How to Read a BOQ Before Awarding a Construction Contract

Awarding a construction contract should never be based on the final price alone. Two contractors may submit quotations that appear similar at first glance, yet the actual scope, quantities, specifications, exclusions, and commercial risks behind those prices can be very different.

This is where the BOQ in construction becomes one of the most important documents a project owner needs to understand.

A Bill of Quantities, commonly known as a BOQ, provides a structured breakdown of the work expected within a construction project. When reviewed correctly, it allows owners, consultants, and project teams to compare bids more accurately, identify missing scope, understand cost distribution, and reduce the risk of expensive variations after construction begins.

For projects delivered through a general contracting company, reviewing the BOQ before contract award is especially important because multiple disciplines including civil works, structural steel, MEP, infrastructure, and finishing works may need to operate under one coordinated contract.

What Is a BOQ in Construction?

A Bill of Quantities is a detailed document that organizes construction work into measurable items.

A typical BOQ may include:

• Item descriptions
• Units of measurement
• Estimated quantities
• Contractor unit rates
• Total amounts
• Work sections or disciplines
• Material specifications or references
• Preliminary and general requirements

For example, concrete works may be measured in cubic meters, reinforcement steel in kilograms or tons, painting in square meters, and equipment in individual units.

However, reading a BOQ effectively requires much more than checking quantities and adding totals.

Project owners should understand what each item includes, what it excludes, and whether all required work has been properly represented.

1. Start by Checking the Scope, Not the Final Price

One of the biggest mistakes during tender evaluation is immediately comparing contractors based on the total contract value.

A lower quotation does not necessarily represent better value.

Before comparing prices, verify whether all contractors are pricing the same scope.

For example, one contractor may include:

• Excavation
• Disposal of excavated material
• Backfilling
• Compaction
• Testing

Another contractor may price only excavation and backfilling.

The second quotation may initially appear cheaper, but additional costs can arise later when the excluded activities become necessary.

The first step when reading a BOQ should therefore be asking:

Does this BOQ represent the complete scope required to deliver the project?

2. Review the BOQ Against Drawings and Specifications

A BOQ should never be reviewed as an independent document.

It must be checked together with:

• IFC drawings
• Architectural drawings
• Structural drawings
• MEP drawings
• Project specifications
• Equipment schedules
• Scope of work
• Tender clarifications

The drawings show what needs to be built, while the specifications define the required quality and technical standards.

The BOQ translates these requirements into measurable commercial items.

Any inconsistency between these documents should be clarified before contract award.

For example, drawings may show a particular waterproofing system while the BOQ contains only a generic waterproofing item. If the required material, thickness, preparation, testing, or protection layers are unclear, contractors may price completely different solutions.

Clarifying these differences during tendering is significantly easier than resolving them during construction.

3. Look Carefully for Missing Items

Missing BOQ items are one of the most common sources of construction variations.

Some missing activities are easy to identify, while others are hidden between different trades.

Examples may include:

• Concrete testing
• Temporary access
• Sleeves and openings for MEP services
• Equipment foundations
• Waterproofing protection
• Scaffolding
• Temporary power and water
• Testing and commissioning
• Waste disposal
• As-built documentation
• Final cleaning

Owners should pay particular attention to activities that sit between two disciplines.

For instance, if an HVAC duct passes through a concrete wall, responsibility may involve several parties:

• The MEP contractor identifies the required opening.
• The civil contractor creates or reserves the opening.
• Fire stopping may be required afterward.
• Finishing teams may need to repair the surrounding area.

If responsibility is not clearly defined, relatively small coordination items can eventually become commercial disputes.

4. Understand the Difference Between Quantity Risk and Rate Risk

Every BOQ item generally contains two important commercial components:

Quantity × Unit Rate = Item Value

But the contractual treatment of quantities can vary.

In some contracts, quantities are remeasured based on actual executed work.

In others, the contractor may accept responsibility for completing a defined scope for an agreed lump sum.

This distinction can significantly affect the project owner’s financial exposure.

For example, if excavation quantities increase substantially due to actual site conditions, who absorbs the additional cost?

The answer depends on:

• Contract type
• BOQ status
• Measurement rules
• Site information
• Contract conditions

Owners should therefore understand whether BOQ quantities are approximate, fixed, or subject to remeasurement before awarding the contract.

5. Investigate Unusually Low or High Unit Rates

During tender comparison, individual unit rates can reveal risks that the total price does not show.

Suppose three contractors price structural concrete at similar levels while one submits a rate significantly below the others.

That difference deserves investigation.

An unusually low rate might indicate:

• A misunderstanding of the specification
• Missing activities
• Incorrect productivity assumptions
• Different material quality
• Calculation errors
• Commercial front-loading elsewhere in the BOQ

The same applies to unusually high rates.

