Why Every Builder Should Have a Quantity Surveyor (Just Like You Have an Accountant)
Every builder has an accountant. It’s just part of running a business. But not every builder has a quantity surveyor — and that’s where many projects start losing margin, clarity, and control.
While accounting and quantity surveying are different professions, they share the same core purpose: helping builders understand their numbers and protect their business. One looks at the overall financial health of your company; the other looks at the financial health of each job.
Accountants look backwards. QSs look forwards.
A good accountant helps with tax, overheads, reporting, and making sure the business stays compliant and organised. But most of the financial risk in construction sits within the job itself — long before the accountant ever sees the numbers.
That’s where a QS comes in.
A quantity surveyor specialises in:
pricing and take-offs
tender reviews
cost planning
margin protection
variation management
contract risk
lender reporting and valuations
Your accountant gives you clarity on the business.
Your QS gives you clarity on the build.
Both are needed if you want consistency and predictable results.
Why builders benefit from having both
Here are the three biggest advantages we see when a builder uses a QS alongside their accountant:
1. Better budgets at the start
Many blown budgets trace back to the first 10% of a project. A QS produces cost indications and take-offs that are grounded in construction rates, market changes, subcontractor pricing, and real detail from drawings and specs. Builders who skip this step often end up carrying risk they never priced.
2. Stronger margins and cash-flow
New Zealand builders often operate on extremely tight margins. Without job-level cost control, accountants can only advise on the “aftermath.” A QS protects margin during the build — tracking costs, variations, and contract changes so the numbers stay accurate and you aren’t plugging leaks later. We’ve written previously about how razor-thin margins can push New Zealand construction firms over the edge.
3. Better reporting for banks and business decisions
Banks, lenders, and financers increasingly rely on formal cost reporting, valuations, and cash-flow forecasts. A QS provides the construction-specific documentation, while the accountant connects it back to the broader business picture. Together, they create clean, consistent reporting — which gives builders more confidence and lenders fewer questions.
How the partnership works in practice
It’s not complicated. Builders get the best results when:
the QS handles project budgets, take-offs, pricing, cost-tracking, variations, and contract assessments
the accountant handles business-level cash-flow, tax treatment, and overall financial structure
both sets of numbers talk to each other
This gives the builder a full view: the business performance and the job performance. That’s where good decisions (and fewer surprises) come from.
The takeaway
Accountants are essential for builders — but they can’t protect you from construction-specific cost risk. A quantity surveyor fills that gap. By bringing the two roles together, builders get stronger budgeting, better margins, clearer reporting, and more predictable outcomes.
If you’d like clearer budgets, stronger margins, or help with tendering and cost planning, our team at Suckling Stringer is always happy to help. Get in touch any time.
