BOQ Calculator
Home & ConstructionPrice a bill of quantities line by line, with overheads, profit and GST shown separately.
Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded
A bill of quantities prices work by the unit, and the unit is part of the item rather than decoration: excavation by the cubic metre, shuttering by the square metre, steel by the kilogram. Its real value is that every bidder prices the same quantities, so the difference between two tenders is rate and not scope.
What people do next
Features
- Twenty-two standard residential items with indicative rates.
- Any unit — cum, sqm, running metre, kg, numbers, points, lump sum.
- Overheads, profit and contingency as separate lines, not buried in rates.
- Section subtotals with their share of the bill.
- CSV export for a spreadsheet or a tenderer.
- Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
How to use the BOQ Calculator
- 1Add items from the standard library, or create blank rows.
- 2Enter the quantity and rate for each.
- 3Set overheads, profit, contingency and GST.
- 4Export the bill as CSV.
Frequently asked questions
What is a bill of quantities?
An itemised list of every piece of work in a project, each with its unit, quantity and rate. It does two jobs: it prices a job consistently, and it lets tenders be compared line by line. Without one, two contractors quoting a lump sum may be pricing quite different scopes and there is no way to tell.
Why does the unit matter so much?
Because a rate means nothing without it. ₹6,500 for RCC is reasonable per cubic metre and absurd per square metre. When a contractor gives rates without units, or mixes units between items, comparing their quote against another becomes guesswork — which is sometimes the point.
How are overheads and profit applied?
Conventionally, overheads on the subtotal of work, profit on the subtotal plus overheads, and contingency on the subtotal — with GST on everything below. Different contractors compound them differently, so it is worth asking. What matters more is that they appear as lines at all: a contractor who buries a 20% margin in every rate is not cheaper, only harder to read.
Where do the quantities come from?
From measuring the drawings — that is the takeoff. The material takeoff calculator does the element-by-element part for concrete, steel and masonry; areas for plaster, flooring and painting come off the plans. The BOQ then prices what the takeoff measured.
Are the library rates accurate for my project?
They are indicative figures for residential work and they move constantly with material prices and vary widely by city. Use them to build the structure of the bill, then replace every rate with a quoted one before the total means anything.