# Allowance

*Also called: allowances, cash allowance, provisional sum.*

**Definition.** An allowance is a placeholder amount included in a bid for work or materials that have not been specified yet — a budget line to be reconciled against the actual cost once the choice is made.

Typical allowances: $8 per square foot for tile not yet chosen, $1,500 for light fixtures, $2,000 for unforeseen deck repair. The contractor carries the number in the total, then bills the difference up or down when the real figure is known.

Allowances are honest when the item genuinely cannot be specified yet, and a problem when they are used to make a total look competitive. An allowance set deliberately low reads as a lower bid and reconciles into a higher final cost.

When comparing bids, check whether the allowance amounts match. Two bidders carrying different allowances for the same undecided item are not offering the same price, even where the bottom lines agree.

## Why it matters

Allowances are the one part of a bid that is designed to change. Comparing totals without comparing the allowances inside them compares two guesses, not two prices.

## Related terms

- [Exclusion](https://quotrium.com/glossary/exclusion)
- [Change order](https://quotrium.com/glossary/change-order)
- [Scope of work](https://quotrium.com/glossary/scope-of-work)
- [Unit price](https://quotrium.com/glossary/unit-price)

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Source: https://quotrium.com/glossary/allowance · Quotrium — Comparable quotes for property work