Price volume
Also called: cost volume, cost proposal, price proposal, basis of estimate, BOE, pricing volume
The price volume is the part of a proposal that presents your price or cost, built from labor categories, hours, rates, materials and other direct costs, often supported by a basis of estimate that shows how each number was derived.
Section L specifies the format, from a simple unit price schedule on an RFQ to full cost or pricing data when FAR 15.403-4 requires it. A basis of estimate (BOE) is the narrative behind a cost line: the task, the labor category, the hours and the reasoning. Agencies evaluate price for reasonableness under FAR 15.404-1, and sometimes for realism, which is where an unrealistically low staffing plan gets caught.
What to check: that the hours and categories in the price volume match the staffing in the technical volume, that the wage determination minimums are met on Service Contract Act or Davis-Bacon work, that option periods are priced as instructed, and that the arithmetic in every table closes. Build the price from a bottom-up estimate and then check it against the government's likely budget.
What it is not: the place to explain your technical approach. Evaluators of the price volume may never read the technical one.
See also: Technical volume, Wrap rate, Labor category, Prevailing wage and wage determinations, Cost realism
Questions that use this term
Search allA basis of estimate (BOE) explains how you calculated your proposed price, and for a firm-fixed-price bid, it needs to be detailed enough to show...
Jordan, the city RFP you found is asking for a full proposal, which is a lot more than just a price sheet. You need to provide a narrative for your...