By Doreva · Published 2 November 2026 · Updated 2 November 2026 · Doreva Articles

How to Complete a Tender Pricing Schedule: Worked Example and Checklist

Your tender promises regular inspections, reliable staff cover and a supervisor who answers the phone. Your price needs to cover those commitments.

When the written response and pricing are prepared separately, they can drift apart. An extra service appears in the methodology. A subcontractor changes their quote. Someone increases the visit frequency, but the spreadsheet stays the same.

The total still adds up. It just prices a different service.

This guide explains each step, with a worked cleaning-services example and a checklist you can use during review.

What is a tender pricing schedule?

A tender pricing schedule is the document or online form where a supplier enters its proposed prices in the buyer’s required format. It may request a fixed fee, hourly rates, prices per item, recurring charges or milestone payments.

The schedule needs to be read alongside the scope of work and contract terms. Those documents explain what the price must cover and how payment will work.

Business Queensland’s tender guidance identifies fixed or variable pricing, conditions affecting the price, delivery charges and tax treatment as information suppliers need to address. Business Queensland: preparing a tender response.

Is a pricing schedule the same as a schedule of rates?

A schedule of rates is a type of pricing schedule that lists a price for each defined unit of work—for example, an hour, visit, square metre or item.

A pricing schedule is the broader term. It can also include lump sums, monthly fees and other payment structures.

1. Confirm exactly what the buyer wants priced

Before entering numbers, read the pricing instructions beside the specification, draft contract and amendments.

Write down the answers to these questions:

• What is the unit? Per person, crew, hour, visit, site or item?
• What is the quantity? Guaranteed, estimated or provided only for evaluation?
• What period does the price cover? A month, a year or the initial contract term?
• What must be included? Travel, materials, equipment, supervision or reporting?
• How should tax be shown? Separate fields or an inclusive total?
• How are options treated? Included in the main total or priced separately?
• Can prices change? Check any permitted adjustment mechanism and timing.

A rate of $100 per crew-hour means something different from $100 per person-hour. Likewise, an annual price and a full-term contract price are not interchangeable.

If the schedule is unclear, ask a specific question through the buyer’s nominated clarification process.

For example:

“Does the routine service rate need to include the quarterly external window cleaning in the specification, or should we price that work in the periodic services section?”

Keep the answer with your pricing records.

For the wider document review, see Doreva’s guide to understanding tender requirements.

2. Build an internal cost model

Your submitted price should have a calculation behind it that your team can explain.

Build that calculation separately from the buyer’s schedule. Start with the people, time, materials and equipment required to deliver the service. Then account for supporting costs and your intended commercial return.

Australian Government business guidance recommends considering the costs of providing a service when developing pricing. business.gov.au: choosing a pricing strategy.

Depending on the contract, check:

Record the source of important inputs, their owner and any expiry date. A supplier quote that expires before the proposed start date needs attention.

Check margin and markup

Markup is calculated against cost. Margin is calculated against selling price.

If your modelled cost is $100:

• Adding a 20% markup produces a price of $120.
• The resulting margin is $20 ÷ $120, or approximately 16.7%.
• A 20% margin requires a price of $100 ÷ 0.80, or $125.

The formula is:

Selling price = modelled cost ÷ (1 − target margin)

Business Victoria explains the distinction between margin and markup.

Be clear about the costs included in your model. A margin calculated after direct labour alone does not show the return after equipment, supervision and overheads.

3. Worked example: a cleaning tender pricing schedule

Assume a hypothetical buyer requests cleaning for one facility.

The pricing instructions specify:

• Five visits per week.
• A 52-week pricing period.
• A quantity of 260 visits.
• A price per visit, excluding GST.
• Routine materials, equipment and weekly supervisor inspections included in that rate.

These figures are illustrative. They are not market rates, wage guidance or a recommended price.

Calculate the delivery cost

The supplier estimates three person-hours per visit:

260 visits × 3 person-hours = 780 person-hours

Its simplified annual cost model is:

The internal labour cost is not an employee pay rate. A real estimate must account for the business’s applicable employment costs, productive hours and service coverage.

Any additional delivery costs identified during review would need to be added before setting the price.

Calculate the selling price

For illustration, the supplier chooses a 20% margin over the modelled cost base:

$41,600 ÷ 0.80 = $52,000

The rate per visit is:

$52,000 ÷ 260 = $200

Complete the buyer’s schedule

Complete any tax fields according to the buyer’s instructions and the applicable treatment.

The supervisor inspections are included in the internal model, even though they do not have a separate charge in the submitted schedule. That keeps the price consistent with the service promised.

Check what happens if volumes change

If the buyer’s 260 visits are only an evaluation quantity, the $52,000 total may not represent guaranteed revenue.

Under a hypothetical arrangement that pays $200 for each ordered visit, 208 visits would produce revenue of $41,600. Some costs might reduce with fewer visits; equipment and other fixed costs may remain.

Model the revised costs before deciding whether that rate is viable. The contract’s actual ordering and payment terms determine the commercial result.

4. Check that the price covers the written response

Read the methodology beside the cost model.

Look for statements that create a cost or require resources. For each one, identify where it is covered.

If the response changes, review the relevant pricing inputs again.

Ask the delivery lead to confirm that the proposed service is workable. Ask the pricing approver to confirm that the model covers it.

For guidance on explaining the benefits of that service, see Doreva’s tender evaluation guide.

Including employment or supplier participation commitments? Our social procurement tender response guide explains how to connect each promise to delivery resources and evidence.

5. Explain assumptions without creating hidden gaps

An assumption describes the basis used to calculate a price. An exclusion identifies something the price does not cover.

Use the place designated by the buyer to disclose them. Check whether qualifications or departures are permitted and how they must be presented.

Avoid wording such as:

“Price assumes normal site conditions.”

Where consistent with the tender, a more precise statement would be:

“The price is based on access to the nominated work areas during the service window specified in Schedule 2.”

The second statement gives both parties a clear reference.

An assumption cannot safely substitute for understanding the scope. If a required service appears costly or ambiguous, clarify it before submitting rather than quietly excluding it.

6. Review the actual file or portal entries

Check the version the buyer will receive, not just your internal working spreadsheet.

Pay particular attention to:

• Rates entered against the wrong unit.
• Monthly figures entered in annual fields.
• Totals that omit a row, site or contract year.
• Optional items accidentally included in the base total.
• Tax added twice or presented inconsistently.
• Old figures copied into a portal.
• A revised price appearing in only one part of the submission.

Do not treat a blank cell, zero and “included” as equivalent. Follow the instructions for each field. Seek clarification if the required treatment is unclear.

Where a portal allows you to preview or download your completed pricing, compare that output with the approved figures. eProcure’s supplier guidance, for example, includes reviewing the schedule-of-rates response and downloading a copy for your records. eProcure: completing a schedule of rates.

Tender pricing schedule review checklist

Copy this checklist into your internal review document and adapt it to the tender, or download the editable checklist (CSV) to open in your spreadsheet software.

Tender reference: __________
Pricing version: __________
Prepared by: __________
Reviewed by: __________
Approval date: __________

Keep the completed checklist with the approved pricing model and submitted response.

How Doreva helps you prepare the pricing response

Doreva brings tender requirements, draft answers, pricing and final checks into a guided workspace.

Your team confirms what the buyer wants priced, provides its rates and reviews the schedule alongside the written response. A named person confirms the figures before download.

You make the commercial decisions. Doreva helps keep the information and review steps together.