What is BOQ in construction? Meaning, format and a BOQ template
A Bill of Quantities (BOQ) is the list of every item of work in a construction contract, each with a description, a unit, a quantity and, once priced, a rate and an amount. It's what contractors price at tender, and after award it becomes the basis for measuring and paying for work done. For a contractor, that makes it the link between work done on site and the money you're paid each month: work that never reaches a BOQ line in a bill is work you've paid for and not recovered. This guide covers what goes into a BOQ, how quantities are measured, how work done on site turns into a monthly bill, where it goes missing, and gives you a BOQ format you can copy into Excel.
What a BOQ is, and what it's for
The UK's measurement rules for building work, published by RICS, define a bill of quantities as "a list of the items that make up the component parts of a building, with detailed identifying descriptions and quantities". They give it two purposes: to let contractors tender efficiently and accurately, and, once the contract is signed, to provide "a basis for the valuation of work executed for the purpose of making interim payments to the contractor and varied work" (RICS NRM2, section 2.1).
The same idea runs through contracts in India and the Middle East. On CPWD works the BOQ is called the Schedule of Quantities (Schedule A), and under FIDIC contracts it's the Bill of Quantities. Whatever the name, the BOQ ends up deciding two things: what the contractor was paid to build, and how every running bill and variation is valued.
What a BOQ contains
Each line in a BOQ has:
- Item number: a unique reference, usually grouped by section or trade.
- Description: exactly what the item covers, including materials, workmanship and anything deemed included.
- Unit: m³, m², running metre, kg, tonne, number. RICS recommends entering the unit against every item, even when it's the same as the line above (NRM2, A6).
- Quantity: the estimated quantity of work.
- Rate: the contractor's price per unit.
- Amount: quantity × rate.
Most BOQs also include:
- Sections or work groups, such as earthwork, concrete, reinforcement, masonry and finishes, each with a subtotal.
- Provisional sums for work that can't yet be fully described or measured. RICS divides these into defined and undefined provisional sums.
- A summary carrying each section's total to the contract total.
Read the descriptions carefully. They decide what the rate covers. On CPWD contracts, Schedule of Quantities descriptions are "held to include wastage on materials, carriage and cartage… and all other labours" needed to complete the work, and where documents conflict, the Schedule of Quantities description takes precedence over the drawings and specifications (CPWD GCC 2023, clauses 6 and 8.1, IIT Kanpur copy).
How quantities are measured
A BOQ is only as useful as the measurement rules behind it, because the same work measured two ways gives two different quantities. Each market has its standard:
- India, buildings and civil works: IS 1200, the Bureau of Indian Standards' method of measurement of building and civil engineering works. It's published in separate parts by trade, including earthwork, concrete, brickwork, formwork, steelwork, plastering and piling (BIS).
- India, roads and bridges: the MoRTH Specifications for Road and Bridge Works, published by the Indian Roads Congress (5th revision), which set out measurement for payment item by item. IS 1200's separate part for road work has been withdrawn.
- UK: RICS's NRM2 rules for detailed measurement of building works.
- FIDIC contracts: the method of measurement stated in the contract or the BOQ itself (Sub-Clause 12.2, FIDIC Red Book 2017).
Always state the measurement basis at the top of the BOQ, so everyone measures the same way at billing time.
BOQ vs estimate vs measurement book
These three get confused, but they do different jobs:
| What it is | Who prepares it | When | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | The client's forecast of cost. CPWD's Works Manual distinguishes a preliminary estimate, based on plinth-area rates without detailed items, from a detailed estimate, built from schedule-of-rates items with drawings and specifications. | Client or consultant | Before tender |
| BOQ | The contract list of items and estimated quantities, priced by the contractor | Client's QS or consultant prepares it; the contractor prices it | Tender, then the contract |
| Measurement book | The record of quantities actually executed and measured on site. On CPWD works, measurements are entered in an electronic measurement book (e-MB). | Client's engineer, often jointly with the contractor | During execution |
In short: the estimate forecasts, the BOQ prices, and the measurement book records what was actually built. Running bills come from the measurement book, valued at BOQ rates.
