BOQ checklist before you submit a tender

A BOQ that goes out with an error does not usually come back. It gets priced, awarded, and discovered eight months later when someone measures the work and it does not match.

These are the checks worth running before submission, grouped by the kind of error each one catches.

Measurement checks

Every item traces to a drawing. For each line, you should be able to point at the drawing dimension it came from. An item nobody can trace is either a duplicate or an invention.

Openings are scheduled and deducted consistently. Build the opening schedule first, then check each deduction against it. Masonry and plaster follow different rules on the same opening — see deductions in brickwork and plaster measurement. A wall where both were deducted identically is worth a second look.

The beam zone is deducted from masonry. The volume where a beam sits inside the wall is RCC. Left in the masonry measurement, it is billed twice at two rates.

Excavation runs from ground level, not plinth level. Including plinth height in excavation depth is the most common single overcount in manual estimates.

Slab and beam overlap is resolved. Where a beam is monolithic with the slab, the slab thickness portion is measured once, not in both items.

Steel includes laps and bend deductions. A cutting list built from clear member lengths understates on laps and overstates on bends. See how to calculate steel quantity.

Half-brick walls are in sqm, not cum. And priced against an area rate. This one survives review because both numbers look plausible.

The measurement method is consistent throughout. Centre line or long wall–short wall, not both in the same estimate — the two are compared in centre line method vs long wall–short wall method.

Rate and pricing checks

The rate basis is stated and uniform. Schedule of rates or market rates — not a silent mixture. If some items are scheduled and some are market-priced, say so per item. A BOQ where the basis is unclear cannot be checked by anyone.

Rates are current. Cement and steel move within a quarter. Check the date on your rate source before submission and flag anything older than a few weeks.

GST treatment is consistent and stated. Some schedules publish inclusive, some exclusive. Mixing them within one document produces a total that is wrong by an amount nobody can locate afterwards.

Every rate has a unit that matches its quantity. A rate per cft against a quantity in cum is out by 35 times. A rate per sqft against sqm is out by 10.76 — small enough to pass review on a single item. The unit each item takes is set out in units of measurement in an Indian construction BOQ.

Non-standard items have a rate analysis attached. Anything not in your rate source needs a build-up you can show. See how to prepare a rate analysis.

Wastage is handled once. Either inside the rate or as a separate line, not both.

Scope and completeness checks

Every trade on the drawing appears in the BOQ. Walk the drawing set and tick off each visible element against a BOQ item. Missing items are harder to spot than wrong ones, because nothing looks out of place.

Exclusions are written down. External development, compound wall, interiors, air conditioning, approvals, consultant fees. An exclusion that exists only in your head becomes a variation claim later.

Provisional and prime cost sums are labelled. Anything not fully designed at tender stage needs to be identified as provisional, with the basis stated.

Preliminaries are included. Site establishment, temporary works, supervision, safety, insurance. On a competitive tender these are commonly under-provided and then absorbed as loss.

Contingency is stated separately. Buried in the rates, it distorts every comparison.

Format and document checks

Item numbering is sequential and unbroken. Gaps and duplicates cause reconciliation problems at billing.

Descriptions are complete enough to price. "Brickwork" is not an item. "Brickwork in superstructure, 230mm thick, in CM 1:6, above plinth level" is. A description a contractor has to interpret produces a rate you cannot compare against another bidder's.

Section totals reconcile with the abstract. Check the arithmetic upward, not just the grand total.

The unit column is populated on every line. A blank unit is an unpriceable item.

Spreadsheet formulas are intact. Where quantities feed from measurement sheets, confirm no cell has been hard-typed over a formula. This is the most common source of a total that does not match its parts.

Commercial checks

The measurement standard is named. IS 1200, or whatever the specification states. Without it, there is no agreed basis for measuring work in progress.

Payment terms and measurement frequency are covered in the accompanying documents, even if not in the BOQ itself.

Escalation is addressed. On any project running more than a few months, whether rates are firm or subject to escalation needs to be explicit.

The BOQ matches the drawings issued for tender. If drawings were revised during the tender period, the BOQ must reflect the current revision. A BOQ priced against superseded drawings is a dispute waiting to be filed.

The five that cause the most money

If you run nothing else, run these:

1. Rate basis stated and uniform — the single most common source of unresolvable disputes
2. Beam zone deducted from masonry — silent double-billing at the highest rate in the BOQ
3. Exclusions written down — turns future arguments into agreed variations
4. Unit matches quantity on every line — the errors here are large and quiet
5. BOQ matches the current drawing revision — invalidates everything else if wrong

Before it goes out

Print it. Errors that are invisible on screen become visible on paper, particularly in tables and totals. Then have someone who did not prepare it read the item descriptions alone, without the quantities — if they cannot tell what is being priced, a contractor cannot either.

For the format itself, see BOQ format for house construction. For a working file to build in, download the BOQ format in Excel. For which document you are actually being asked for, see BOQ vs BOM vs abstract of cost.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common mistakes in a BOQ?

Unclear or mixed rate basis, failing to deduct the beam zone from masonry, unstated exclusions, unit mismatches between rate and quantity, and a BOQ prepared against a superseded drawing revision. Each is quiet — the resulting figure looks plausible.

Should exclusions be listed in the BOQ?

Yes, explicitly and in writing. An exclusion that is understood but not documented becomes a claim later, and the party with it in writing is the one who prevails.

What is a provisional sum in a BOQ?

An allowance for work not fully designed at tender stage, identified as provisional so it is understood to be subject to adjustment when the design is settled. It should never be presented as a firm priced item.

Do preliminaries go in the BOQ?

Usually as a separate section covering site establishment, temporary works, supervision, safety and insurance. Omitting them does not remove the cost — it just means the contractor absorbs it or spreads it silently through the rates.

How do I check a BOQ someone else prepared?

Trace items back to the drawing rather than checking the arithmetic. Arithmetic errors are rare and easily caught; missing items and wrong deductions are common and invisible in the totals.