Total Estimated Cost

Total Estimated Cost is a term used in Canadian federal contracting for an amount that the government uses for internal administrative purposes only. It is made up of the contract price, or the revised contract price, plus applicable taxes as evaluated by the contracting authority. The federal general conditions state that it is not tax advice.

Suppliers see the term on the first page of a contract or contract amendment, and in the price schedules of requests for bids and proposals. It is a contract-administration figure, not a separate entitlement for the supplier. The sections below show where it appears and how it is used. They also explain how it differs from NATO's similar term, Estimated Procurement Value.

How the general conditions define Total Estimated Cost

The Government of Canada's general conditions for goods and services contracts define the term as an internal administrative amount. It consists of the contract price and applicable taxes as evaluated by the contracting authority. The wording appears in the general terms and conditions for low-complexity goods and services contracts. It also appears in the Department of Justice Canada's general conditions for medium-to-high-complexity services.

The figure sits alongside two related fields, Revised Estimated Cost and Increase (Decrease). Together they appear on the first page of a contract or contract amendment. When an amendment changes the price, the revised amount is shown and the change is recorded as an increase or a decrease.

Where the field appears in PSPC documents

Public Services and Procurement Canada documents show the field bilingually as "Total Estimated Cost – Coût total estimatif." It is part of the National Master Standing Offer document. It is also part of the request-for-bids template on CanadaBuys. In that template, Total Estimated Cost is calculated as the contract price plus applicable taxes and applies at contract award.

Pricing schedules and task-based work

Other solicitations build the figure from the bidder's inputs. A request for proposal pricing schedule and a second CanadaBuys solicitation both calculate total estimated cost from estimated effort, firm rates, contract periods and option periods.

A Department of National Defence request for proposal applies the term to individual tasks. After receiving a task, the contractor must give the technical authority a proposed total estimated cost and a breakdown. That proposal must be calculated according to the basis of payment in the contract, and it must be submitted within 10 calendar days of receiving the task. The supplier's response must also state the total estimated cost proposed for the task or revised task.

Total Estimated Cost and liability limits

In the PSPC task-based informatics professional services supply arrangement, "total estimated cost" has a specific job. It means the dollar amount shown on the first page of the contract, or on a call-up, purchase order or other ordering document. That amount is used to calculate the contractual aggregate liability limit. The same wording appears in a CanadaBuys amendment to a request for proposal.

How NATO's Estimated Procurement Value differs

NATO uses a related but separate term, Estimated Procurement Value. NATO defines it as the estimated total contract value, including contractual options, required for the entire contract duration, not merely one year or another portion of it. The definition is set out in NATO's Procedure for NATO Competitive Procurement and its Procurement Policy for NATO Common Funding. Both documents also state that procurements must not be artificially split to circumvent competitive-bidding procedures. The Canadian term is an administrative figure of contract price plus taxes. The NATO term sizes the whole procurement.

What it means for a supplier

Complete the pricing schedule with the requested rates, estimated effort, contract periods and options. On task-based work, submit the proposed total estimated cost and breakdown according to the contract's basis of payment. Check the first page of the contract or call-up, because that amount can drive the liability limit. Treat the figure as a contract-administration amount, since the general conditions state that it is not tax advice.