Projects · Daily operations · 6 min read

Build and approve a bill of quantities

Enter or import BOQ lines in a section and item hierarchy, approve the version and revise it without losing certified quantities.

Before you begin

The Bill of quantities feature must be on (Administration > Applications > Project Management > Features) and the project's feature profile must include BOQ. You need project.boq.edit to enter lines. Approving a BOQ needs project.budget.approve.

Steps: enter lines by hand

1. Open Projects > Planning > BOQ and choose the project, or the BOQ tab on Project 360.
2. Create a version with New version. Choose the Kind (tender, contract, internal, revised, variation or subcontract), a Name, and optionally Copy lines from another BOQ of this project.
3. Add lines. Each line has a Code, a Level (Section, Subsection or Item) and a Description.
4. For items, enter the Unit, Qty, Rate, Cost rate, Tax % and Retention %.
5. Press Save lines.

An item belongs to the nearest subsection or section above it. Sections show the sum of their items.

Worked example

Section A "Substructure". Item A.1 Excavation, 500 m3 at AED 25, cost 18. Item A.2 Blockwork, 500 m2 at AED 120, cost 90, tax 5%. The items are 12,500 and 60,000; the section shows 72,500. The estimated cost is 54,000 and the margin 18,500. Tax is 5% of the items, 3,625.

Steps: import from a file

1. On the BOQ tab press AI BOQ import and choose a CSV or TSV file of up to 5 MB.
2. The preview lists the columns it recognised (for example Item No as code, Unit as uom), the number of sections and items and the total. A row with no quantity, rate or amount becomes a section. If the rate is missing, it is derived from amount divided by quantity.
3. Press Use these lines, check the grid, then press Save lines. Nothing is saved until you do.

An empty file is refused: 'The file has no rows.' A file over 5 MB is refused: 'The file is larger than 5 MB.'

Steps: approve and revise

1. When the lines are right, press Approve. The approver needs project.budget.approve.
2. An approved BOQ is never edited: 'An approved BOQ is never edited; make a revised version.' Press New version, kind Revised, to copy its lines and certified quantities.
3. Approving the revised version supersedes the older approved one of the same kind.

What happens next

• Certified qty and Progress % fill in as BOQ progress claims are certified. See Bill the customer and certify progress claims.
• A BOQ claim needs an approved contract or revised BOQ: 'Approve a contract BOQ before a BOQ claim.'
• Cost rate, estimated cost and margin are hidden from people without cost and margin permissions. Selling rate, amount, certified quantity and progress stay visible to them.

Good to know

• Certified quantities are carried by line code when you save lines again, so keep codes stable.
• If the Bill of quantities feature is off, saving shows 'Bill of quantities is disabled for this company.' You can still read existing BOQs.