Structured, plain-English guidance notes for practising quantity surveyors — from Pre-Appointment to Final Account.
Written by an experienced UK QS with 10+ years of practice. Aligned to RICS standards, mapped to RIBA work stages, and built for the realities of day-to-day QS life.
NRM1, NRM2, NRM3 — essential reading, but written for compliance, not practical day-to-day use. Translating standards into action takes time most QSs don't have.
Candidates piece together guidance from multiple sources, hoping they've covered the right competencies. There's no single, structured reference aligned to how QS work actually happens.
Practice doesn't come with a manual. When a client asks for a Stage 2 cost plan or a procurement strategy, junior staff are expected to figure it out as they go.
QS Guidance Notes is a structured professional reference library written in plain English, grounded in current RICS standards, and organised exactly the way QS work actually flows — from initial appointment through to final account settlement and beyond.
Mapped to RIBA Work Stages 0–7 and aligned to RICS APC competency framework
Conflicts of interest, ethics, AML, scope of services, fee proposals, PII, liability, client money, complaints handling, and regulatory governance. Everything before you take on an appointment.
RIBA Stage 0 · Pre-ProjectOrder of cost estimates, feasibility appraisals, cost modelling, and benchmarking. How to give clients the financial intelligence they need at the earliest stage of a project.
RIBA Stage 1 · NRM1 AlignedPreparing Formal Cost Plan 1, elemental cost planning, design cost management, and cost reporting at concept stage. The foundation of your cost control strategy.
RIBA Stage 2 · NRM1 AlignedFormal Cost Plan 2, design development cost control, value engineering, and spatial coordination cost implications. Keeping the budget under control as design develops.
RIBA Stage 3 · NRM1 AlignedFormal Cost Plan 3, tender documentation, procurement strategy, contract selection, and pre-tender estimates. Getting the project to market correctly.
RIBA Stage 4 · NRM2 AlignedContract administration, interim valuations, variations, site instructions, cash flow, and cost reporting during construction. The practical reality of post-contract QS work.
RIBA Stage 5 · JCT / NEC AlignedPractical completion, defects schedules, final account preparation, settlement, and close-out reporting. How to bring a project to a clean, documented conclusion.
RIBA Stage 6Defects liability period, retention release, post-occupancy evaluation, and lessons learned reporting. The often-overlooked obligations after practical completion.
RIBA Stage 6–7Dispute avoidance, claims preparation, extensions of time, loss and expense, adjudication, and alternative dispute resolution. Protecting your client's position when things go wrong.
Claims · ADR · AdjudicationAPC competency guidance, structured CPD planning, and reference material for RICS candidates. How to register, what to expect, and how to structure your assessment journey.
RICS APC · CPD100+ production-ready templates including cost plans, fee proposals, procurement schedules, interim valuations, variation registers, and final account statements. Use them directly in practice.
Structured, plain-English guidance notes across all 10 phases. Written to be read and applied — not archived. Updated in line with current RICS publications.
Every guidance note is cross-referenced to the RICS APC competency framework. Know exactly which competencies your work evidences and where to focus your development.
A single cross-reference index linking all guidance notes to relevant RICS publications, APC competencies, and key industry bodies. No more hunting across multiple sources.
A comprehensive RICS and QS terminology reference — essential for APC candidates and invaluable for anyone writing reports, presenting to clients, or onboarding new staff.
Content is reviewed and updated as RICS publishes new guidance notes and standards. Your subscription keeps you current without any extra effort.
Whether you're a graduate, assistant, or senior surveyor — the guidance notes give you a reliable, structured reference for every situation you'll encounter in practice. Stop second-guessing. Start applying.
Structure your APC journey with confidence. Competency-mapped guidance helps you identify what you know, what you're missing, and how to evidence your experience effectively before assessment.
Give your whole team access to consistent, current reference material. Reduce the time spent training junior staff and ensure everyone is working from the same professional standard.
Bridge the gap between academic study and professional practice. See how the theory taught in university translates into real projects — before you're expected to know it on site.
RICS is a global standard. QS Guidance Notes is written for UK practice and is directly relevant to any market with British-trained QS professionals — including consultancies operating across multiple regions.
All plans include the full guidance note library and professional template collection.
Join QS professionals across the UK and internationally who use QS Guidance Notes as their go-to professional reference — in practice, in APC preparation, and in day-to-day client work.