A bill of quantities (BOQ) is a priced list of every item of work in a building, with its unit, quantity, rate and amount. Each contractor quotes the same list, so the quotes can be compared line by line. In government item rate contracts, payment follows measured quantity, usually within 15% per item of the BOQ.
What is a BOQ, and where does it fit in the tender?
A BOQ is the part of the tender documents that turns the drawings and specification into items that can be priced. The Government of India’s Manual for Procurement of Works (updated June 2022) lists the usual contents of a works bid document. They are:
- The notice inviting tenders.
- Instructions to bidders.
- General and special conditions of contract.
- Technical specifications.
- The form of bid.
- The bill of quantities.
- Standard formats for bid security, performance security, advance payment security and the form of agreement.
- Schedules of supplementary information.
A private house needs a lighter set, but the order holds: drawings, specification, BOQ, conditions of contract and then the quotations. The manual is written for public works, so use it as a reference for structure, not as a rule for a private owner.
What is the format of a BOQ for house construction?
The format is a table grouped by trade. Each line carries a description tied to a specification clause, a unit, a quantity and a rate. The rate and amount columns are empty when the BOQ goes to bidders. The sample below shows the layout, with no rates filled in.
| Item | Description with specification reference | Unit | Quantity | Rate (₹) | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Excavation for foundations in all soils | cu m | from drawings | to be quoted | |
| 2.1 | Reinforced cement concrete, grade as specified | cu m | from drawings | to be quoted | |
| 2.2 | Reinforcement steel, grade as specified, cut, bent, placed | kg | from drawings | to be quoted | |
| 3.1 | Brick masonry in cement mortar | cu m | from drawings | to be quoted | |
| 4.1 | Cement plaster, thickness as specified | sq m | from drawings | to be quoted | |
| 5.1 | Flooring in tiles as specified | sq m | from drawings | to be quoted | |
| 6.1 | Waterproofing to terrace and wet areas, method as specified | sq m | from drawings | to be quoted |
Units and quantities follow a method of measurement. The Bureau of Indian Standards publishes the IS 1200 series, Methods of measurement of building and civil engineering works, in parts by trade. Part 1 covers earthwork, and its 1992 edition was the public copy found on 13 November 2026. BIS may have revised it since, so state the part and edition you use at the start of the BOQ, so that every bidder measures the same way.
What types of contract use a BOQ?
The Government of India’s manual describes several forms. The four below are the ones a house owner is likely to meet.
| Contract form | How the contractor is paid | Where it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Lump sum | A fixed price for a fixed scope, linked to milestones | Repetitive buildings with standard drawings |
| Item rate | A rate for each BOQ item, paid on measured quantity | Most civil works; the manual calls it the most commonly used form |
| Percentage rate | A percentage above or below an estimate | Small, routine works with simple drawings |
| EPC or design and build | A lump sum covering design and construction | Where the contractor takes design and construction risk |
In an item rate contract the manual says payment is made at the contract rate for the measured quantity within a prescribed range, usually 15% either way per item, of the quantity in the initial BOQ. The manual also warns that in a lump sum contract the contractor may be tempted to cut corners on quality and scope, so the contract should provide for evaluation of quality and scope. The post on architect vs civil engineer vs contractor compares turnkey and architect-led routes.
How is a rate analysed?
Rate analysis builds the rate for one unit of work from its inputs. The manual lists the reference tools public works use:
- Plinth area rates, for a quick estimate of a whole building.
- A schedule of rates for each kind of work, as a guide in settling rates.
- Analysis of rates, which takes market rates of labour, materials and cartage and the quantities for each kind of work.
- Specifications describing inputs, processes, tests and the mode of measurement.
For items not in a schedule, the manual says a committee or the consultants finalise the rate. In West Bengal the reference has just changed. A Public Works Department notification of 7 July 2026 adopts the CPWD Delhi Schedule of Rates for building works, supersedes the existing state schedules, and authorises the PWD’s committee to revise rates periodically. The notice says the last comprehensive revision of the state schedule was in 2017 to 2018.
A schedule is a benchmark and not a price for your house. Kolkata market rates for labour and materials, and the access to your plot, change the rate. The post on construction cost per sq ft in Kolkata gives published cost bands to sense-check a total.
How do I compare three contractor quotations?
Compare the quotations on a single sheet, one line per BOQ item, before looking at the totals.
- Send the same package. Every contractor gets the drawings, the specification and the same BOQ.
- Check scope. Look for items left blank, items changed in the description and items grouped into one lump sum.
- Check specifications. Brands, grades and thicknesses should match the specification, not the contractor’s preference.
- Check tax and exclusions. Note what each quotation says about taxes, scaffolding, water and power, and testing.
- Check the rates. A very high rate on an item that is likely to grow in quantity, with low rates elsewhere, can mean the rates are unbalanced.
- Check the total against your estimate. A quote far below the rest needs an explanation.
- Check the track record. Visit completed work and speak to past clients.
The manual’s guidance on low quotes is useful here. A bid that appears so low that it raises concerns about the contractor’s capability can be queried in writing, with a detailed price analysis requested. The manual adds that it is not advisable to fix a percentage below the estimate that is automatically treated as abnormally low. It also advises monitoring final payments so that they do not rise abnormally through extra items or through an abnormal increase in the quantities of items that were quoted at very high rates.
The manual also says that if bidders quote the same rate, that is against the principle of competitive bidding. In a private tender, identical rates from separate contractors are worth a question.
How do I select a contractor?
Selection works on capability first and price second. For public works the manual lays out pre-qualification criteria. Bidders show annual construction turnover and particular experience, for example three similar completed works of at least 40% of the estimated cost, or two of at least 50%, or one of at least 80%, within the last seven years. It also asks that the definition of similar work be clear, and that the criteria be neither too strict nor too lax.
A private owner can scale this down:
- Ask for a list of completed houses of similar size and structure.
- Visit two of them and speak to the owners.
- Ask who the site engineer and supervisor will be, and how many sites they handle.
- Check that the contractor can fund the work between stage payments.
- Agree security and retention terms in the contract. Government works usually take a performance security of about 5% and withhold about 5% of each running bill as retention money until final acceptance, and a private contract can use those figures as a starting point.
What does BOQ preparation cost?
BOQ preparation is part of the architect’s work at the tender stage. In the Council of Architecture’s schedule of payment, as reproduced by one source, working drawings, specifications, schedule of quantities, estimate and tender documents form one stage, with 45% of the fee payable once it is done. The post on architect fees in Kolkata explains the full table.
If the BOQ is prepared separately, Construction Estimator India says fees are typically 0.3% to 1% of project cost, ₹2 to ₹8 per sq ft, or a lump sum, with the percentage generally lower for larger projects. This is a vendor’s page, so treat the range as indicative.
What happens to the BOQ once the work starts?
The BOQ becomes the basis for measuring work and certifying bills. Each running bill is measured against it, additions and omissions are priced at the contract rates, and variations are recorded in writing. The checks done at each stage are in the site supervision checklist for house construction, and the role of an independent bill checker is in the post on project management consultants.
What to do next
If you have drawings and want a BOQ and a comparison of quotations, the studio’s site supervision and project management page describes how it prepares tender documents and checks bills. Project details can be sent through the contact page.
