Loss and expense

Ascertained, head by head

Ascertained means calculated from evidence, not estimated. A single figure with no basis behind it invites an ascertainment of nil, and that is a perfectly defensible outcome.

Period from and to, per head
Basis of ascertainment recorded against every figure
Flag where a head is ascertained with no basis

Start free for 30 days See the interactive demo

30 days free, no card.

Loss and expense

Summary

Prolongation£61,200

Disruption£18,400

Head office overheads£4,900

Claim preparationRejected

To the final account£84,500

Only heads marked as ascertained reach the final account. Claimed and ascertained are shown separately, because they are different numbers.

The basis is what makes the figure stand

Prolongation calculated as the tendered weekly preliminaries multiplied by the weeks of delay is a price, not a loss.

The claim is for what was actually incurred over the period, evidenced from the accounts. QScope holds the basis against each head and flags anything marked as ascertained with no basis recorded, because that is the line an assessor deletes first.

Loss and expense

An extension of time is not a payment

Loss and expense needs a relevant matter under clause 4.21.

Prolongation, disruption, head office overheads, finance charges, supervision, claim preparation
Each head linked to the delay event it arises from
Warning where the event is a relevant event but not a relevant matter

Loss and expense

LE-02 prolongation

Claimed

£84,600

Ascertained

£61,200

Heads

Caused byEOT-02 late information

Period14 Mar to 22 May 2026

BasisPayroll and plant hire invoices

Ascertained£61,200

The period is the weeks the delay actually happened, not the weeks added to the end of the programme. Those are different weeks with different costs on site.

Extensions of time

The time side of the same delay

A head of loss and expense almost always arises from a delay event, and that same event usually carries an extension of time.

Thirteen relevant events, each flagged for whether it can carry money
Notice date, particulars date and award date held separately
Only awarded weeks move the revised completion date

Extensions of time

EOT-01 · Variation instruction2 wks awarded

EOT-02 · Late information3 wks awarded

EOT-03 · Adverse weather4 wks awarded

Carries loss and expenseEOT-01, EOT-02

EOT-02 late information is a relevant matter, so the prolongation under LE-02 is claimed against it. Adverse weather carries time only.

See it running before you sign up

Variations

Loss and expense is not folded into the variation

A variation is valued for the work it adds.

Variation value and loss and expense recorded separately
Basis of valuation from the RICS hierarchy on the variation
Zero retention rate available on loss and expense

Variations

VO-04 and its disruption

Variation value£6,800.00

Basis of valuationContract rates

Retention on variation5%

Loss and expense, separate£18,400.00

Retention on loss and expense0%

The value of VO-04 is retained in the normal way. The disruption it caused is claimed as loss and expense, which is not subject to retention.

Final Account

Where the ascertained total lands

The ascertained loss and expense is one line on the final account, stated on its own because it is not subject to retention and the client is entitled to see it separately from the measured work.

Loss and expense stated on its own line, not subject to retention
Only ascertained heads carried to the account
Adjustments follow the RICS final account order

Final Account

Statement, loss and expense

Adjusted contract sum£217,850.33

Loss and expense ascertained+£84,500.00

Less certified to date, gross(£84,115.00)

Add retention release+£4,205.75

Final balance due, excl VAT£222,441.08

The ascertained loss and expense sits on its own line. It is not subject to retention, so it is not reduced when the retention release is added back.

Contractor's claim

On FIDIC, the cost is part of the claim, not a separate head

Loss and expense is a JCT idea.

Cost claimed with time under Sub-Clause 20.1, not as a separate loss and expense head
The 28 day notice logged as a condition precedent on the cost as well as the time
Basis of the cost recorded per period, evidenced from the accounts

Contractor's claim

Prolongation cost under 20.1

Claimed

£310,000

Assessed

£224,000

Notice

On time

Claimed withEOT under Sub-Clause 8.4

Notice under 20.1Within 28 days

BasisPayroll and plant hire records

Assessed cost£224,000

Under FIDIC the cost travels with the time in one claim under Sub-Clause 20.1, not as a separate loss and expense head. The 28 day notice is a condition precedent in the 1999 edition. Counting is in calendar days. These are published starting points to verify against the Particular Conditions.

Who it is for

One change, four people it touches

You are applying

You price the change and defend it

You price the instruction, submit the variation and defend it when it comes back cut. Instructed work with no variation against it is money you have already spent.

Applying for payment

the same measurement

You are certifying

You value the change and answer for it

You value the variation from the other chair and account for what you cut. The register you keep is the one the final account will be argued from.

Certifying payment

You are doing both

You build the change, paid or not

You absorb the small changes as they come, and the ones nobody wrote down are the ones you end up building for free.

Doing both yourself

You are reporting

You fund the change, priced or blind

You check that scope changes are priced and approved before money moves, because an unpriced variation is risk the facility is carrying blind.

Recommending a drawdown

The client, the architect and the tenderer are not on this list. They are the people you let in on a link: they see the one document you sent them, answer it, and that answer is written into the record. No account, no licence, no charge, on every plan.

FAQs

The questions this page raises most often, answered without a sales pitch at the end.

No. Ascertainment is a judgement made from evidence you hold. QScope structures the claim, links it to the cause, keeps the basis and does the arithmetic on the totals.

Because it gets claimed. It is recoverable only in limited circumstances and often not at all, and having it as its own line makes it visible rather than buried inside another head.

Where an employer risk event and a contractor risk event both delay completion, the usual position is time without money. Record the extension in the delay register and leave the head of claim unascertained, with the reasoning noted.

Normally not. QScope lets you set a zero retention rate on the relevant variation for exactly that reason.

FIDIC has no head called loss and expense. The cost of a delay is claimed together with the time through the Contractor's Claims machinery under Sub-Clause 20.1 in the 1999 edition, and the 28 day notice is a condition precedent for both. QScope holds the cost against the same claim, keeps the basis, counts in calendar days and supports non-GBP currencies. The figures are published starting points to verify against your Particular Conditions.

From the blog

The part nobody teaches you, written down

Three pieces from the same corner of a contract as this page, answered at length and without a sales pitch at the end.

Variations10/08/2026

How do you price extra work so the client actually pays for it?

Instruction first, then the valuation ladder your contract sets: contract rates, adjusted rates, a fair price or dayworks. Where each rung applies, and why the smallest variations are the ones that never get paid.

Read now

Variations15/07/2026

Small extras keep eating the job. How do I stop doing them for free?

No single extra under two hundred pounds feels worth the awkward conversation, and thirty of them are a month’s wages. The three-sentence habit that captures small changes without souring the job, and the quote clause that makes the habit expected.

Read now

Variations11/06/2026

Loss and expense is not the same as an extension of time

Time and money are separate entitlements with separate tests. Why an extension of time does not carry money with it, what has to be ascertained, and where these claims usually fail.

Read now

All 174 pieces

Keep reading

The three parts this page leans on

Extensions of time Delay events with the relevant event or FIDIC ground named, weeks claimed against weeks awarded, the 28 day notice clock, and money-vs-time warnings. See how it works Final account From the adjusted contract sum to the final balance under JCT, or the FIDIC Final Statement and Final Payment Certificate, every adjustment on its own line. See how it works The heads of a claim Loss and expense is reimbursement of actual loss, proved. The recognised heads are narrower than most claims assume. See how it works