Estimating & costing
Check an estimate before you send it
Put a priced bill through the validation rules, clear every warning and error, then export…
3 steps8 minOpen
Cases / Estimating & costing
Estimating & costing
Measure to IS 1200 so the bill can be checked
Take the quantities off the drawing the way the Indian method of measurement says to take them, keep the units metric and recognised, and issue a measurement the other side can reproduce line by line instead of dispute in total.
How it works, step by step
5 steps across the platform - what you do at each one, and why it matters.
1
Take the dimensions off the drawing, on the drawing
PDF MeasurementsCalibrate the sheet against a stated dimension, then measure lengths, areas and counts directly on it, keeping each measurement attached to the place it was taken from. Work in metres and millimetres throughout.
Why: A measurement that lives on the drawing can be re-opened and re-checked at the exact spot it came from. A measurement that lives only in a spreadsheet cell has to be re-taken from scratch by anyone who doubts it, which is how a query about one wall becomes a re-measure of a floor.
InDrawings for the workA known scale or a dimension to set itOutMeasurements on the drawingEach figure traceable to where it was taken
2
Turn dimensions into quantities the standard way
Quantity TakeoffBuild the quantity register trade by trade, applying the deduction and inclusion rules the method of measurement sets for each: openings in masonry and plaster, the treatment of the working space in excavation, how reinforcement is measured against how it is placed. Keep the deduction on the register rather than folded into a net figure.
Why: The deductions are where two honest takeoffs separate, so they are exactly what a checker wants to see. A register that shows gross, deduction and net can be agreed in one pass; one that shows only net invites a full re-measure to find out why it is short.
InRaw dimensions from the drawingOutQuantities on the standard methodDeductions applied and visible
3
Post the quantities onto the bill items they belong to
BOQMove the measured quantities onto the bill, matching each to the item whose description covers the work actually measured, and splitting a measurement across two items rather than stretching one description to cover both.
Why: An item description and a method of measurement are a pair: the description says what the rate includes and the method says how the quantity was arrived at. Posting a quantity under a description that does not cover it breaks the pair quietly, and the error surfaces at valuation as a rate that seems wrong.
InThe quantity registerOutBill items with their quantities
4
Check the units before anybody prices them
ValidationValidate the bill and read what comes back about units. The India pack ships a rule that asks for a unit the method of measurement recognises, and metric only, so an imperial leftover or an invented unit is reported rather than priced.
Why: A wrong unit does not look wrong. It looks like a rate that is out by a factor, and it is usually blamed on the rate. Catching it as a unit finding names the actual defect and fixes one line instead of re-arguing a trade.
InThe measured billOutUnits the method does not recognise
5
Issue the measurement in a form the other side can re-do
ReportsProduce the measurement sheet showing item, dimensions, deductions, unit and quantity, and send that rather than a single total per trade.
Why: Agreement is reached at the line that differs, and only a sheet that shows lines has one. Sending a total asks the other party to trust you, which on a running account nobody does twice.
InThe checked measurementOutA measurement sheet the other side can reproduce
