Thinking on contracts, commerce & construction.

Practical perspective from the commercial coalface, on dispute resolution, contract administration and where the profession is heading.

Payment Reform

The end of retention? What the Commercial Payments Bill actually means.

A ban is in a Bill, and it is further than any previous attempt has got. What it actually says, when it would bite, and why it changes nothing for the retention you are owed today.

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Retention

Retention is your money. Start treating it that way.

The only money in a construction contract that the payer benefits from not paying. Why the second half goes missing, and how to get it back.

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Delay

A delay is not an extension of time.

Being late and being owed time are two different things. The critical path, the three things you have to prove, and the argument everyone gets wrong.

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Dispute

Adjudication, mediation or arbitration?

Three routes that do genuinely different jobs. How to choose the right one when a dispute can no longer be settled across the table.

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Notices

The notice you didn't serve is the claim you'll lose.

Entitlement is not the same as recovery. How a missed notice can defeat a well-founded claim, and how to stop it happening.

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AI & the QS

Does AI pose a risk to the role of the Quantity Surveyor?

From AutoCAD to Excel to BIM, every tool was meant to make the QS redundant. David Exford on why AI is no different.

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Coming next

The final account starts on day one.

The account is won during the job, not negotiated at the end. Why the last month is too late to start defending the number.

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