A stalled final account should be broken into individual issues: contract entitlement, valuation, variations, loss and expense, delay, defects, contra charges, retention and payment-notice consequences. For each item, identify the amount claimed, amount admitted, contractual basis and evidence. That turns an unproductive headline negotiation into a dispute that can be evaluated, negotiated or adjudicated.
One final-account number can conceal many disputes
“Our final account is £1.2m” and “we value it at £700,000” do not identify what the parties actually disagree about. The gap may be caused by twenty variations, one large prolongation claim, disallowed preliminaries, defective work, contra charges, liquidated damages, retention or differing measurement rules.
Until those components are isolated, it is difficult to assess legal merit, evidential risk or whether adjudication is an efficient route.
Build an issue schedule
A useful schedule contains, at minimum, the item number, description, amount claimed, amount admitted, difference, contractual clause, factual basis, key supporting documents and the other party's stated reason for rejection. Add columns for programme/time impact where relevant.
This schedule becomes the map for negotiations and, if necessary, the structure for pleadings or adjudication submissions.
Variations: entitlement first, valuation second
Variation disputes often mix two separate questions. First: was the work instructed or otherwise contractually compensable? Second: if so, how should it be valued? Keeping entitlement and valuation separate makes it easier to identify the evidence required.
Delay, loss and expense and liquidated damages
A final account may depend on extension-of-time decisions and the consequences of delay. The chronology of relevant events, notice requirements, programme evidence and causation should be kept separate from pure valuation issues. A claim for loss and expense may require a different evidential analysis from the entitlement to additional time.
Defects and contra charges
Where deductions are made for defects or remedial work, ask: what contractual obligation is said to have been breached, what defect is alleged, was access or an opportunity to remedy provided, what remedial work was reasonable, and how is the cost evidenced? A global deduction without that structure is difficult to test.
Can the final account be adjudicated?
Section 108 gives a party to a qualifying construction contract the right to refer a dispute to adjudication at any time. The practical question is whether there is a sufficiently defined dispute and whether the proposed referral fairly reflects what has already crystallised between the parties.
In some matters, a single final-account dispute can be sensibly referred. In others, a narrower payment, variation or delay issue may be the more proportionate first adjudication.
Quick questions
What does “crystallised dispute” mean in practice?
It generally means the claim or position has been put to the other party and there has been rejection, non-admission or sufficient time/circumstances for a dispute to have emerged. The exact position depends on the communications and contract.
Should every final-account document go into an adjudication?
No. The evidence should be selected around the defined issues. A smaller, well-indexed set of relevant documents is often more persuasive than an uncontrolled project archive.
What is the best preparation before settlement talks?
An itemised issue schedule, a realistic evidence assessment and a clear understanding of the adjudication/litigation alternatives. That gives the negotiation a rational range rather than a purely positional headline number.
Verifiable sources
Need advice on a live matter?
Construction adjudication and court deadlines can be short. This article is general information, not advice on your contract or dispute.
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