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Civil Engineering & Construction vocabulary · Contracts and Payments

Bill of quantities

Meaning in civil engineering & construction, with examples

nounCommon term

In civil engineering & construction, bill of quantities means: A document that lists every item of work in a project with its quantity and unit, such as cubic metres of concrete or tonnes of rebar, so that contractors can price it.

In Turkish: metraj cetveli, keşif özeti, birim fiyat teklif cetveli

How it is used

Usually shortened to BoQ or BOQ. Quantity surveyors prepare it from the drawings; contractors price it when they tender, and later it is used to value progress payments and variations.

Example sentences

  1. The bill of quantities shows 1,200 cubic metres of concrete for the foundations and basement.

  2. Please price every item in the bill of quantities and return it with your tender.

Common collocations

  • price the bill of quantities
  • priced bill of quantities
  • BoQ item
  • prepare a bill of quantities
  • quantity surveyorA construction professional who manages costs: measuring quantities, preparing bills of quantities, valuing completed work and variations, and agreeing the final account.
  • tenderA formal offer from a contractor to carry out a project for a stated price, or the competitive process in which a client invites such offers.
  • progress paymentA payment made to the contractor during the project, usually every month, for the value of work completed so far, minus retention and earlier payments.
  • variation orderA formal written instruction from the client or engineer that changes the work in the contract, for example by adding, removing or altering an item.

More terms: Contracts and Payments

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