What is a reasonable contingency?

It depends on project stage, site risk and your financier's policy. State the percentage and the reason.

Should ROI include financing?

Show it before financing first, then add financing as a separate case so the project and the loan are judged separately.

How many suppliers should receive the RFQ?

Enough to compare — often three to five qualified suppliers — with the same package.

Can I compare a turnkey offer with separate packages?

Yes, after mapping every package to the same scope and adding interface, coordination and risk costs.

Does a good plan guarantee returns?

No. It makes risks visible. Results depend on crop, variety, climate, water, market and execution.

How to build an investment plan for a greenhouse or growing system: CAPEX/OPEX, ROI scenarios, specification, RFQ and supplier offer comparison

Reviewed: 2026-10-13 · SeedMatchGroup

Short answer

Write the specification first, collect CAPEX and OPEX as ranges, run low, base and high scenarios for yield, price and costs, and only then issue one RFQ with the same scope and assumptions to every supplier. Compare offers after normalising scope, exclusions and lifecycle costs — never on headline price alone.

Supplier proposals side by side on a table with a laptop showing a cash-flow scenario chart and a greenhouse scale model — Offers are compared only after scope, exclusions and assumptions are normalised.

Financiers, partners and suppliers all ask the same question in different words: what exactly are you building, what will it cost to build and run, and what happens if things go worse than planned? This guide gives the structure of a plan that answers it honestly.

Part 1 — Specification (what you are buying)

Crop, calendar, target volume and quality
Site data: climate records, water analysis, loads, access, permits
Structure, covering, climate, irrigation/fertigation, automation scope
Performance to be achieved and how it will be tested at handover
Training, spares, service and warranty expectations

Part 2 — CAPEX and OPEX as ranges

Line	Low	High	Evidence
Structure and covering			budget quote
Climate, irrigation, automation			budget quotes
Site works, connections, water treatment			contractor estimate
Design, permits, project management
Contingency			your policy
Annual energy, labour, inputs, maintenance, insurance			own records / quotes

Never fill a line with a number you cannot trace.

Part 3 — ROI scenarios

Hypothetical structure; enter your own values in the CAPEX/OPEX/ROI scenario calculator.

Driver	Low	Base	High
Marketable yield	your worst comparable cycle	your typical	your best
Average price	low season / low contract	expected	high
OPEX	high case	expected	low case

Report simple payback and ROI for each scenario as undiscounted, before tax and financing, and say so. If the low case does not survive, change the plan before seeking money.

Part 4 — The RFQ

Send every supplier the same package: specification, site data, scope boundaries, required performance and tests, delivery and installation window, payment and warranty terms requested, and an offer template with fixed line items. Ask suppliers to list assumptions and exclusions explicitly.

Part 5 — Comparing offers fairly

Check	Why
Scope matches the specification line by line	Missing items look cheap
Exclusions priced in	Foundations, civil works, freight, duties often excluded
Design basis stated	Different design days mean different performance
Performance guarantees and tests	What happens if targets are missed?
Lifecycle cost	Energy, maintenance, spares, replacement intervals
References for similar climate and crop	Verify independently

Score after normalising; then negotiate.

If information is missing

Mark gaps in the plan and the RFQ, ask suppliers to state their assumption for each, and close the most important gaps (water, loads, demand) before final selection. SeedMatchGroup reviews commercial projects from USD 250,000; financing, if any, is assessed by independent third parties with your consent.

Specification, ranges, scenarios, one RFQ and a normalised comparison — in that order — give you a plan that partners can check and suppliers can price fairly.

Tools and next steps

Frequently asked questions

What is a reasonable contingency?: It depends on project stage, site risk and your financier's policy. State the percentage and the reason.
Should ROI include financing?: Show it before financing first, then add financing as a separate case so the project and the loan are judged separately.
How many suppliers should receive the RFQ?: Enough to compare — often three to five qualified suppliers — with the same package.
Can I compare a turnkey offer with separate packages?: Yes, after mapping every package to the same scope and adding interface, coordination and risk costs.
Does a good plan guarantee returns?: No. It makes risks visible. Results depend on crop, variety, climate, water, market and execution.

Sources

General planning guidance. Results depend on crop, variety, climate, water, regulation and market; numerical examples are hypothetical. Confirm decisions with qualified local specialists.