12 May 2026
Reading contingencies inside supplier applications
Contingency lines often hide more cost than the cover letter admits. Here is how we separate invitation-allowed allowances from soft padding.
Contingency is not automatically suspicious. Many invitations ask suppliers to state an allowance for undefined ground conditions or spare parts. Trouble starts when the percentage silently expands across option years, or when the same risk is priced twice — once as contingency and again as a provisional sum.
When we audit procurement applications, we list every contingency label, the percentage or lump sum attached, and the invitation clause that authorises it. If no clause exists, the line becomes an exception for the chair. If the clause exists but the supplier applies it to labour that the invitation already indexed, we flag the overlap.
Committees rarely need a lecture on theory. They need a table that shows which applications treat contingency as a quiet uplift. Bring that table into the room and the ranking discussion stays on substance.