Quick answer
A Kāinga Ora kitchen is priced line by line against a Schedule of Rates, not as one lump sum. Each element carries a code, a unit and a rate that shifts by pricing area. If your kitchen sub quotes the same way KO measures and pays, your monthly claim reconciles against the sub's invoice instead of stalling at quantity-surveyor review.
Key points
- The Kāinga Ora kitchen package is priced off a coded Schedule of Rates, so each unit is the sum of measured line items rather than a single kitchen price.
- Every element, from the wet under-bench unit to the childproof catches, has its own code, unit of measure and rate.
- The rate for the same element moves depending on the pricing area, so a kitchen in Tāmaki does not carry the same number as one in Henderson.
- Your subcontractor's quote should map one-to-one onto those SOR lines, so the number you claim from KO and the number the sub invoices you are the same shape.
- Lock the coding, the units and the pricing area at quote stage and the QS has nothing to query, which is how a claim gets certified on time.
One kitchen, priced as measured lines.
You have won the kitchen package across a Kāinga Ora development in Tāmaki: three blocks, sixty-odd units, supply and install. The head contract prices kitchens off a Schedule of Rates, coded line by line, and your monthly claim gets measured against it. Your kitchen subcontractor sends back a quote that reads 'Kitchen Type A, supply and install' with one number beside it. Those two documents do not talk to each other, and at the first progress claim that gap is your problem, not the sub's.
This is how coded line-item pricing works on a KO kitchen package, and how to get the sub's quote to reconcile with what you claim and what you get paid. The codes and rates shown below are illustrative, there to show the shape of it. Your own Schedule of Rates, issued with the contract, carries KO's actual codes, units and pricing areas, so price off that document and treat this as the map, not the territory.
What a Schedule of Rates is on a kitchen package
A Schedule of Rates is a priced list. Instead of one lump sum for a kitchen, the contract holds a rate against each measurable element, and the unit you install gets valued by adding up the elements that are actually in it. A studio with a short galley draws fewer lines than a three-bedroom with a pantry and a longer run of bench. The SOR is what keeps that fair across a development: you get paid for what is in each unit, measured the same way every time, so nobody has to argue a lump sum kitchen by kitchen.
The catch is that most kitchen suppliers do not quote this way. They price a whole kitchen, because that is how they sell to builders and homeowners. That is fine on a one-off. On a KO package it leaves you holding a single number you cannot defend line by line when the quantity surveyor measures your claim, and no rate to fall back on when the spec changes on one block. If you have ever wrestled with a one-line quote, our guide on how to read a kitchen quote and spot the hidden costs covers why the breakdown matters, and budgeting kitchens across a multi-unit development sets out the wider cost picture.
The line items in a KO kitchen
A KO kitchen breaks into a predictable set of elements. Each one is a line on the schedule with its own code, its own unit and its own rate. Get the sub to itemise against the same list and the rest of the job gets easier.
- Wet under-bench unit: the sink base cabinet, counted separately from the dry bases because it carries plumbing and the childproof catches.
- Dry under-bench unit: the standard base cabinets, priced each by nominal width.
- Wall units: the overhead cabinets, priced each.
- Pantry or tall unit: any full-height cabinet, its own line.
- Laminate benchtop: measured in linear metres along the front edge, with returns counted.
- Stainless sink bench: the 304 pressing with an integral bowl, one rate, not a benchtop plus a drop-in sink.
- Splashback: by area or by run, and you have to state which.
- Toe-kick, cutlery insert and childproof catches: the small lines that are easy to leave off and expensive to argue later.
| Element | Illustrative code | Unit | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wet under-bench unit | KIT-WUB | each | Sink base counted on its own line |
| Dry under-bench unit | KIT-DUB | each | Per base cabinet, by nominal width |
| Wall unit | KIT-WU | each | Per overhead cabinet |
| Pantry / tall unit | KIT-PAN | each | Per full-height cabinet |
| Laminate benchtop | KIT-BT | linear metre | Along the front edge, returns counted |
| Stainless sink bench | KIT-SSB | each | 304 pressing, integral bowl, one rate |
| Splashback | KIT-SB | m² or lm | By area or by run, state which |
| Toe-kick / kickboard | KIT-TK | linear metre | Along the base run |
| Cutlery insert | KIT-CI | each | One per drawer bank |
| Childproof catches | KIT-CC | each / lot | Per catch, or per unit, agree which |
Rates move by pricing area
KO does not pay one rate across Auckland. The schedule sets rates by pricing area, so the same wet under-bench unit carries a different number in Tāmaki than it does in Henderson or New Lynn. Labour, travel, site access and parking all differ across the region, and the schedule reflects that. If your sub quotes one flat rate for the whole programme while your claim is measured by area, the blocks in the dearer area quietly bleed margin every month.
| Pricing area | Access and travel | Rate index vs base |
|---|---|---|
| Tāmaki | Base area for this example | 1.00 |
| Henderson | Different labour and travel loading | set by your SOR |
| New Lynn | Tighter sites, parking and access vary | set by your SOR |
The index above is deliberately blank where it counts, because the real numbers live in the schedule you were issued, not in an article. The point is only this: confirm which pricing area each block sits in, and price the sub against that area's rates, not an averaged guess. Averaging looks tidy on the quote and costs you on the claim. This is the same discipline behind understanding what developers actually pay for trade versus retail kitchens.
