The agreement of the parties forms the starting point for what is to be paid. The standard contracts are nevertheless structured on the principle that the parties agree on a specific sum which, including VAT, constitutes the “contract sum”.
1. Unless otherwise agreed, works shall be carried out “on account”
2. When work is carried out on account, the subcontractor must have paid all the necessary costs plus an agreed or customary mark-up
3. Normally, the agreed markup is 8-12%, and technical subjects are often located in an upper tier. The usual mark-up may still be somewhat above this.
4. Accounting work should be carried out in a rational and prudent manner, but case law shows that the contractor is given a certain amount of leeway.
5. Subcontractors never perform works under ideal conditions, and no projects are the same. Consequently, there may be a great variation in the conditions of the works, and hence also the amount of wiggle room that must be shown.
6. The subcontractor must be able to document its requirements in the form of time lists for people and machines, purchase vouchers for materials, invoices for rent, etc.
7. The subcontractor shall submit weekly documentation of its resource use to the total/general contractor.
8. Total/general contractor is obliged to check the documentation within 14 days if additional documentation is requested
9. If the total/general contractor does not object (within the deadline), the subcontractor's tasks are based on the invoicing
10. However, the Total/General Contractor has the right to complain after completion if the costs became unnecessarily high and this is due to the subcontractor's irrational operation or other unjustifiable circumstances
11. If the subcontractor does not document his claims, the total/general contractor is only obliged to pay what he had to understand the subcontractor was incurred by costs added to the mark-up
