Telling the client the cost has gone up: the conversation before the paperwork
Demolition exposes a floor condition the engineer needs to review. The project manager receives a revised sketch and a preliminary steel price. The owner still expects the old budget, and the change submission will take another two days to assemble.
Tell the client promptly what has changed, the best supported cost range and what remains unknown. Explain feasible choices and the decision needed, then confirm the conversation in writing. A call helps the owner understand the proposal before reviewing its detail, but it does not replace required notice or authorize changed work. Check the commercial process alongside the conversation instead of waiting for a perfect number or using the call to suggest agreement already exists.
Make the first money conversation clear
- Check the headline and range. Reconcile the current pricing basis with the people preparing it. Identify which inputs are confirmed and which remain allowances. Be ready to explain the range's assumptions and update date rather than quoting its lowest end as if it were the price.
- Contact the person who needs to decide. Arrange a direct conversation through the agreed client channel. State the issue early and give the owner room to ask questions. If you cannot reach them, use the required written process and arrange a follow-up; unsuccessful phone contact should not stall an important notice.
- Explain cause without assigning blame. Refer to the observed condition or changed requirement and the relevant review. Separate what has been established from responsibility still being examined. A revised sketch and a quotation do not automatically prove an entitlement or fault.
- Offer feasible choices. Describe their cost, timing and scope implications on the checked basis. Have the appropriate professionals confirm technical options. Do not call an option cheaper by quietly omitting required work or suggest a deferral that the project cannot safely or contractually make.
- Ask for a decision and record it. Give the actual decision needed, who can authorize it and when it affects planning. Send a concise note matching the discussion, including unresolved questions and next pricing issue. Distinguish a request, an owner's preference and a formal instruction.
The first few sentences
Common mistakes
- Sending a surprise total with no explanation of uncertainty.
- Offering an unreviewed technical shortcut as a saving.
- Recording the client's listening as approval.
Checklist
Before the cost-increase call
- Checked cause and pricing range.
- Confirmed inputs and uncertainties.
- Feasible reviewed options.
- Decision authority and planning date.
- Required notice process checked.
- Written note and next update owner.
Check your understanding
The estimate is incomplete. Should the owner hear nothing until the exact price is ready?
