BOQ Estimator

Tender arithmetic checks: quantity x rate, collections and front-loading

Tender arithmetic checks prove a priced bill adds up before it leaves the office: each amount equals quantity x rate, each page and collection equals what is beneath it, the summary equals the collections, and the rates are balanced. Find your own errors first, because the client's checker will find them otherwise.

By BOQ Estimator. Published .

Why check, and what the instructions say about errors

Tender instructions normally say what happens to an arithmetical error. The rates may govern and the total be corrected, or the tenderer may be asked to confirm or withdraw. Rules differ by document and jurisdiction, so read the clause first. Either way, an error found by the client's checker costs credibility and can cost the tender.

Front-loading, also called unbalanced pricing, means loading rates on items valued early or likely to grow and lightening others while the total holds. Some instructions let the client query or reject unbalanced tenders. This guide shows how to detect it in your own sheet; whether and how to price is a commercial decision for you. How to price a BOQ covers the wider routine.

Run the checks twice: once when the rates are first entered, and again after the last change, when the tender is final. Have a second person run the final check from a clean copy of the issued document rather than from your working file, because the person who built the sheet tends to see what they meant to enter.

General information. This is not legal or contract advice. Read the arithmetical-error and unbalanced-tender clauses in your own tender instructions.

Checklist

A checking sequence before you submit

  1. Recompute every amount

    Add a check column such as =ROUND(E2*F2,2)-G2. Any non-zero line is a typed-over amount, a rounding slip or an altered quantity. Run it on typed or pasted amounts, because a formula cannot disagree with itself.

  2. Find unpriced lines

    Count rows with a quantity and no rate, for example =SUMPRODUCT((E2:E500<>"")*(F2:F500="")). Every measured line needs a rate unless the bill allows included.

  3. Re-add pages and collections

    Compare each page total with its Carried to Collection figure, then each collection with its bill total. Collection and summary pages explains the chain.

  4. Re-add the summary

    Check each summary line against its collection, then the total against the form of tender.

  5. Check percentage lines

    Profit, attendance, discounts and contingency should apply to the base the bill names.

  6. Compare rates with a reference

    Divide each rate by your own reference rate or estimate, and review the largest differences in amount, not just in percentage. Set a threshold you can defend.

  7. Look at the shape of the money

    Compare cumulative value with cumulative cost by programme period. If early periods carry far more of the value than the cost, find out why.

Reference

Checks to run and what a failure means

Arithmetic and balance checks on a priced Bill of Quantities
CheckTestA failure usually means
Amount = quantity x rate =ROUND(E2*F2,2)-G2 is zero. For example 2,450 x 2.85 = 6,982.50.A typed-over amount, wrong rounding or a changed quantity.
Unpriced lines Quantity present, rate blank.A line left unpriced, or one that should say included.
Page and collection totals SUMIF by section against the stated total.A missing, repeated or misread line.
Summary against collections Each summary line equals its collection.A total carried to the wrong place.
Rate against reference Rate divided by reference rate, sorted by difference in amount.A pricing slip, or an imbalance to explain.
Early-value share Cumulative value % against cumulative cost % by period.Front-loading, to be reviewed before submission.

Watch for

What goes wrong with tender checks

  • Trusting the formulas. A range sum that misses an inserted row, or one hard-coded cell, passes unnoticed.
  • Rates with hidden decimals. Rates carrying more decimals than displayed give amounts the checker cannot reproduce.
  • Checking only the totals. Two errors can cancel each other.
  • Changing the wrong side. The printed addition in a priced bill can itself be wrong. Confirm which side is at fault before you change the sheet.
  • No threshold for unusual rates. Without a stated threshold nothing is flagged, or everything is.
  • Assuming low rates are safe. Abnormally low rates can draw a query as readily as abnormally high ones.
  • Changes after the check. A late discount or rate change leaves the summary and the form of tender out of step. Re-run the checks after every change, not just the first pass.

The tool

How BOQ Estimator helps

BOQ Estimator checks the arithmetic the document prints: each stated subtotal against the items above it, and any amount that is not quantity x rate to within 0.5%. Flags name the item or page. It does not judge whether your rates are balanced; the reference-rate and cash-flow checks above are yours to build in the sheet. 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

Collection and summary pages How page totals, collections and the summary add up to the tender sum. Rate build-up for BOQ items Labour, plant, materials, overheads and profit, built into one unit rate. BOQ errors and omissions How errors and omissions lead to disputes, and the records to keep.

FAQ

Questions estimators ask

What are tender arithmetic checks?

A set of checks on a priced bill: amounts equal quantity x rate, page totals equal their lines, collections equal their pages, and the summary equals the collections and the form of tender.

What is front-loading in a tender?

Loading higher rates onto items valued early, such as set-up and groundworks, and lower rates onto later items while keeping the total. It is also called unbalanced pricing and can draw a client query.

How do I detect front-loading in a priced BOQ?

Compare each rate with a reference rate, sort by the difference in amount, and compare cumulative value with cumulative cost across the programme. Early items well above reference are worth explaining.

What happens if my tender has an arithmetical error?

It depends on the instructions. Common approaches let the rates govern and correct the total, or invite you to confirm or withdraw. Read the clause in your own documents, because practice differs.

Can the issued Excel pricing schedule be edited?

Only as the instructions allow. Many issued schedules lock cells or forbid changes to quantities, descriptions and layout. Enter rates only, and raise a query for anything else.

Is a very low rate a problem?

It can be. Clients may query rates that look abnormally low as well as abnormally high. Be ready to explain any rate that sits far from your reference.

How many decimal places should rates have?

Whatever the bill uses, normally two. Round the rate itself, not just its display, so the amount recalculates from the rate as printed.