Cost volume
The cost volume is the separately submitted pricing section of a structured proposal: rates, cost breakdowns, assumptions, and required forms. It is evaluated for realism and reasonableness as much as amount — an unexplained low price is a risk flag, not a bargain.
Cost volumes answer three evaluator questions: is the price complete (every SOW element costed), is it reasonable (competitive against the market), and is it realistic (can the work actually be done for this — unrealistically low bids signal a vendor who misunderstood the scope or plans to make it up in change orders). Public-sector evaluation formalizes cost realism analysis; commercial buyers run the same instinct informally. The craft is in assumptions: every number rests on them, and stating them explicitly (volumes, escalation, exclusions) protects both the price's credibility and the future contract. Arithmetic consistency across forms is the unglamorous discipline that eliminates the most bids.
Related terms
Put the vocabulary to work
Upload a solicitation and BidAuthor extracts every requirement, drafts cited answers from your knowledge base, and exports a submission-ready response.