BOQ vs schedule of rates: what is the difference?
Both are priced by the contractor, and both arrive as long PDFs. A bill of quantities has quantities and adds up to a price; a schedule of rates has rates and is applied to work as it is done. Which one you hold decides how you build the sheet.
In plain terms
The short answer
- Bill of quantities vs schedule of rates
- A bill of quantities lists measured items with quantities for the tenderer to price into a tender sum. A schedule of rates lists unit rates for kinds of work, usually without firm quantities, to be applied to whatever is later done.
The two are often mixed. A bill can contain rate-only lines that carry no quantity, and a schedule can be issued with approximate quantities so tenders can be compared. Look at the document's columns and preambles, not just its title.
Side by side
The two documents at a glance
| Point | Bill of quantities | Schedule of rates |
|---|---|---|
| What it lists | Measured items of defined work, each with a quantity. | Kinds of work with a unit rate, for work that cannot be quantified in advance. |
| Quantities | Yes, measured from the drawings and specification by the quantity surveyor. | Usually none. Sometimes approximate quantities, to compare tenders on one basis. |
| What the contractor adds | A rate for every item. The amounts add up to the tender sum. | Rates only, or acceptance of rates the client has already set. |
| How the price is formed | Quantity x rate on each line, summed through the collection pages. | No sum unless approximate quantities are given. Rates are applied to the work actually done. |
| Typical use | New build and projects where the work is defined at tender. | Maintenance, repairs, term contracts and work of unknown extent. |
| Payment | Set by the contract: a lump sum with the bill used to value changes, or measurement of the work done at the bill rates. | Work is measured as executed and valued at the schedule rates. |
| Shape in Excel | Section, item, description, unit, quantity, rate, amount. | The same columns, with quantity blank and no amount total. |
This is general practice. The contract and the preambles of the document in front of you decide the details, including how errors in quantities are treated and what is paid for.
Step by step
How to tell which one you are holding
-
Look at the quantity column
Numbers in every priced line mean a bill. A column that is empty, or marked approximate or provisional, points to a schedule of rates or to rate-only items inside a bill.
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Read the title page and the preambles
The document usually calls itself one or the other. Look for words such as "approximate quantities", "for comparison of tenders only" and "subject to remeasurement". They change what the quantities are worth.
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Check what you are being asked to enter
If the instruction is to price every item and total the bill, you are pricing a bill. If it is to enter rates and the client computes the total from its own quantities, you are pricing a schedule.
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Find the measurement clause in the contract
Whether the work is paid as a lump sum or measured as executed is a contract term. It decides how much weight the printed quantities carry, so confirm it before you decide how to build your rates.
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Build the sheet to match
Use the same columns for both. For a schedule of rates leave Quantity empty, price Rate, and do not present a total unless the document asks for one. The template is laid out for either.
In Excel
What it means for the sheet you build
- Bill of quantities: every item has a quantity, so Amount = Quantity x Rate and the sections add up to the tender sum. Check each section total against the collection figure the document prints.
- Schedule of rates: Quantity is empty. Price the Rate column and leave Amount alone, unless approximate quantities are given and the document says to total them.
- Rate-only lines inside a bill: keep them in the sheet, price the rate, and keep them out of the tender total. Tag them so they can be filtered.
- Provisional sums: carry the amount the document states. They have an amount and no rate to price.
The converter reads either document into the same columns. It tags lines that say "rate only", keeps lines without quantities in place, and reports a numbered line with no quantity once, as a flag, rather than as an error on every row.
Compared
Reading a bill or a schedule into Excel
| What you need | Re-typing by hand | Generic PDF-to-Excel | BOQ Estimator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telling the two apart in a PDF | Read both documents end to end. | Output looks the same for either; nothing is said about quantities. | Lines without quantities stay in place and are tagged rate-only, so a schedule is visibly different from a bill. |
| Getting the rates column into Excel | Retype each line and its unit. | Rate cells arrive as text and need cleaning. | Units split out, decimal commas handled, rate column kept as numbers. |
| Knowing nothing was dropped | Count the lines by hand. | No count. | Item count per section, plus duplicates and missing units flagged. |
| Handling blank quantities | Easy to read as a missing number. | Blank cells, no explanation. | A numbered line with no quantity is reported once as a flag, not repeated per line. |
FAQ
Questions estimators ask
What is the difference between a bill of quantities and a schedule of rates?
A bill of quantities lists the work as measured items, each with a quantity, so the tenderer prices every line and the lines add up to a tender sum. A schedule of rates lists the types of work with a unit rate for each, usually without firm quantities, so the rates are applied later to whatever is actually done. The first answers "what is the price of this defined job"; the second answers "what will each unit of this kind of work cost".
Which of the two has quantities?
The bill of quantities always does. A schedule of rates normally does not, although some are issued with approximate quantities so that tenders can be compared on a common basis. Whether those quantities are paid on is a contract matter, not a layout matter, so read the preambles.
Who prices each document?
In a tender, the contractor prices both: the rate column of a bill, or the rates of a schedule. Some schedules of rates are priced by the client in advance and issued as fixed rates that the contractor can only accept or adjust by a stated percentage. The tender instructions say which applies.
How is payment worked out under each?
It depends on the contract, not on the document type alone. Under a lump-sum contract with a firm bill, the bill supports the price and is used to value changes. Under a measurement or remeasurement contract, the work done is measured and valued at the bill rates or the schedule rates. Check the contract conditions and the preambles to the bill rather than assuming.
Can one document be both?
Yes, and it often is. A bill can contain rate-only items, for options or daywork, that carry no quantity and are not added to the tender sum. A schedule of rates can carry approximate quantities. When you convert such a document, the lines without quantities keep their place and are tagged rate-only, so you can tell them from measured work.
Which methods of measurement are bills prepared to?
Commonly NRM 2 (the RICS New Rules of Measurement) for building work in the UK, SMM7 on older building projects that predate NRM 2, and CESMM4 (the Civil Engineering Standard Method of Measurement) for civil engineering. Other countries and clients use their own methods. The tender documents name the one that applies, and it governs how the quantities were measured and described.
How should I set up Excel for a schedule of rates?
Use the same columns as for a bill: section, item number, description, unit, quantity, rate, amount. Leave Quantity blank, price the Rate column, and let Amount stay empty. A schedule with approximate quantities can use the Quantity column, but keep those totals out of anything you present as a tender sum unless the document says they count.
Does the converter handle a schedule of rates?
It reads the items, their units and their rates, keeps lines without quantities in place and tags the ones that say "rate only". The Sections sheet then shows item counts per section. Quantity and amount totals will be empty or zero where the document has nothing to add up, which is the right answer for that format.
What is a priced bill and what is an unpriced bill?
An unpriced bill is what a client issues to tenderers: quantities in, rate and amount columns empty. A priced bill is the same document after pricing, or a contractor's returned tender, with every rate and amount filled in. The converter reads both. Only a priced bill that prints subtotals gives it figures to check your addition against.
What is a collection page?
The summary page at the end of a bill or section that gathers the totals carried forward from each page or part, so the grand summary can add them up. Rows labelled "Carried to Collection" are the entries that feed it. The converter treats them as checkpoints and compares each stated figure with the items above it. See the guide to pricing a BOQ for how they are used when you price.