Ask which routine jobs, specialist checks, statutory examinations, consumables and repairs are included. Identify separate prices and who approves extras. A promise of complete maintenance tells you little unless the actual tasks are listed.
What changes the price?
The number of items is one factor; their age, condition, complexity and accessibility also affect the work.
Compare the specified schedule. Monthly checking and a yearly service are different jobs, not interchangeable visits.
Restricted hours, escorts, permits and planned shutdowns affect staffing, particularly around occupants, customers or production.
How far apart the properties are and whether visits can be coordinated influences travel and planning.
Agree which readings, photographs, certificates and reports you will receive for the work.
Check consumables and spare parts separately, including any stated allowance or limit on what is supplied.
Compare quotations on equal terms
Give bidders the same equipment list and tasks. Compare the yearly visit plan, omissions, missed-access arrangements and extra visit charges. Ask whether totals include VAT and how future price adjustments work.
If your equipment list has gaps, identify the survey needed to complete it and price that first task. A lower annual quote may be misleading if equipment you have not listed remains outside the contract.
Agree the rules for remedial work
Agree how the contractor reports, prioritises and prices repairs discovered during visits. Accepting a maintenance agreement is not automatic permission to replace every item subsequently recommended.
Keep each reported fault connected to its price, approval and repair record. This helps you separate the routine work you bought from extra jobs instructed later.
Review the whole-year position
Look at the year's completed work, access failures, repeated faults, extra bills and unfinished recommendations. This shows whether the agreement still suits your property. The contract fee alone does not show the whole cost of keeping equipment working reliably.
FAQs
Is a fixed annual contract all-inclusive?
Only the stated inclusions are covered. Check explicitly for call-outs, parts, specialist inspections and repairs.
Can several tasks share one visit?
Yes, if access, timing and competence allow it. You still need a completion record for each task, even if one appointment covers several.
What should we send for a quotation?
Send your asset list, existing schedule, recent reports, addresses and access needs. Explain missing information so any initial survey is included clearly.
Related help
Explore maintenance agreements and planned upkeep. Read what belongs in a PPM schedule, or ask about a contract.
Compare the complete cost
- Asset numbers, condition and required tasks.
- Visit frequencies, operating hours and access arrangements.
- Reporting, consumables and how repairs or additional visits are charged.
Ask the quotation to show VAT, inclusions, exclusions and how any additional work will be agreed. Confirm whether the price covers the complete job or an initial visit.
A useful scope comparison
A contract for scheduled visits alone differs from one that includes specified consumables or a defined allowance for repairs. Compare exclusions and response arrangements as well as the total.
Request a quotation
Send the asset list, previous maintenance findings, required tasks and access windows.
