BOQ errors and omissions: how disputes arise and what to document
A BOQ error is a wrong quantity, description or addition in the bill. An omission is work shown on the drawings or specification that has no item. Disputes arise when a price was built on the bill and the work required something else. The best protection is a written trail, made before tender.
By BOQ Estimator. Published .
Where the problems come from
Bills are built from drawings and specifications by a person or a tool, then revised under time pressure. Quantities can be mis-measured, items dropped, descriptions can contradict the specification, and addenda can leave the bill and the drawings out of step.
What follows is set by the contract. Some forms treat an error in the bill as corrected and valued like a variation, others leave the risk with the contractor, and some say the quantities are estimates to be remeasured. This guide does not say which applies to you. The measurement methods in NRM 2, CESMM4 and SMM7 govern how a bill was measured, not who bears an error.
A good query is short and can be answered with one reply. It gives the item number, the page, the drawing reference and a single question, for example: item 4.12 gives 640 m² of blinding and the drawing shows 840 m², so which quantity is to be priced? Keep a log with the date sent, the date answered and where the reply is filed.
General information. This is not legal advice. For a live dispute, read the contract's notice provisions and take qualified advice.
Step by step
What to do before and after tender
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Read the bill against the drawings and specification
Check the highest-value items first, then trace a sample of drawing features back to bill items. Taking off vs a PDF BOQ shows how to choose what to measure.
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List discrepancies as numbered queries
Give the item number, the page, the drawing reference, the conflict and the question.
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Send them the way the instructions say, before the deadline
Note whether answers are shared with every tenderer.
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Keep every answer in writing
A spoken answer binds no one. Ask for a written clarification or an addendum.
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Record your assumptions
If you must price on an assumption, note it on the pricing file. Put it in the tender only if the instructions allow qualifications.
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Freeze the documents you priced
Archive the exact bill, drawings, specification and addenda, with the dates received. Store them where the whole team can find them, not in one person's mailbox.
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Raise a post-award error promptly and in writing
Follow the contract's notice requirements, attach the evidence and keep copies.
Reference
How disputes arise and what to document
| Type | Example | What to document |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity error | Bill gives 640 m² of blinding; the drawings show 840 m². | Item number, your measurement with drawing references, date found. |
| Omitted item | Waterproofing is on a detail but not in the bill. | Drawing or specification clause, your search of the bill, the query and the reply. |
| Description conflict | Bill says C32/40; the specification says C35/45. | Both texts with page references, and which document the contract says prevails. |
| Arithmetic error | A collection does not equal its pages. | Your recalculation and the tender instructions' correction clause. |
| Late change | An addendum alters a drawing but not the bill. | Addendum number and date, and the effect on price. |
| Unclear scope | Make good, with no extent given. | The query, the answer and the assumption you priced. |
Watch for
What goes wrong with errors and omissions
- Pricing around an error in silence. If it surfaces later, you have no record that you saw it or asked.
- Relying on a spoken answer. Without a written reply there is nothing to point to.
- A qualification that sinks the tender. An unauthorised qualification can make a tender non-compliant. Use the route the instructions give.
- Missing a notice window. Contracts can set time limits for raising errors and claims. Read them on day one.
- Assuming the quantity surveyor will sort it. Nobody else is tracking your assumptions.
- Queries that argue. A query written as a complaint tends to get a slower, vaguer reply. Quote the evidence, ask the question and stop.
The tool
How BOQ Estimator helps
BOQ Estimator makes the bill easy to cite. Item numbers stay as printed, and flags name the item or page behind a duplicated item number, a quantity with no unit, an amount that is not quantity x rate, or a subtotal that does not tie. It checks the sheet against the document, not the document against the drawings, and it cannot say which side is wrong when the printed addition disagrees. Try it on the BOQ to Excel converter. Free: 1 file per day, up to 10 pages, no account. Files over 10 pages are converted up to page 10 on the free allowance; a page code converts the whole file, up to 150 pages. See plans and limits.
Related
Related guides
FAQ
Questions estimators ask
What is an omission in a bill of quantities?
Work required by the drawings or specification that has no item in the bill. Whether it is priced elsewhere, treated as a variation or left with the contractor depends on the contract.
Who bears the risk of errors in a BOQ?
It depends on the contract. Some forms correct bill errors and value them as variations, some place the risk on the contractor and some remeasure the work. Read the conditions and the preambles.
What should I do if I find an error before I submit my tender?
Raise a numbered query in the way the instructions require, before the deadline, and keep the written reply. Price as the clarification or addendum directs.
What if I find an error after award?
Notify the other side promptly and in writing, quote the evidence, and follow any notice period in the contract. Take qualified advice if value or time is at stake.
Does a qualification in my tender protect me?
Only if the instructions allow it and the client accepts it. Otherwise it can make the tender non-compliant. Ask whether qualifications are permitted before you write one.
What records should I keep on every tender?
The issued documents and addenda with dates, your queries and replies, the assumptions you priced, your working sheets, and the exact priced return that was submitted.
Which document wins if the bill and the drawings disagree?
The contract usually sets an order of precedence. If it is silent or unclear, ask before tender and keep the answer.