Proposal Pricing & Cost Estimation

Calculate commercial proposal amounts for engineering consultancy services based on the company's rate card, staffing requirements extracted from client RFPs, and gap analysis results.

Input Requirements

Before pricing, ensure the following are available:

1. Rate Card: Read from the company's rate card file (Excel or CSV in the user's folder). Expected columns: Category, Hourly Rate (~~currency), Description.
2. Staff Requirements: Output from the RFP analysis (positions, man-months, rate categories). Each position must carry its source reference (file name + page/sheet/row from the original RFP documents).
3. Gap Analysis: Which positions are in-house, new hire, or third-party. Source references must be preserved from the RFP Analysis Summary.

Rate Card Structure

The standard rate card has two sections:

Engineering Rates

Code	Category	Description
ENG-SE	Senior Engineer	Senior discipline engineers with 10+ years
ENG-E	Engineer	Mid-level engineers, resident engineers, QS, HSE
ENG-JE	Junior Engineer	Assistant engineers, officers, inspectors
ENG-SD	Senior Designer	Lead CAD/BIM designers
ENG-D	Designer	CAD operators, draftsmen

Project Management Rates

Code	Category	Description
PM-SE	PM Senior Engineer	Project managers, design leads
PM-E	PM Engineer	Planning engineers, project coordinators

Calculation Method

Step 1: Monthly Rate Conversion

Monthly Rate = Hourly Rate x Standard Hours per Month
Standard Hours per Month = ~~working_hours_per_month (~~working_days_per_month working days x 8 hours)

Step 2: Position Cost Calculation

Position Total = Monthly Rate x Number of Months x Quantity

Step 3: Stage Totals

Group positions by consultancy stage:

• Stage A: Tender preparation (design team effort during tender phase)
• Stage B: Contract administration & design review (design team during EPC)
• Stage C: Site supervision (site team, man-month basis)
• Stage D: Warranty services (part-time support during defects period)

Step 4: Third-Party Markup

For positions identified as third-party/subcontract in gap analysis:

Third-Party Cost = Base Rate x Third-Party Markup Factor (~~third_party_markup)

Step 5: Grand Total

Subtotal = Stage A + Stage B + Stage C + Stage D
~~tax_name = Subtotal x ~~tax_rate
Grand Total = Subtotal + ~~tax_name

Important Notes

• Hourly rates are billing rates (all-inclusive of salary, benefits, overhead, and profit)
• Do NOT add additional overhead or profit markup on top of billing rates
• ~~tax_name at ~~tax_rate is applied per ~~tax_authority requirements
• All amounts in ~~currency
• Rates are firm and fixed — no escalation clauses
• For competitive bids, consider if any rates can be slightly reduced

Output Format

Generate an Excel workbook with these sheets:

1. Rate Card — Company rates (linked from source file)
2. Pricing Summary — Detailed line-by-line with formulas. Include an "RFP Source" column for each line item showing the original document reference (file name, page/sheet/row) where that position requirement was found. Carry these references from the RFP Analysis Summary.
3. Client Submission — Clean summary matching client's BOQ format
4. Source Traceability — A dedicated reference sheet listing every pricing line item with its source document, page/sheet, and the specific requirement text. This allows the user to verify every cost against the original RFP.

Use Excel formulas (not hardcoded values) so the client can adjust inputs.

Reference Material

For output formatting and Excel creation best practices, use the xlsx skill. For Word report formatting, use the docx skill. For PowerPoint presentations, use the pptx skill.