Rate analysis and the cost library
Build 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.
PLANSFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- Tender rates are copied from the last job, and nobody knows what cement price is inside them.
- When steel goes up, nobody can say which BOQ items are now under-priced.
- Each estimator keeps basic rates in a personal sheet, so two quotes for the same work differ.
- Overhead and profit are added as a guess at the bottom instead of in each rate.
How it works
- Keep your basic rates under Construction > Projects > Configuration > Costs and Payments > Cost Library. For example cement OPC 53 per bag, mason per day, JCB per hour. Each has its unit, rate, Rate As Of date and source.
- Open Construction > Projects > Planning > Quantities and Rates > Rate Analysis and press New. Give the work (M20 concrete in slabs), the unit of work (m³) and Worked Out For (for example 10 m³). Add Overhead % and Profit %.
- On the build-up add lines of material, labour, plant, subcontract or other, each from the library or typed. Or name a BOM and press Fill from BOM: materials with their wastage, labour and plant come from the BOM, rates from the library.
- The form shows each kind's total, the direct cost, overhead, profit and the Rate per Unit. Units and currencies are converted.
- When the library changes, press Update Rates. Every line from the library takes its current rate.
- On a BOQ item, name its rate analysis to take its rate. On a draft BOQ, Take Rates from Analyses does it for every item.
Everything it does
Cost library
- Name, code, kind (Material, Labour, Plant / Equipment, Subcontract, Other), product as bought, Per (unit), rate, currency
- Rate As Of (today to start with) and source, such as a supplier quote or a schedule of rates
- Picking a product fills the name, purchase unit and the product's cost
- Per Entity; filters Material, Labour, Plant; group by kind; archive old items
A rate analysis
- Work, code (such as a schedule of rates item), group, unit of work, Worked Out For (1 to start with), Norm / Source, notes
- Lines: kind, From the Library, what, quantity, unit, rate, amount
- Totals: material, labour, plant, subcontract, other, direct cost
- Overhead on the direct cost; profit on direct cost plus overhead; Rate per Unit = total / Worked Out For
- Worked Out On date, updated by Update Rates
- A project analysis takes the project's currency
Templates and project copies
- An analysis with no project is a template in the library
- Copy for a Project makes the project's own copy, to change without touching the template
- Filters Templates and Project Copies; group by group or project
Fill from BOM
- Each BOM line's quantity with its wastage, times the amount the analysis is worked out for
- Rates from the library item of the same product (materials) or the same name (labour, plant)
- Subcontract and other lines already on the analysis are kept
Into the BOQ and estimates
- A BOQ item that names an analysis takes its rate, converted to the item's unit and the project's currency
- Take Rates from Analyses: every item with an analysis takes its rate again, on a draft BOQ only
- Each analysis lists the BOQ items that use it
- A plan norm can point to a template analysis, whose rate is used in plan estimates
Who uses it
Estimator or QSBuilds the analyses, keeps them current and prices the BOQ from them.
PurchaseUpdates the cost library with the latest supplier rates.
Managing directorSets the overhead and profit % for tenders.
Construction AdministratorKeeps the cost library under Configuration.
Where you use it
- Web: Construction > Projects > Planning > Quantities and Rates > Rate Analysis (managers) and Configuration > Cost Library (administrators)
- Not in the SmartMy Construction app
- Not on the client portal: clients see the BOQ rates on bills, not the build-up
What you control
Settings
- Overhead % and Profit % per analysis: 0 to start with
- Worked Out For: 1 unit to start with
- Cost library rates and their dates: none ship ready
Questions
Does it come with a schedule of rates such as DSR?
No. You keep your own cost library and analyses. Put the schedule's item number in the code and its name in the source, so you can trace each rate.Do rates in a final BOQ change when the library changes?
No. A final BOQ is locked. Update the analyses, start a new BOQ version and press Take Rates from Analyses on the draft.Can a site engineer see our margins?
Site staff can read rate analyses but the Rate Analysis menu is for managers. Keep tender analyses as templates if you prefer.Does Update Rates run by itself?
No. Press Update Rates on an analysis when you want the library's current rates; the analysis date then moves to today.Which plan has it?
Growth and Scale.Related features
ESTIMATINGBOQ with versionsKeep 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.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.ESTIMATINGPlan estimates, building packages and DXF readingPrice a client's house or building plan in minutes. Use your building package rate per m² or sq ft, or quantities worked out with your own norms and rates. DXF drawings are measured as they are added, and AI can read PDF and picture plans if you switch it on.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.
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.