What “carry” means in estimating: a plain-English glossary

An addendum is an issued change or clarification to procurement documents before the bid closes. It can revise drawings, specifications, forms, quantities, conditions, or the submission deadline. The plural is addenda. Estimators should register every addendum, identify superseded documents, map its effects, obtain revised supplier input, update pricing and forms, acknowledge it as required, and preserve it with the submitted baseline. See the bid-day addendum checklist for the full workflow.

An alternate is a defined addition, deduction, or substitution priced separately from the base offer. The customer can use it to compare options or change the award scope. Alternates should state exactly how they modify the base, whether taxes are included, what schedule effect applies, and how long the price remains valid. An alternate is not automatically part of the accepted work. Its status must be recorded when the customer selects or rejects it.

An allowance is a stated amount carried for work or cost that is not fully defined or supported at pricing time. It lets the estimate include a visible provision without pretending the uncertainty has disappeared. A useful allowance names its purpose, amount, basis, owner, and later reconciliation rule. It is different from confirmed supplier cost. If the customer sees an allowance, the proposal should explain its customer-facing scope and treatment without exposing internal cost or margin information.

The approved baseline is the controlled version of scope, price basis, qualifications, selections, and approvals that represents what the organization authorized at a point in time. For a bid, it is often the state tied to the submitted proposal. Later changes should create connected revisions rather than overwrite it. The baseline makes it possible to explain what changed, price a revision, hand work to delivery, and compare the eventual result with the original decision.

A bid form is the customer or issuer's required structure for submitting price and related declarations. It may request a base bid, alternates, unit prices, taxes, addendum acknowledgements, subcontractor names, signatures, bonds, or other mandatory information. Treat the latest issued form as a controlled submission document. A separate proposal can provide useful scope context, but it does not necessarily replace a required bid-form field or cure a non-compliant submission.

To carry something means to include a chosen amount, scope assumption, quantity, supplier basis, or risk provision in an estimate. A carry is an internal decision. It may come directly from a supplier quote, a labour build-up, a historical basis, or an approved allowance. Good records say what was carried, why, from which source and revision, with what adjustments, and who approved it. “Carried” does not mean purchased, accepted by a customer, or guaranteed to be sufficient.

A clarification resolves or narrows an unclear requirement, quote statement, or commercial condition. It may come from the customer, designer, supplier, subcontractor, or an authorized internal reviewer. Connect the clarification to the exact question and affected source version. A clarification can change scope or price even when its label sounds minor. Before treating it as controlling, confirm who issued it, whether they had authority, and how the procurement or contract documents say it must be handled.

A commitment is an obligation the organization has accepted or issued, such as a purchase order, subcontract, customer acceptance, or authorized instruction to proceed. A selected quote is not automatically a commitment. Keeping the distinction clear prevents an estimating preference from being mistaken for a binding order. The record should connect each commitment to the approved scope, amount, counterparty, date, terms, and authority that supported it.

An exclusion states work, supply, service, condition, or responsibility that is outside an offer. Supplier exclusions belong in the internal quote review because they can create missing cost. Customer-facing exclusions belong in the proposal when they define Qwotra's customer's offered scope. Do not copy supplier identity or internal wording carelessly into the customer document. Review exclusions against the requirement list, since a well-written exclusion can still reveal a gap that must be carried elsewhere.

A gap is a requirement that does not yet have adequate coverage, evidence, ownership, or resolution. A gap may be unpriced work, an unanswered specification requirement, a missing form, a conflict between documents, or a decision waiting for approval. It is not automatically an error. The control is to make it visible, assign an owner, choose a response, and record the decision. Hiding a gap inside a general contingency removes the context needed for review.

A leveling adjustment is an internal addition, deduction, or normalization used to compare quotes on a more equivalent basis. Examples include adding missing freight, carrying an omitted accessory, or removing an optional item that another supplier priced separately. Keep the original quote amount unchanged and show the adjustment with its reason, evidence, owner, and approval. The evaluated total supports selection, but it does not rewrite what the supplier offered.

Markup is the amount added to a cost basis, commonly expressed as a percentage of cost. If supported cost is CAD 100 and the selling price is CAD 125, the markup is CAD 25, or 25 percent of cost. Markup rules may vary by cost type, project, contract, or authority level. Apply the approved rule to the correct base. Markup is protected internal commercial information and must not appear on a public customer proposal.

Margin usually describes the difference between selling price and cost as a percentage of selling price. Using the same fictional CAD 100 cost and CAD 125 selling price, the gross amount is CAD 25 and gross margin is 20 percent. This is why a 25 percent markup does not equal a 25 percent margin. Teams should name the measure they use, calculate it consistently, and keep both the underlying cost and margin out of customer-facing proposals.

A qualification states a condition, assumption, boundary, or interpretation attached to an offer. It can explain schedule basis, access, design status, customer responsibility, validity, or how an unclear requirement was priced. A qualification should make the offer more precise, not create a hidden escape route. Review it against mandatory instructions and contract terms. Some qualifications may make a bid non-compliant, so commercial and legal judgment can be necessary.

Quote leveling is the process of comparing suppliers or subcontractors against a common requirement and commercial framework. It maps inclusions, exclusions, uncertainties, terms, and supported adjustments while preserving each original source. The goal is not simply to identify the lowest quoted total. It is to understand which offer best supports the selected carry after scope and commercial differences are visible. The level should remain reviewable after bid day.

Reconciliation compares an approved baseline with what later happened. Depending on the stage, it may compare estimated cost with commitments, customer price with accepted value, or carried cost with actual cost. Useful reconciliation preserves both states and explains variance by meaningful category. It does not revise history to make the original estimate look more accurate. The point is to control the current job and improve future decisions with evidence.

Scope is the defined work, supply, service, deliverable, and responsibility included in an offer or obligation. Good scope language identifies what is provided, where it applies, and important boundaries. It works with drawings, specifications, schedules, addenda, qualifications, alternates, and exclusions rather than replacing them. Internal scope may include procurement and execution detail that must not be copied into a customer proposal when it exposes supplier identity, cost, markup, margin, quote numbers, or item codes.

A supplier quote is source evidence for an offered price, scope, and set of commercial terms from a supplier or subcontractor. Record its issuer, date, revision, validity, currency, scope, inclusions, exclusions, options, and clarifications inside the controlled workspace. It informs the internal carry but is not itself the customer's proposal. Supplier identity, quoted cost, quote number, and item codes must remain out of the public customer-facing result.