Hidden costs in greenhouse quotations, and why the cheapest per m² often is not
The twelve items most often missing from greenhouse quotations are site levelling and civil works, foundations, electrical connection and transformer, water source and treatment, water storage, internal transport and crop support, installation labour and supervision, freight, insurance and unloading, import duties and local taxes, commissioning and agronomic start-up, commissioning spares, and post-warranty service. Each one is a real project cost. If a bid excludes them and another includes them, the cheaper bid per m² is usually the more expensive project.
Greenhouse proposals are rarely misleading on price. They are incomplete on scope, and incomplete scope is what turns an approved budget into a variation-order sequence.
Work through the list below against each bid before comparing any numbers. Anything a supplier will not state in writing should be treated as excluded.
The twelve usual gaps
- Site levelling, drainage, access roads and topsoil handling
- Foundations: design, supply, excavation and concrete
- Electrical connection, transformer, main panel and cabling to the site
- Water source development — borehole, licence, connection
- Water treatment and disinfection appropriate to the analysed source water
- Water storage, buffer tanks and refill pumping
- Internal transport, crop support wire, hooks and trolleys
- Installation labour, supervision, accommodation, visas and site safety
- Freight, insurance, unloading and on-site handling equipment
- Import duties, local taxes and customs clearance
- Commissioning, performance testing and agronomic start-up support
- Commissioning spares and post-warranty service response
Why the cheapest per m² can cost more later
Price per m² measures only what is inside the quoted scope. Two structures with the same footprint can carry different design loads, different usable growing area, different screen layers, different fertigation accuracy and different service commitments. Lifecycle cost per kg produced is the number that eventually matters to the business case.
How to close the gaps before award
- Require an itemised exclusions list from every bidder — not a paragraph, a list
- Ask each bidder to price excluded items as options so the true project cost is visible
- Fix one Incoterm for all bidders before comparing
- State usable growing area, not just gross area, and require both in the response
- Confirm warranty per component group and the service response commitment in writing
Financing note
SeedMatch Group is not a bank, lender, credit provider or financial adviser, and quotes no rates, approvals or commitments. Where a qualified commercial project requires funding, it may be introduced to independent third-party financing providers, who control all eligibility, pricing and decisions.
Questions buyers ask before selecting a greenhouse company
SeedMatch Group is not a greenhouse manufacturer, integrator, EPC contractor or installer, and has no exclusive relationship with any company named on this page. Several of the companies described here can be invited to quote through a structured RFQ. Capability descriptions summarise categories these companies present publicly and should be verified directly with each company for a specific project.
The 25-line normalisation method used before price is weighed.
Normalise price per m² and flag missing scope across up to three quotations.
Section-by-section specification structure for a professional greenhouse tender.
The definition checklist that makes proposals comparable in the first place.
Lifecycle view: CAPEX, energy, water, labour, replacement and cost per kg.
What actually moves CAPEX per m² — country, crop, loads, climate strategy and automation.