Frequently asked questions

Everything below is answered in full rather than hidden behind a click. If your question is not here, email admin@mep-qs.com and you will get a direct reply.

Before you buy

Whether these courses are the right ones for you.

Who are these courses for?

Estimators and quantity surveyors working on building services packages, whether you have moved across from general QS work, come up through the trade, or are a year or two into a commercial role. The material assumes you can read a drawing. It does not assume you have priced MEP before.

Is this UK practice?

Yes. UK standards, UK contract forms, UK terminology and sterling pricing throughout. If you work under a different regime the estimating principles still hold, but the specific references will not match.

I have priced MEP for fifteen years. Is there anything here for me?

Honestly, it depends. If you price the same building type repeatedly you will already know most of what is in the course covering it. Where experienced estimators tend to get value is in the disciplines they were never formally taught, and in the sections on qualifications, risk and tender assembly, which are the parts most people learn by absorption rather than instruction. The full lesson list is on every course page. Read it before you buy, and email us if you want a straight view on whether it is worth your money.

How long does a course take?

It depends on the course. The estimating courses are three to four hours of reading, and considerably longer if you work the take-off examples properly, which is where most of the value sits. The contract and disputes courses are substantially longer, and most people spend twelve hours or more on one. There is no schedule and no deadline.

Do I need any particular software?

No. The estimating courses are about measurement, rates and commercial judgement, not a particular package, so a calculator and a spreadsheet will do. Where a course is about a specific piece of software it says so on its own page.

Do I need to buy more than one?

No, and most people do not. The courses are independent and each stands on its own, so buy the discipline you price most often. If you handle full MEP packages then more of them make sense, but there is no bundle pressure and no expiring discount.

Can I see what is in a course before buying?

Every course page lists its full contents, lesson by lesson, so you can see exactly what is covered. If that does not answer your question, email us and ask about a specific topic. We would rather tell you a course does not cover something than take your money and disappoint you.

Access and your account

Signing in, keeping access, and reading the material.

How long do I keep access?

Permanently. One payment, no subscription, no renewal date, and no licence tied to your current employer. Come back to it mid-tender in three years if you need to check a labour norm or the wording of a qualification.

How do I sign in?

There is no password. You enter your email address and we send a six-digit code, which signs you in. It means one less password to manage and nothing to leak.

My sign-in code has not arrived.

Check your spam folder first. Codes come from noreply@mep-qs.com, and corporate mail filters are the usual culprit. If it still has not appeared after a few minutes, email admin@mep-qs.com with the address you registered and we will get you in.

Can I download the courses as a PDF?

Not at the moment. The material lives on the site, where it stays available to you permanently and gets corrected and extended over time. If an offline version would be genuinely useful to you, say so — it is on the list, and demand decides the order.

Does it work on a phone or tablet?

Yes, the whole site is readable on any screen size. That said, the worked examples involve following quantities through several columns, and most people find those easier on a laptop.

Payment, refunds and teams

What it costs and how buying works.

What does it cost?

There are two ways to buy. A single course, paid once and kept permanently. Or MEP Essentials membership, which covers every published course and everything released while you are a member, with no minimum term. Current prices for both are on the courses page.

Which should I choose, a course or the membership?

If you only need one discipline, buy the course. It costs less than a few months of membership and you keep it permanently, whether or not you ever subscribe. The membership makes sense if you expect to work across several courses. Two things worth stating plainly: it covers what is published today plus whatever is released while you are a member, so an annual membership is partly a bet on what comes next; and access lasts only while you are paying, so if you cancel you lose the courses that came with it. Anything you bought outright is untouched.

What if it is not what I expected?

Email within 14 days of buying and you will get a full refund. No form to complete and no explanation required. Refunds go back to the original payment method, normally within five working days.

Is there a certificate? Does it count towards CPD?

There is no accredited certificate at present. Members recording RICS CPD generally log structured self-study of this kind as informal CPD, but it is worth checking that against your own requirements rather than taking our word for it. If a certificate of completion would be useful to you, tell us.

Can my employer pay, or buy for a team?

Yes. Paying by card produces a Stripe receipt you can expense immediately. If you need several seats, or an invoice raised against a purchase order, email admin@mep-qs.com and it will be handled directly. There is more detail on the For teams page.

Is VAT included in the price?

The price shown is the price you pay. Full VAT details are set out in our Terms of Use.

Will there be more courses?

Yes, and they publish as they are finished. We do not announce titles or dates in advance, because a date we would be guessing at is worse than no date and a title promised is not a course delivered. The mailing list hears when one goes live, and the courses page always shows exactly what you can buy today.