What is a site indent?
An indent is the formal request from site to the purchase or HR function for material or manpower. Raising it in writing, against a stated item of work and a required-by date, is what makes a shortage traceable to a decision rather than to nobody.
What is in the site indent workbook?
- Project Details — indent number, date, site and required-by date.
- Material Indent — material-wise requirement, stock in hand, and quantity to procure.
- Labour Indent — trade-wise manpower requirement with the period needed.
- Filled Sample — a worked example of a material and labour indent raised mid-project for a first floor slab.
How does the site indent sheet calculate?
- Quantity to procure = quantity required − stock in hand, and never less than zero, so surplus stock never turns into a negative order.
- Total manpower required on the labour indent is the sum of the numbers required across trades.
Worked example from the sample sheet: 600 bags of cement are required for the first-floor slab and columns, with 240 bags in hand, so the indent asks for 360 bags.
How do you use the site indent template?
- Fill in the indent number, date and required-by date on Project Details.
- On Material Indent, enter each material with its approved make or specification, the quantity required, and the stock already in hand. The quantity to procure calculates itself.
- State the item of work each material is for. This is what allows the indent to be checked against the BOQ later.
- On Labour Indent, enter the trades required, the numbers, and the period they are needed for.
- Route both sheets for approval before sending to purchase. An unapproved indent is the usual reason a delivery is disputed.
What should you check before relying on the site indent?
- Indent against the work programme and the lead time of the material, not against the day you run out. Cement, steel and made-to-order items all have lead times.
- The specification column is not optional. Most material disputes on site trace back to an indent that named a material but not a make or grade.
- Check stock in hand from the store register before indenting. This template calculates whatever you enter — it cannot know your real stock.
- Keep indents in a numbered series and file the approved copy. It is the document that supports a claim for idling if material arrives late.
- Rates are not supplied with this template. Enter rates from your own schedule of rates or market quotations; any figures on the sample sheet are illustrative only and must not be used for real estimating or billing.
What does each column mean?
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| S. No. | Row number. Keep indents in a numbered series and file the approved copy. |
| Material | The material being requisitioned. |
| Specification / Approved Make | Grade, make or specification. Not optional — most material disputes trace back to an indent that named a material but not a make. |
| Unit | The unit the material is ordered in. |
| Quantity Required | The quantity the work needs. |
| Stock in Hand | Quantity already in store, checked against the store register. |
| Quantity to Procure | Auto-calculated. Quantity required minus stock in hand. |
| Required by (Date) | The date the material is needed — set against the work programme and the material's lead time, not the day you run out. |
| Item of Work / Location | The item of work the material is for, so the indent can be checked against the BOQ later. |
| Remarks | Anything the purchase function needs — part deliveries acceptable, access constraints, and so on. |
An indent is only closed when the material arrives. Book each delivery against it in the material receipt (GRN) and stock register, which also gives you the stock-in-hand figure the next indent starts from.
Get the quantities from your drawings
These records only mean something against an accurate bill of the work. Upload your drawings and InstaBOQ produces the measured, itemised BOQ your consumption norms and reconciliations are checked against.