From site work to the monthly bill
Every rupee you bill travels the same chain:
- Work is done on site, and the site team reports it, usually in a WhatsApp group, a daily report or both.
- The quantity is captured by item and location, such as "42 m³ RCC slab, first floor, grid C–F".
- It's measured and recorded in the measurement book, often jointly with the client's engineer.
- It's matched to a BOQ item, which sets the rate.
- It goes into the running bill, quantity × BOQ rate, with the supporting documents the client needs to certify it.
The bill can only be as complete as the first two steps. If a quantity is never captured, or is captured without a location or BOQ item, it either never reaches the bill or reaches it late, after weeks of reconstructing it from chats and photos.
Where work done goes missing
- Small, scattered items. A few kerb repairs, a run of drain cover replacements, touch-up work across floors: each is small, so nobody measures it until it's forgotten.
- Partly completed work, left out of this month's bill because it isn't finished, then forgotten next month.
- Work reported but never measured. It's in the WhatsApp group or the daily report, but never makes it into the measurement book.
- Extra items and excess quantities not claimed in time. On CPWD contracts the window is fifteen days, covered below.
- Work with weak supporting documents, where a missing checklist or photo holds up certification of a line that was fully done.
CPWD's own practice points the right way: even items the engineer considers inadmissible are measured "without prejudice for record purposes", so the quantities are on record if the claim is admitted later (CPWD Works Manual 2022, para 5.12.3, NDMC copy). The same principle applies to your own records: capture every quantity, by BOQ item and location, as the work happens.
How to make sure nothing is missed
- Record quantities daily, by BOQ item and location, in the daily report, not just "work in progress". (See our DPR format guide.)
- Reconcile before every bill: for each BOQ item, compare the quantity executed to date in your daily records with the quantity measured and the quantity billed so far. Any gap is either unbilled work or a measurement to chase.
- Keep the supporting documents with each line, such as checklists, test results, joint measurement records and site photos, so certification isn't held up.
- Flag quantities approaching the BOQ quantity, and work outside the BOQ, early enough to claim a revised rate or an extra item within the contract window.
How the BOQ drives billing and variations
Once the contract is signed, the BOQ becomes the yardstick for every payment:
- Running (RA) bills: work done is measured and paid at BOQ rates. Under FIDIC, each item is valued by applying the agreed measurement to the rate in the Bill of Quantities (Sub-Clause 12.3).
- Quantity changes: BOQ quantities are estimates, so actual quantities will differ. Contracts set a threshold beyond which rates can be revised:
- Under FIDIC 2017, a new rate applies where, among other conditions, the measured quantity changes by more than 10% from the BOQ quantity, the change multiplied by the rate exceeds 0.01% of the Accepted Contract Amount, and the change alters the cost per unit by more than 1% (Sub-Clause 12.3).
- On CPWD contracts, the deviation limit is set in Schedule F. For quantity beyond that limit, the contractor can claim a revised rate within fifteen days, supported by a rate analysis, and the Engineer-in-Charge decides within 45 days (GCC 2023, Clause 12).
- Extra items: work not in the BOQ at all. On CPWD contracts, the contractor may claim a market rate within fifteen days of the order or occurrence, with a rate analysis and supporting invoices; otherwise the rate the Engineer-in-Charge approves later is final (Clause 12.2).
The practical lesson: track executed quantities against the BOQ as the work happens. If you only find out at the final bill that an item ran 30% over, the window for a revised rate or an extra-item claim may have long closed.
A BOQ format you can copy
This format follows the structure above. Copy it into Excel, with Amount as a formula (= Quantity × Rate) and a subtotal for each section. The rates below are illustrative only, not market rates.
