Open a record when the question appears
Create the log entry while reviewing the drawings, specifications, addenda, or bid form. Give the question a stable identifier and cite the sheet, detail, section, or instruction that caused it. Copying a vague subject line into the log is not enough.
Another estimator should be able to open the same source and see the conflict or missing information. State the estimating consequence in a separate field. A missing finish note may affect material selection, labor, waste, and a supplier quote.
An unclear responsibility may affect two trade packages. Naming the affected estimate area makes the question easier to prioritize and prevents the eventual answer from being filed without a cost review. Use the same source control applied in the drawing revision estimate log.
The clarification record should identify the current document set and addenda at the time of the question. If the documents change first, close or rewrite the question against the new source rather than carrying an obsolete issue forward.
Separate the response from the estimate decision
Record the answer exactly enough to preserve its meaning, along with the responder, date, and delivery channel. Then add a separate estimate action. The person answering a scope question may clarify design intent without deciding how the contractor will price risk, qualify the bid, or assign a trade.
Those are different decisions and need different owners. Mark whether the answer changes quantity, material, labor method, subcontractor coverage, schedule, or commercial language. Link the affected estimate code or worksheet instead of writing only 'updated.' When several lines change, list them or attach a controlled comparison so the reviewer can confirm that the response reached every relevant part of the estimate.
Some answers remain provisional. Label a verbal direction, bidder interpretation, or pending design response according to what it is.
Do not present it as an issued contract requirement. The bid invitation scope review can help identify who must receive the clarification when it affects bidder coverage.
Control status without hiding open risk
Use statuses that describe the work left to do: open, response received, estimate update pending, review pending, and closed. A received response is not closed if the estimate still carries the old assumption. This distinction is especially important near bid day, when the team may have answers in hand but little time to trace their effects.
Assign one owner for the next action and record the deadline that matters to the bid. The owner might follow up, revise a takeoff, request a quote adjustment, update an exclusion, or obtain lead-estimator approval. Avoid assigning a question to a department.
A named owner makes escalation possible when the deadline approaches. Keep superseded responses in the record.
If a later addendum or formal answer replaces an earlier interpretation, mark the earlier entry superseded and point to the controlling source. Deleting it removes the reason an estimate changed and makes later reconciliation harder.
| Field | Record | Review use |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Document, location, revision, addendum | Reproduces the question |
| Question | Specific conflict or missing requirement | Defines the decision needed |
| Response | Answer, responder, date, channel | Preserves meaning and authority |
| Estimate impact | Codes, quantities, prices, qualifications | Connects answer to cost |
| Status and owner | Next action, responsible person, deadline | Keeps open work visible |
Review the log against the estimate
Before release, filter for open questions, provisional answers, and entries whose estimate action is incomplete. Review high-value and scope-boundary items first. Then sample closed entries by tracing the response into quantities, pricing, quote comparisons, allowances, qualifications, or exclusions.
Check that the basis of estimate reflects material clarifications. AACE International RP 34R-05 describes basis-of-estimate documentation as a record of scope, pricing basis, assumptions, exclusions, and other information supporting an estimate. A clarification that changes those items belongs in the estimate record, not only in a correspondence folder.
Finish with a short exception report for the approver. Show unresolved questions, current cost treatment, owner, and bid qualification where applicable. The log can contain every detail; the exception report should direct attention to decisions that could still change the submitted number or scope.