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BOQ with versions

Keep each project's bill of quantities in the system, item by item, priced and tied to places and cost codes. Import it from the client's Excel, make it final, and when the scope changes start a new version: the old one is kept as Replaced. Site progress, the budget, work orders and client bills all work from the same items.

PLANSEvery plan

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The problem it solves

The tender BOQ lives in an Excel file that three people have edited, and nobody knows which copy is current.
After a revision, nobody can show the client what changed between the first BOQ and the second.
Site progress is reported in words, so nobody can say what percentage of the plastering is done.
Work orders and client bills are typed again from the BOQ, with different item numbers each time.

How it works

A manager opens Construction > Projects > Planning > Quantities and Rates > Bills of Quantities and presses New. Give the project and a name such as Main, Civil or MEP. A project can have several.
On the Items tab add sections and notes where needed, then items: Item No. as in the tender, description, unit, quantity, rate, place and cost code. The amount and the total are worked out.
Or press Import from Excel on the draft and choose the .xlsx, .xls or .csv file as the client or consultant sent it. Add to the Items or Replace the Items.
Press Make Final. Every item needs a unit and a quantity; the BOQ and its items are then locked.
When the scope changes, press New Version. A draft copy is made as version 2, and you write what changed on the What Changed tab. Once it is made final, version 1 becomes Replaced.
From the items: site engineers pick a BOQ item on each line of work done. The item shows how much is Done and % Done from submitted reports.

Everything it does

A BOQ

Name (Main to start with), project, version, status Draft, Final or Replaced, previous version, what changed
Prepared By, Final On, item count, total in the project's currency
Several BOQs per project, such as Civil and MEP
Filters Current (not replaced), Draft, Final; group by project or status

Items

Section and note lines to keep the tender's layout
Item No., description, unit, quantity, rate, amount, place (empty for the whole project), cost code
BOQ Items lists the items of every BOQ; filter Current BOQs; group by project, place or cost code
With the daily report: Done and % Done per item, converted to the item's unit

Versions and locks

Make Final (managers): checks every item has a unit and a quantity, then locks the BOQ
New Version (managers): only on a final BOQ, and only once; the copy is the next version as a draft
When the new version is final, the old one is marked Replaced
Reopen (administrators): a final BOQ back to draft, only while it has no newer version
A final or replaced BOQ cannot be changed

Import from Excel or CSV

Files: .xlsx, .csv, and .xls when the server can read it (else save as .xlsx)
The header row is found by its words (Item / Sl. No., Description / Item of Work, Unit, Quantity / Qty, Rate) in the first 40 rows
Rows with a quantity or rate become items. A numbered row without them becomes a section. A row without a number under an item joins its description; total rows are left out
Units matched to yours: cum, sqm, rmt, nos, MT, kg, ltr, sqft, rft, cft and more; a unit not found stays in the description
What was read is written on the BOQ's log

What else uses the BOQ

BOM per item and the material requirement (every plan)
Rates from rate analyses: Take Rates from Analyses on a draft (Growth)
Fill a draft building budget from the BOQ by cost code and place, at a cost share such as 85 %
Work order items take their description, unit, quantity left, place and cost code from a BOQ item
Contract Items from the BOQ for client progress bills
A plan estimate can become a draft BOQ (Growth); the 3D model can make one (Scale)

Who uses it

QSImports or types the BOQ, prices it, makes it final and starts new versions.

Project managerMakes the BOQ final and checks progress against each item.

Site engineerReads the BOQ and books daily work against its items.

Construction AdministratorReopens a final BOQ when a mistake must be put right.

Where you use it

Web: Construction > Projects > Planning > Quantities and Rates > Bills of Quantities and BOQ Items
The SmartMy Construction app: work done is reported with a name and place. It is tied to the BOQ item in the back office (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
Not on the client portal

What you control

Settings

Import: Add to the Items (to start with) or Replace the Items
Who can do what: site staff read; managers create, edit, make final and start versions; administrators reopen

Questions

Can site engineers edit the BOQ?

No. Site staff can read BOQs and book work against them. Managers create, edit and make them final, and an administrator can reopen one.

Our client's BOQ has merged cells and subtotals. Will it import?

Usually. The header row is found by its words, wrapped descriptions are joined to their item, and total rows are left out. Check the items after import; what was read is written on the BOQ.

Can we compare two versions?

Both versions stay, each with its items and total, and the new one says what changed. A side-by-side difference report is not built yet.

Can we export the BOQ to Excel?

Yes, from the BOQ Items list with the standard export.

Which plan has it?

Every plan, with Excel import. Rate analysis comes with Growth.

Related features

ESTIMATINGBOM per unit of work and material requirementSay once what one unit of work takes, such as 1 m³ of M20 concrete or 1 m² of 230 mm brick wall. Give a wastage % per material. Name the BOM on each BOQ item, and the project's material requirement follows: cement, sand, steel and bricks by place and month.ESTIMATINGRate analysis and the cost libraryBuild each BOQ rate from its material, labour, plant and subcontract cost, plus overhead and profit, using basic rates kept in one cost library. When cement or labour rates change, update the analyses and take the new rates into a draft BOQ.SITEDaily site report with auto-submitThe site enters the day once: work done by place, labour, material, plant, weather, issues and photos. A report still in draft at the project's cut-off is submitted by itself, so the company and client updates go out on time.MONEYBuilding budget with 80 and 100 % alertsOne budget per project, by cost code and place, approved once and changed only by approved revisions. Costs from site flow into it every hour. The project manager is told when a line passes 80 % and 100 % used.MONEYClient progress billsBill the client on the contract items. Each bill shows this bill, previous and up to date per item, the retention the client keeps and the advance taken back. It is approved inside first, prints as a progress bill, payment application or interim payment certificate, and becomes the customer invoice.DESIGN STUDIOBOQ from the 3D modelPress one button on the project and the building's 3D model becomes a draft BOQ, a section a trade, with quantities and your rates. The walls, concrete, roofing and glazing come from the elements drawn. The tiles, paint, false ceilings, points, stairs, facades and garden come from the finishes and the outside.

See your next site report on it.

Tell us what you build, how many sites you run and how your client hears about progress today. We will set up a project with you and send your first daily update.

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