Making the sub's quote reconcile with your claim
Here is the whole game. Your claim to KO is built from SOR quantities at KO's rates. The sub's invoice to you should be built from the same quantities at the sub's rates. When both documents are keyed to the same coded schedule, reconciliation is subtraction: the KO claim value minus the sub's invoice value is your margin and prelims, line by line, and the QS can follow it in five minutes. When they are not, you spend claim week rebuilding one number into forty.
Claim and invoice, the same shape.
| Line item | Qty | Claimed from KO | Sub invoice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry under-bench units | 2 | $520 | $470 |
| Wet under-bench unit | 1 | $300 | $270 |
| Wall units | 3 | $540 | $480 |
| Laminate benchtop | 3.2 lm | $640 | $560 |
| Stainless sink bench | 1 | $410 | $360 |
| Splashback + extras | 1 lot | $360 | $300 |
| Unit total | $2,770 | $2,440 |
The numbers above are invented to show the shape, not KO's rates or ours. What matters is that both columns are the same list in the same order, so the difference on every line is visible. Do this across every unit type and your claim is a spreadsheet that foots, not a negotiation. It also means a variation has somewhere to land, which is half of keeping variations and RFIs off a kitchen package.
The sub who prices in whole kitchens isn't cheaper. He's just moved the measuring job onto your desk, and you find that out at the first claim, not the tender.
What goes wrong
The failures on KO kitchen pricing are rarely about the rate being too high. They are about the two documents not lining up, so the money you were owed gets stuck in a query.
- The sub quotes whole kitchens, so nothing maps to the SOR and every claim becomes a manual rebuild.
- Units of measure drift: the sub prices splashback by the sheet, the schedule pays by the square metre, and the difference is yours.
- One flat rate is quoted across every pricing area, so the dearer blocks lose margin quietly for the length of the job.
- The small lines get bundled into a benchtop rate, so a childproof catch or a cutlery insert has no code to claim against.
- The sink bench is priced as a benchtop plus a drop-in bowl, which is both non-compliant and unrecoverable when KO pays for a 304 integral pressing.
- The quote has no provisional line for the extras, so the first spec change turns into a variation nobody priced.
What to nail down before you sign the sub
- An itemised quote keyed to the SOR codes and units, not a price per kitchen type.
- The unit of measure agreed on every line, especially benchtop and splashback.
- The pricing area confirmed for each block, with the sub's rate set against that area.
- The stainless sink bench priced as one 304 integral line, not a benchtop plus a drop-in sink.
- The extras (toe-kick, cutlery insert, childproof catches) as their own coded lines.
- A rate that holds for the length of the programme, so stage two is not a quiet re-quote.
Send us the schedule and the types
MTN Kitchens has run its own workshop in East Tāmaki for 23 years, more than 2,000 kitchens, ten-plus a week, Site Safe qualified because head contractors put kitchen work through us. We supply and install under one contract and one invoice, so the party that priced your kitchens is the party that measures and fits them. That is what keeps a quote and a claim the same shape.
Send the Schedule of Rates and the kitchen types, or a rough scope if that is all you have, and a trade-priced quote comes back inside 24 hours, itemised against your codes and units and split by pricing area, plus GST. If you want the design side locked down first, read meeting the Kāinga Ora kitchen design requirements, and if you are repeating the same kitchens across the lots, delivering identical kitchens across a KO development is the companion piece.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I just take one price per kitchen type from my subcontractor?
Because your claim to Kāinga Ora is measured against a coded Schedule of Rates, line by line, and a single kitchen price does not map to it. At every progress claim the QS measures quantities against SOR codes, so a one-line quote leaves you rebuilding that number into its parts by hand, every month. Itemised against the same codes, the sub's quote and your claim reconcile on a page. Ask for the breakdown before you award.
How should a benchtop be measured on the schedule, linear metre or girth?
It depends on the schedule you were issued, which is why you confirm the unit before the rate. Laminate benchtop is commonly measured in linear metres along the front edge with returns counted, but some schedules price on girth or by the sheet. A good rate against the wrong unit still leaves you short when KO remeasures the claim. Get the unit of measure agreed in writing for benchtop and splashback in particular.
Do the rates really change between Tāmaki, Henderson and New Lynn?
Yes. Kāinga Ora sets rates by pricing area, and the same line item carries a different number across areas because labour, travel and site access differ. If your sub quotes one flat rate while your claim is measured by area, the dearer blocks lose margin every month. Confirm which pricing area each block sits in and price the sub against that area, not an average.
Who carries the risk if the sub's quote doesn't match the SOR coding?
You do. Kāinga Ora pays you against the schedule, and you pay the sub against your contract with them. If those two are coded differently, the gap sits between them, on your desk, at claim time. That is why the reconciliation has to be set up at quote stage, not discovered at the first claim. Keying the sub's quote to the SOR codes from the start moves that risk off you.
Can a kitchen supplier quote directly against my Schedule of Rates?
A supplier who does volume work should be able to, yes. Send them the SOR and the kitchen types and ask for the quote itemised against the same codes and units, priced by pricing area. That is exactly the shape a claim needs, and it means one party has measured, priced and will install to the same schedule. It is the difference between a quote you can claim against and one you have to translate.