Rather than simply choosing the lowest tender, project teams should perform a rate-level comparison across major construction activities.

This creates a more realistic understanding of how each contractor has priced the project.

6. Check Provisional Sums and Allowances

Some parts of a project may not be fully defined when the tender is issued.

These may appear as:

• Provisional sums
• Prime cost items
• Allowances
• Contingencies

Project owners should know exactly what these figures represent.

A quotation containing many provisional values may look commercially complete while a significant portion of the final project cost remains uncertain.

Before contract award, identify:

1. Which items are provisional?
2. Why are they provisional?
3. When will the final scope be defined?
4. How will the final price be calculated?
5. What contractor overhead or markup will apply?

Reducing unnecessary uncertainty before construction improves overall cost control.

7. Review Preliminaries and General Requirements

Owners often concentrate on physical construction items and overlook project preliminaries.

However, preliminaries can represent a significant portion of general contracting costs.

They may include:

• Site offices
• Project management staff
• Temporary facilities
• Safety arrangements
• Security
• Mobilization
• Temporary utilities
• Site logistics
• Permits
• Documentation
• Quality management
• Demobilization

These requirements support the entire construction operation even though they do not become permanent parts of the building.

When comparing contractors, owners should confirm that each bidder has allowed for the required level of project management, supervision, safety, and site support.

8. Check Materials and Approved Brands

The same BOQ description can result in very different prices depending on material quality.

For important materials and systems, the BOQ should be read alongside the project specifications and approved manufacturer requirements.

Examples include:

• Electrical equipment
• HVAC equipment
• Fire protection systems
• Waterproofing products
• Paint systems
• Plumbing fixtures
• Structural steel coatings
• Finishing materials

If one bidder prices an approved premium system while another assumes a lower-cost alternative, comparing only their final values would be misleading.

Material compliance should therefore be verified before commercial comparison is finalized.

9. Identify Interfaces Between Construction Disciplines

Modern construction projects depend on coordination.

Civil, structural, architectural, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, fire protection, infrastructure, and finishing activities rarely operate independently.

The BOQ should therefore be reviewed for scope interfaces.

Important questions include:

• Who provides equipment foundations?
• Who provides sleeves?
• Who performs fire stopping?
• Who supplies supports for MEP equipment?
• Who performs builders’ work?
• Who repairs finishes after installations?
• Who provides electrical power to mechanical equipment?
• Who conducts final testing and commissioning?

Clearly assigning these responsibilities before contract award can prevent significant delays and change orders later.

10. Review Exclusions Before Signing the Contract

The exclusions section may be just as important as the BOQ itself.

A contractor may submit a competitive price while excluding several activities the owner assumes are included.

Common exclusions can involve:

• Authority fees
• Specialized testing
• Utility connections
• Equipment
• Temporary works
• Certain permits
• Soil improvement
• Rock excavation
• External works

Every exclusion should be reviewed against the project requirements.

If an excluded activity will eventually be required, the project owner should determine who will execute it and how it will affect cost and schedule.

Why BOQ Review Matters in General Contracting

In a large construction project, the BOQ is more than a pricing sheet.

It connects the technical scope with the commercial contract.

For a general contracting project, this becomes particularly important because numerous construction disciplines must be coordinated within one overall delivery strategy.

A well-reviewed BOQ helps create:

• Clearer contractor responsibilities
• More accurate tender comparisons
• Better cost visibility
• Fewer scope disputes
• Better change control
• More predictable project budgets

The objective is not simply to obtain the lowest tender.

The objective is to understand exactly what the contractor is committing to deliver for the proposed price.

How Skilya Approaches Integrated Construction Projects

Skilya provides integrated construction services across industrial, commercial, residential, and educational projects, with capabilities spanning construction, structural steel, MEP, infrastructure, finishing works, and interior design.

Through its general contracting services, Skilya coordinates multiple construction disciplines under a unified project framework, helping create clearer responsibility across project execution. The company’s general contracting offering includes construction, infrastructure, and structural steel capabilities alongside broader project delivery services.

For project owners, this integrated approach becomes especially valuable when the BOQ contains multiple interconnected scopes that must ultimately operate as one completed facility.

Final Thoughts

A BOQ should never be treated as a document used only by quantity surveyors or commercial teams.

Before awarding a construction contract, owners should use it to understand the scope, identify missing work, evaluate contractor assumptions, review unit rates, examine exclusions, and clarify responsibilities between disciplines.

The best tender is not always the tender with the lowest number at the bottom of the page.

A strong construction contract begins with clear scope, measurable responsibilities, realistic pricing, and fewer unanswered questions before work begins.

A careful BOQ review provides exactly that foundation.