What goes on every BOQ line
| Column | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Item | What it is and where | Master bedroom wardrobe, 4 door |
| Specification | Material, finish, hardware, brand | 18 mm BWP ply, PU finish, soft-close hinges |
| Unit | How it is measured | sq ft of shutter area |
| Quantity | From measured drawings, not the brochure | 64 |
| Rate | Your client rate for one unit | ₹2,900 |
| Amount | Quantity × rate | ₹1,85,600 |
Figures are illustrative.
Step by step
- Start from the brief and the measurements. Use the recce and the floor plan for sizes. A BOQ built on guessed sizes is wrong before it is priced.
- Choose how to group it. By room is easiest for clients to read. By trade (carpentry, false ceiling, electrical, painting) is easiest for buying and vendor work. Many firms show the client rooms and keep trades for themselves.
- Use the right unit for each trade. Common choices: sq ft for false ceiling, painting, flooring and shutters; running feet for skirting, cornices and countertops; numbers for fixtures and points; lump sum only when the scope truly cannot be measured.
- Price from a rate library. Keep one rate card with recipes for common items (a wardrobe with its carcass, shutters and hardware). Re-typing rates from an old quote is how errors and old prices creep in.
- Add the commercial lines. Design fee, project management fee if any, and GST. State whether rates include GST.
- Write the assumptions and exclusions. Civil changes, appliances, loose furniture, electrical load upgrades and society charges are common exclusions. Writing them down prevents the variation argument later.
- Check the margin before it goes. Compare client rate to cost rate line by line. A low-margin line is easier to fix before the client sees it.
Mistakes that cost margin
- Lump-sum lines that hide quantities, so a change cannot be priced fairly.
- Specifications that say "as per design", which lets the cheaper option win on site.
- No exclusions list, so every extra becomes a free favour.
- Quantities that never get re-measured, so the final bill does not match the work.
- Several versions in a chat with no clear record of which one the client accepted.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between a BOQ and a quotation?
The BOQ is the itemised list of quantities and rates. The quotation is the document the client receives, which usually contains the BOQ plus the payment plan, fees, taxes, terms and exclusions.
Should an interior BOQ be by room or by trade?
Show clients a room-wise BOQ because it matches how they think. Use a trade-wise view internally for buying and vendor contracts. Good tools give you both from the same lines.
Can AI make a BOQ?
AI can draft the lines from a brief and a floor plan, which saves hours. Rates should come from your own rate library, and a person should check every line before it is sent.