Welcome to my blog! My name is Katrina, and a few years ago, I opened my own business. Unfortunately, due to really innocent errors on my part, I ended up with a huge tax bill – it was so unwieldy I had to shutter my business. However, I learned a lot from that experience. I took classes and read as many books as I could find on accounting and finances, and I spent a lot of time reading info from the taxation office's website. As a result of that diligence, I was able to open another business, and I take care of the accounting on my own practically perfectly. If you own a small business or are thinking about opening one, this blog is for you. Please explore and learn.
Many people are not sure whether hiring a quantity surveyor is justifiable or not, so they make a decision on this matter based on whether their budget can allow them to hire this professional or not. If you are one of those people who are unsure about the usefulness of a quantity surveyor, read on and learn some risks that a quantity surveyor can save you from as you build your new home.
The Risk of Embarking on a Project You Can't Afford
A quantity surveyor can give you advanced warning about the likely total cost of a construction project so that you can assess whether you are in a position to finance that project to completion. The quantity surveyor gives you this projection by generating bills of quantity (BoQs) during the planning phase of the project. This gives you an opportunity to adjust your expectations so that the project is toned down to what you can afford. This can save you from watching your project stall due to lack of funds.
The Risks of Disputes Arising Out of Misinterpreting Contracts
Another critical role of a quantity surveyor is to help you to interpret the project contract. Some disputes can arise between project initiators and contractors due to a misunderstanding of a clause of the contract. Such disputes can result in lawsuits being filed and this can prolong the project as work stops as a decision on the dispute is awaited. For instance, there may be a disagreement on what "coarse gravel" is when the driveway of your new home is being laid. The quantity surveyor prevents such disputes from arising by using his or her technical knowledge to advise his or her client about the actual meaning of such terms. He or she goes ahead to verify that the contractor has used the materials specified in the contract documents.
The Risk of Keeping Inaccurate Project Records
Each specialized tradesman or tradeswoman working on your construction site keeps records, but those records may be in a form that is only understood by that professional and his or her peers. For instance, an electrician may keep records in the form of wiring drawings that are color-coded to differentiate between different kinds of wires. Such jargon may be strange to you so you may make errors when making your final records for submission to tax authorities (in case the expenses are tax-deductible). The quantity surveyor can save you from this mistake by using his or her knowledge to make comprehensive records of all the work and costs incurred so that they can be presented to the authorities for appropriate action.
It is therefore very important that you hire a quantity surveyor, such as those from Just Depreciation, so that you avoid all the risks above as you construct your new home.
Share22 September 2015
