Construction buyout
Also: buyout · material buyout
A buyout is the step between winning work and building it: converting an approved scope into actual purchase orders at real supplier prices. The gap between what the estimate allowed for materials and what the buyout actually costs is where a job's margin is won or lost.
Buyout is where estimating meets purchasing. A scope that looked profitable on paper can lose money at buyout if material prices have moved or the specification was under-budgeted. Pricing the real SKUs before committing — rather than after the invoice — is what keeps the overrun negotiable.
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