Bill of Quantities (BOQ) in Uganda

Part of our guide to Construction Companies in Uganda

A bill of quantities, or BOQ, is a document that lists every item of work in a building project with its quantity, its unit and its price. It turns your drawings into a price you can check. This guide explains what a BOQ contains, how to read one and how to use it to compare contractors and control your budget.

We are a Kampala construction company, and every quote we give is priced from drawings in a BOQ, so this guide explains a BOQ the way we walk clients through one.

What a BOQ is

A quantity surveyor or contractor measures the drawings and writes each item of work as a line: a description, a unit such as square metres or cubic metres, a quantity, a rate and the amount. The amounts add up to the total.

What a BOQ contains

• Preliminaries: site set-up, supervision, insurance, temporary works.
• Substructure: excavation, foundations, ground slab, damp-proofing.
• Superstructure: columns, beams, walls and floors.
• Roof: trusses, covering, gutters.
• Openings: doors, windows, grilles.
• Finishes: plastering, tiling, ceilings, painting.
• Services: electrical and plumbing.
• External works: paving, drainage, fence, gate.
• Provisional sums: allowances for work that cannot yet be measured.
• Summary: totals by section, the contingency and the total.

BOQ terms you will see

• Item: one line of work, such as “200 mm concrete block walling”.
• Unit: how the item is measured: m² for walling, plaster and roofing, m³ for excavation and concrete, kg or tonnes for reinforcement steel, “No.” for doors and windows, and “Item” for lump sums.
• Quantity and rate: the measured amount and the price per unit. Quantity times rate gives the amount for the line.
• Preliminaries: the cost of running the site, such as set-up, supervision, insurance and temporary works.
• Provisional sum: an allowance for work that cannot be measured yet. It is adjusted to the real cost later.
• Prime cost (PC) sum: an allowance for an item you will choose later, such as sanitary fittings or a kitchen.
• Contingency: a reserve for the unexpected, held by the owner and only spent with agreement.
• Dayworks: work paid by time and materials when it cannot be measured in advance.

How to read a BOQ

1. Read the specification notes first. They state the materials, the grades and the standards that the rates assume.
2. Look at the big sections: substructure, superstructure and finishes usually carry most of the cost.
3. Check the quantities against the drawings with your architect or engineer.
4. Check the rates against other BOQs on the same drawings.
5. Check provisional sums and what they cover. Large provisional sums mean the price is not firm.
6. Check the exclusions list for land, approvals, external works and connections.

Why a BOQ matters

• Comparing quotes. Two quotes from the same drawings are only comparable if each is itemised.
• Pricing changes. A change can be priced from the BOQ rates.
• Paying fairly. Payments can follow completed items.
• Avoiding disputes. The scope is written down.

A BOQ is not a design

A BOQ prices the drawings you give. If the drawings are incomplete, the BOQ is too. Get complete architectural and structural drawings first. See building plan approval in Uganda.

Using BOQs to choose a builder

Ask two or three contractors to price the same drawings, and compare the BOQs line by line. A very low total often means missing items or lower-specification materials. Read how to choose a construction company and the cost of building a house in Uganda.

Frequently asked questions