Scope of works
Written once per trade, ticked for each job
Why this one matters
A subcontractor prices exactly what they read. If the scope does not say the sarking, the edge protection or the pump hire is theirs, the cheapest quote is often just the one that left the most out — and you find out on site.
Most builders know this, and still write the scope in a hurry the night the tender goes out. Writing it once per trade, and ticking what applies on each job, is the difference between a scope you trust and one you hope covers it.
What you will see
- A trade template with numbered sections, clauses and items
- Lines a job leaves out printed struck through, so the trade sees what is not theirs
- SmarteBuild starters for the common trades, copied and made your own
- A scope copied onto the job, with the bill of quantities doing the first pass
- A numbered PDF issued, filed with the job and attached to the tender
What was said
The narration, word for word, for anyone who would rather read it than watch it — or who is on a train.
A scope of works tells a subcontractor exactly what their price has to cover. SmarteBuild keeps your standard scope for each trade as a template, written once, and copies it onto every job.
Open a template to see its outline. Numbered sections and clauses, bullet items under a clause, and subheadings and paragraphs that print as they are.
Every clause and item has an included tick. Choose whether the lines a job leaves out print struck through, so the subcontractor can see what is not theirs, or are left off altogether.
Choose what heads the page: your company details and logo, or just the title. Preview shows it as it prints, with an excludes column.
SmarteBuild starters cover the common trades, plus general conditions that go behind every scope. Copy one to your templates and make it your own.
On the job, open Tenders and switch to Scope of works. Each trade has its own scope, and the list says whether it is a draft, issued, or changed since.
New scope of works copies a template onto the job. Pick the template and the cost code it is for, and tick Start from the BOQ to let the estimate do the first pass.
From BOQ reads the items under that cost code. Lines whose keywords match are ticked, the others are unticked, and the items are listed at the end. Then change anything the job needs.
The job details at the top of the document start from the project: the site address, completion, labour rates. Blank lines are not printed.
Issue freezes a numbered PDF and files it in the job documents. Change the scope later and issue again for version two. What a subcontractor was sent never changes under them.
On the tender, Files, Attach scope of works. The trade's own scope comes first, and a newer version replaces the old one. It goes with every invitation.
Purchase orders have the same button. Scope of works: written once, ticked for each job, and sent with the price request.
Doing it, rather than watching it
This page is the tour. When you are in SmarteBuild with a job open and need the detail — every option, every exception, the things the video had no time for — the help centre has the full article.
Scope of works — the full reference
Read about it instead: Scope of Works · Tenders · Purchase Orders
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