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Units of Measureaka: unit costaka: unit rate

Unit Price

In Plain English

The agreed price for one unit of a specific type of work, used to calculate payment based on actual quantities.

Definition

A unit price is the cost per unit of measure for a specific item of work, used as the basis for billing quantities that cannot be precisely determined in advance. Unit price contracts specify a price per unit (e.g., per cubic yard of excavation, per linear foot of pipe, per each of a fixture) and the owner pays based on actual measured quantities installed. Unit price bidding is common for underground utility work, site work, and other quantity-variable scopes.

Example

The earthwork contract sets a unit price of $18 per cubic yard for unclassified excavation; when the contractor excavates 12,400 CY, the payment is $223,200.

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