers these ten tips
We'd rather be judged this way than on price alone. So here are our own answers.
- Track record: trading since 2016, starting as a carpentry and joinery company. See our case studies and about us.
- Insurance: £10 million public liability and £10 million employers' liability.
- Who builds it: around 60% of our labour is in-house, with one point of contact.
- Pricing: a written price against a clear scope, after a site visit.
- Occupied buildings: at Portsoken House the rest of the building stayed let. We rebuilt the reception at night and at weekends.
- Repeat clients: after an office in Kensington, the same client hired us for their Banbury warehouse. It was 148 sq m, built in four weeks while the warehouse kept working.
Turnkey contracting keeps design and construction under one contract. When you write the brief, think beyond the build too: space planning and design, and running costs such as energy efficiency. To understand the role itself, read what a commercial contractor does.
Getting quotes now? Book a site visit. We'll walk the building, tell you what's missing from your quotes and give you our own price. For more guides on planning a project, see our blog.
Walk away if you see these
- A firm price with no site visit.
- A quote far below the others that nobody can explain.
- A programme that is one line: "8 to 12 weeks".
- No insurance certificates, or certificates in another company's name.
- A large deposit before any work or materials.
- No written contract, or a scope that says "as discussed".
