A counter claim is in practice a Subcontractor change order with the opposite sign: here it is the main contractor (TE) who raises a claim against a subcontractor (UE), not the other way around.
Where an ordinary Subcontractor change order normally makes the project more expensive for the main contractor, a counter claim has a negative cost impact — that is, a reduction in what the main contractor ultimately has to pay, or compensation for a loss the main contractor has suffered due to circumstances caused by the subcontractor.
When does a counter claim arise?
There are two main situations:
The main contractor has carried out or paid for work that was the subcontractor’s responsibility. If the subcontractor fails to deliver the agreed scope, or delivers late, the main contractor may have to do the work itself or engage and pay another party. The cost is claimed back from the original subcontractor as a counter claim.
A subcontractor has caused damage to, or obstructed, other subcontractors on site. The affected subcontractor raises a claim against the main contractor, since the main contractor coordinates the site and holds the contract with every subcontractor. The main contractor then passes the claim on as a counter claim against the subcontractor who caused the issue.
Why does everything go via the main contractor?
Even when the matter is really between two subcontractors, it is the main contractor who formally raises and receives the claims. The reasons are:
The main contractor holds the contract with every subcontractor — they normally have no agreement with each other.
The main contractor must stay in control of warranty obligations and the overall delivery to be handed over to the client. The allocation of responsibility between subcontractors cannot happen outside the main contractor’s control, since the main contractor answers to the client for the entire delivery.
The counter claim is thus the mechanism that lets the main contractor channel costs and responsibility back to the right subcontractor, while keeping control of the overall delivery.
Sign: positive amount, negative cost
The amount of a counter claim is registered as a positive number, but the counter claim type itself signals that this is a negative cost. The counter claim lowers the final forecast on the relevant accounts/production codes, unlike an ordinary Subcontractor change order, which normally raises it.
The sign should therefore be read from the type — counter claim or Subcontractor change order — not from the sign of the amount.
Notification and documentation
The same principles of good contract management apply when the main contractor is the claiming party:
Notify the subcontractor of the counter claim without undue delay, so they have the opportunity to contest the basis while the matter is still fresh and verifiable.
Document the basis in the same way as an ordinary change: what has been done or paid, by whom, and why this deviates from the subcontractor’s contractual obligation.
Expect counter claim to be negotiated or disputed. The subcontractor may contest both whether the issue is their responsibility and the size of the amount.
Registering in AIMZ
Counter claim are registered following the same principle as Subcontractor change orders with respect to the Cost claim and Cost fields — but with the opposite effect on the final forecast, since the type determines that the amount is deducted rather than added.