Header: project · package · contract no. · prepared by · date · measurement basis (e.g. IS 1200)
| Item no. | Description | Unit | Quantity | Rate (₹) | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Earthwork | ||||
| A.1 | Excavation in foundation trenches in all kinds of soil, up to 1.5 m depth, including disposal of excavated earth within 50 m | m³ | 850 | 280 | 2,38,000 |
| B | Concrete | ||||
| B.1 | PCC 1:4:8 below foundations, excluding formwork | m³ | 60 | 6,200 | 3,72,000 |
| B.2 | RCC M25 in slabs, excluding reinforcement and formwork | m³ | 96 | 8,900 | 8,54,400 |
| C | Reinforcement | ||||
| C.1 | TMT bars Fe 500D, including cutting, bending, placing and binding | kg | 9,600 | 92 | 8,83,200 |
| D | Formwork | ||||
| D.1 | Formwork to soffits of suspended slabs, including propping and removal | m² | 640 | 650 | 4,16,000 |
| E | Masonry | ||||
| E.1 | Brickwork 230 mm thick in cement mortar 1:6 | m³ | 120 | 7,400 | 8,88,000 |
| Sub-total, measured work | 36,51,600 | ||||
| F | Provisional sums | ||||
| F.1 | Fire-fighting works (defined provisional sum) | sum | 1 | 5,00,000 | |
| Total | 41,51,600 |
To track progress against the BOQ, add columns to the right of Amount: executed to date (from your daily records), measured to date, billed to date, executed but not yet billed, balance quantity, and a flag where the quantity executed to date passes the BOQ quantity. The executed-but-not-billed column is the one that protects your cash flow; the flag is your early warning for the revised-rate and extra-item windows above.
Common BOQ mistakes
- Vague descriptions, which leave room for dispute over what the rate covers.
- Missing units, or units that don't match the measurement rules.
- No stated measurement basis, so site and client measure differently.
- Ignoring what's "deemed included", such as wastage, carriage and labour, and then expecting to be paid extra for it.
- Not tracking executed quantity against the BOQ, so work done slips out of the monthly bill, and the window to claim a revised rate or an extra item is missed.
Where Velora fits
Velora doesn't prepare your BOQ or your RA bill. Billing Intelligence (early access) covers the steps where work goes missing: it captures work done from the updates your site teams already send on WhatsApp, matches it to your BOQ items by location, keeps the checklists and site photos for each line together, and flags work done that hasn't been billed yet, before the bill goes in. You upload your BOQ once; your site teams don't change how they report.
Frequently asked questions
- What is BOQ in construction?
- BOQ stands for Bill of Quantities. It lists every item of work in a contract, each with a description, unit, quantity and, once priced, a rate and amount. Contractors price it at tender, and after award it is the basis for valuing running bills and variations. On CPWD works it is called the Schedule of Quantities.
- What is the difference between a BOQ and an estimate?
- An estimate is the client's forecast of cost before tender. A BOQ is the contract list of items and estimated quantities that the contractor prices. A measurement book then records the quantities actually executed, and running bills are valued at BOQ rates on those measured quantities.
- Who prepares the BOQ?
- Usually the client's quantity surveyor or consultant prepares the BOQ from the drawings and specifications, using the applicable measurement rules, such as IS 1200 in India or NRM2 in the UK. The contractor then enters rates against each item when tendering.
- What happens if actual quantities differ from the BOQ?
- BOQ quantities are estimates, so work is paid on measured quantities. Contracts set a threshold for revising rates: under FIDIC 2017, a new rate can apply where the quantity changes by more than 10% and other conditions are met; on CPWD contracts, quantities beyond the deviation limit in Schedule F can be claimed at a revised rate within fifteen days.
- How do I make sure no work done is missed from the monthly bill?
- Record quantities every day by BOQ item and location, not just as work in progress. Before each bill, compare the quantity executed to date in your daily records with the quantity measured and billed for every BOQ item; any gap is unbilled work or a measurement to chase. Keep checklists and photos with each line so certification is not held up, and flag excess quantities and extra items early enough to claim them within the contract window.
- How do I make a BOQ format in Excel?
- Use columns for item number, description, unit, quantity, rate and amount, with amount as quantity multiplied by rate. Group items into sections with subtotals, list provisional sums separately, carry totals to a summary, and state the measurement basis at the top. Add executed and balance columns to track progress against the BOQ.