Blog topic
GMP contracts
How a guaranteed maximum price contract works from the owner's side, and where the money moves inside it.
GMP contractsWhat a GMP contract is, read from the owner's sideThe GMP is a ceiling, not a price. This post explains what moves underneath it and what an owner should keep a record of from the first pay application.Aug 20, 2026 · 4 minGMP contractsCM at risk versus design bid build: what changes for the ownerUnder design bid build the owner buys a price. Under CM at risk the owner buys a process with a cap on it. Here is what that shift means for oversight.Aug 17, 2026 · 4 minGMP contractsWhat sits inside a guaranteed maximum price: cost of work, fee, contingency, allowancesFive parts make up a guaranteed maximum price, and they do not behave the same way. A walk through each one with a fictional project for scale.Aug 14, 2026 · 4 minGMP contractsThe GMP amendment: what to read before you sign itThe amendment is where the ceiling becomes a contract. A reading order for the exhibits that will govern contingency, allowances, buyout and savings.Aug 11, 2026 · 4 minGMP contractsPriced, allowance or assumption: why every GMP line needs a basis flagThree words, one per line, turn a flat estimate into a map of where the GMP is firm and where it is soft. How to assign them and what they reveal.Aug 8, 2026 · 4 minGMP contractsQualifications and clarifications: the list of things the contractor has not agreed toEvery GMP comes with a list of exclusions and assumptions. This post explains how to read that list, sort it, and keep it where it can be found later.Aug 5, 2026 · 4 minGMP contractsSetting the GMP at design development versus construction documentsThe design stage at which the GMP is set decides how much of the price is assumption. A comparison of early and late GMPs from the owner's seat.Aug 2, 2026 · 4 minGMP contractsHow an owner should read a schedule of valuesThe schedule of values decides how the contractor bills. An owner who reads it once at the start and checks it monthly can catch front loading and drift.Jul 30, 2026 · 4 minGMP contractsGeneral conditions in a GMP contract: what they cover and how they moveGeneral conditions are the cost of the contractor's presence on site. Lump sum, monthly or reimbursable, the basis decides who pays for a longer schedule.Jul 27, 2026 · 4 minGMP contractsContractor fee basis: fixed fee or percentage, and why it matters at closeoutFixed fee or percentage looks like a small choice on the amendment. Over hundreds of change orders and a savings calculation, it is not.Jul 24, 2026 · 4 minGMP contractsOwner audit rights under a GMP contract, and how to use themAudit rights are written into most CM at risk agreements and rarely used. What they cover, when to use them, and why an owner ledger makes them practical.Jul 21, 2026 · 4 minGMP contractsFreezing the baseline: why the GMP should be versioned, never editedAn edited baseline is no baseline at all. Why the signed GMP should be stored once and every later change layered on top as a numbered version.Jul 18, 2026 · 4 minGMP contractsAIA A133 and A102: the GMP clauses owners should know by heartTwo AIA documents govern most CM at risk projects. This post points to the clauses an owner will use every month and explains what each one settles.Jul 15, 2026 · 4 minGMP contractsA GMP contract glossary for owners and boardsA short glossary of the words a board will hear in every monthly construction report, grouped by where they show up in the life of a GMP contract.Jul 12, 2026 · 4 minGMP contractsGMP contracts under $15 million: is the structure worth the overheadThe GMP structure does not shrink with the project. On a $9 million job, the question is whether the owner can run the oversight that makes the structure pay.Jul 9, 2026 · 4 min
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See the baseline on a contract like yours.
Thirty minutes on a call. We read a fictional GMP amendment into the baseline and show what the basis flags reveal.