A bill of quantities is a document used in
tendering
An invitation to tender (ITT, also known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business activ ...
in the
construction
Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...
industry in which
materials
A material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their ge ...
, parts, and labor (and their costs) are itemized. It also (ideally) details the terms and conditions of the construction or repair contract and itemizes all work to enable a
contractor to price the work for which he or she is bidding. The quantities may be measured in number, area, volume, weight or time. Preparing a bill of quantities requires that the design is complete and a specification has been prepared.
The bill of quantities is issued to tenderers for them to prepare a price for carrying out the construction work. The bill of quantities assists tenderers in the calculation of construction costs for their tender, and, as it means all tendering contractors will be pricing the same quantities (rather than taking-off quantities from the drawings and specifications themselves), it also provides a fair and accurate system for tendering.
Creation
Bill of quantities are prepared by
quantity surveyor
In the construction industry, a quantity surveyor (QS) is a professional with expert knowledge of construction costs and contracting. Qualified professional quantity surveyors can be known as Chartered Surveyors (Members and Fellows of RICS) i ...
s and
building estimators, and "Indeed the bill of quantities was the raison d'être for the development of quantity surveying as a separate profession."
[Potts, K. (2004). Quantity Surveying Tools and Techniques - a Review of Client and Contractor Requirements.]
The practice historically of estimating building costs in this way arose from non-contractual measurements, taken off drawings to assist tenderers in quoting lump sum prices.
There are different styles of bills of quantities, mainly the elemental bill of quantities and trade bills
Contingency sum
A contingency sum is an item found within a bill of quantities.
The item refers to unforeseeable cost likely to be incurred during the contracts.
There are two types of contingency sum. The first refers to a specific item, e.g., "additional alterations to services when installing said shower unit", where an item for alterations to existing services is not contained within the bill of quantities but some work is envisaged.
The second type of sum is where money can be allocated to any item, within the bill of quantities, in the same way as the above example or used as "additional work to be undertaken by the contractor, at the request of the contract administrator".
The first is usually approximated by the client’s PQS and the second by the contractors QS (or commercial manager).
See also
*
Bill of materials
A bill of materials or product structure (sometimes bill of material, BOM or associated list) is a list of the raw materials, sub-assemblies, intermediate assemblies, sub-components, parts, and the quantities of each needed to manufacture an Prod ...
*
Operational bills
References
Books
* Seeley IH. (1998). ''Building Quantities Explained'' 5th Revised edition, Macmillan
* Seeley IH. (1997). ''Quantity Surveying Practice'', 2nd Revised Macmillan;
* Lee S. Trench W. Willis A. (2005) ''Elements of Quantity Surveying''. 10th Edition WileyBlackwell;
* Ashworth A. Hogg K. (2007). ''Willis’s Elements of Quantity Surveying'' 12 Rev Ed edition Blackwell Publishing. {{ISBN, 978-1-4051-4578-7
Construction
Procurement
ru:Смета