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AI agent for quantity surveyors

Price Escalation Allowance Agent

A justified escalation allowance by line, tied to purchase dates and updated as indexes move.

Budgets and moneyDecisionsReal estate and construction
See how it worksGet access
Price Escalation Allowance Agent: what goes in, what the agent does and what you get

What it does

You priced steel in January and purchase it in October, and prices have moved 11%. Nobody carried an allowance. This agent reads material index trends, maps them to estimate lines and purchase dates, and calculates an allowance by line. It compares the allowance with supplier price lock options, for example locking now with a deposit versus buying later. When indexes move, it reruns the numbers and updates the total. Before proposing the allowance, it checks that each estimate line is mapped to the right index and that dates are correct. You approve the allowance. Edge case: a line mapped to an index that is a poor match, such as general steel for a special alloy, is flagged for manual judgment.

How it works

Follow the arrows from top to bottom. The orange dashed arrow is the loop: when a check fails, the agent goes back and tries again.

Start and resultWhat it doesA check on its own workWaits for your OKGoes back and retries
Yes, continueYes, continueApprovedNoNo 1 STARTS WHEN Estimate stage or monthly update 2 USES A TOOL Load estimate lines and purchase date plan 3 DOES Map each material line to a price index 4 CHECKS THE RESULT Is each mapping a close match for the material? If not: Flag the line for manual judgment or choose adifferent index. Back to step 3. 5 USES A TOOL Read index trend data 6 DOES Project price change to each purchase date andcompute allowance 7 DOES Compare with supplier price lock options 8 CHECKS THE RESULT Do the line allowances add up to the summary total? If not: Fix the line calculations and recompute. Back tostep 6. 9 YOU APPROVE Estimator or surveyor approves the allowance 10 RESULT Escalation allowance schedule
Read the steps as a list
  1. Estimate stage or monthly update
  2. Load estimate lines and purchase date plan
  3. Map each material line to a price index
  4. Is each mapping a close match for the material?If not: Flag the line for manual judgment or choose a different index. Back to step 3.
  5. Read index trend data
  6. Project price change to each purchase date and compute allowance
  7. Compare with supplier price lock options
  8. Do the line allowances add up to the summary total?If not: Fix the line calculations and recompute. Back to step 6.
  9. Estimator or surveyor approves the allowanceThe agent waits here for your OK.
  10. Escalation allowance schedule

How it decides

It projects each line forward using the index trend to its purchase date and compares the cost of escalation with the cost of locking prices.

  • Project using the 12 month trend, capped at the largest historical swing
  • Recommend lock when the lock premium is below expected escalation
  • Review monthly when indexes move more than 2%
  • Use manual judgment for specialty materials

Make it yours

Every agent is a starting point. You choose these settings for your own situation.

  • Index sources
  • Review trigger (default 2%)
  • Cap on projection
  • Contingency policy

What keeps you in control

It always asks you first

  • Estimator or surveyor approves the allowance

Hard limits

  • Never lock prices or buy materials itself
  • Never present projections as guarantees

It stops when

  • Done: allowance approved and applied
  • Stop: index data unavailable

Set it up

We guide you through the set-up, step by step

Members get the full set-up guide for this agent. No technical skills needed: you copy, paste and upload.

10 minto set it up in your AI
5 AIsChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini, Grok
  • One set of instructions to paste into your AI, with the clicks for ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Gemini and Grok
  • The agent then walks you through connecting your own data, one source at a time
  • A downloadable copy with the flow chart, the rules and the full guide
Get access to this agent

An example run

What happensThe agent mapped structural steel, copper and ready-mix concrete. It projected steel up 8% by an October purchase, adding $64,000, and found a lock option at a 3% premium of $24,000. Copper mapped to a poor index, so it flagged it. The summary check failed by $1,200, which it fixed. The estimator approved the steel lock and manual copper allowance.

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