Budget pricing —
early stage estimates.
Drawings are still preliminary. They will change three or four times before they are finalised. You need a ballpark hydraulic figure — not a full detailed estimate you will have to reprice every time the design changes. That is exactly what SNZ budget pricing delivers.
SNZ always recommends a full detailed estimate before submitting a final tender or signing a contract. Budget pricing is for early stage decision making only.
Drawings that will change
multiple times.
A full detailed estimate is expensive to produce — and expensive to reproduce every time the drawings change. If your hydraulic drawings are preliminary and you know they will go through three or four revisions before they are finalised, spending full estimate fees at this stage is money you don't need to spend yet.
SNZ budget pricing gives you a reliable ballpark hydraulic figure based on what you have now — enough to make early design decisions, check project feasibility and give your client a cost indication — without committing to a full estimate until the drawings are ready for it.
When the drawings are finalised and you are ready to submit a proper tender, SNZ will produce the full detailed estimate — with a complete line-by-line breakdown, bill of quantities and independent review. That is the estimate you sign contracts on. Not the budget figure.
Budget pricing gives you a ballpark figure — a number to work with at an early stage. It is not a detailed estimate. It does not include an itemised breakdown, a bill of quantities or a line-by-line scope review.
SNZ will always be transparent about the limitations of a budget figure. We never recommend signing a contract or submitting a final tender based on a budget price alone. When your drawings are finalised and you are ready to tender properly, get a full detailed estimate done first. The cost of an inaccurate tender number — once you are on site — is always far greater than the cost of getting it right upfront.
Drawings finalised and ready for tender? SNZ produces a complete, detailed hydraulic estimate — every line item individually measured, independently reviewed and ready for contract submission.
Full hydraulic estimating →Questions about how estimates work, what they cost, how long they take and what SNZ needs from you — all answered honestly on our FAQ page.
Read our FAQs → Need a ballpark figure
within 48 hours?
Send us your preliminary drawings and a brief description of the project. We will come back within 48 hours with a ballpark hydraulic figure — clearly flagged as indicative, with a recommendation to get a full estimate when you are ready.