Prime cost item
A prime cost (PC) item is an allowance for the supply cost of a specific item not yet selected - tapware, fixtures, equipment - where the labour to install is priced but the item itself floats until chosen.
PC items differ from provisional sums in scope: a PC item covers supply of a thing; a provisional sum covers work. The adjustment questions are the same - actual cost versus allowance, and whether your margin follows the adjustment up as well as down.
Why it matters to subbies
Keep records of the selection process and confirm adjusted amounts in writing as selections land - PC item disputes are small individually and corrosive in aggregate.
Keep reading
General information for Australian subcontractors, not legal advice - contract drafting and state legislation vary and change; your document and your state's Act govern. Written by Mat Kennedy at The Construction Contracts Co.