The BOQ, head by head
The whole bill is printed below with its arithmetic worked out. This is what a quotation should be comparable against.
| Description | Unit | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A · Civil and demolition | ||||
| Demolition of existing partition, including debris to society point | sq ft | 90 | ₹55 | ₹4,950 |
| Brick / block wall 4 in with plaster both faces | sq ft | 70 | ₹185 | ₹12,950 |
| Core cutting for AC piping, 3 in dia, including making good | nos | 3 | ₹950 | ₹2,850 |
| Levelling screed to bedroom floors before laminate | sq ft | 260 | ₹68 | ₹17,680 |
| A · Civil and demolition — sub-total | ₹38,430 | |||
| B · Electrical | ||||
| New light point in concealed conduit, including switch | point | 26 | ₹1,150 | ₹29,900 |
| 6A socket point with modular plate | point | 34 | ₹1,250 | ₹42,500 |
| 16A socket point for appliance, dedicated circuit | point | 9 | ₹1,950 | ₹17,550 |
| AC point with isolator and copper up to 12 ft | point | 3 | ₹5,400 | ₹16,200 |
| Data / TV point in conduit | point | 6 | ₹1,450 | ₹8,700 |
| Distribution board, 12-way, with RCCB and labelling | nos | 1 | ₹14,500 | ₹14,500 |
| B · Electrical — sub-total | ₹129,350 | |||
| C · Plumbing and waterproofing | ||||
| Concealed CPVC hot and cold line, per outlet | point | 12 | ₹2,450 | ₹29,400 |
| Drain line 40–110 mm, per outlet | point | 7 | ₹1,850 | ₹12,950 |
| Bathroom waterproofing, two coats plus ponding test | sq ft | 95 | ₹165 | ₹15,675 |
| Kitchen and utility waterproofing to skirting height | sq ft | 60 | ₹135 | ₹8,100 |
| C · Plumbing and waterproofing — sub-total | ₹66,125 | |||
| D · False ceiling and painting | ||||
| Gypsum false ceiling, plain, including framing | sq ft | 300 | ₹115 | ₹34,500 |
| Gypsum cove with concealed lighting provision | rft | 86 | ₹420 | ₹36,120 |
| Wall putty, primer and two coats of premium emulsion | sq ft | 2450 | ₹42 | ₹102,900 |
| Ceiling paint, two coats | sq ft | 720 | ₹34 | ₹24,480 |
| D · False ceiling and painting — sub-total | ₹198,000 | |||
| E · Flooring | ||||
| Vitrified tile 800x800, laid with adhesive | sq ft | 420 | ₹165 | ₹69,300 |
| SPC flooring 6 mm with underlay, bedrooms | sq ft | 260 | ₹195 | ₹50,700 |
| Skirting 4 in, matching | rft | 210 | ₹95 | ₹19,950 |
| E · Flooring — sub-total | ₹139,950 | |||
| F · Modular kitchen | ||||
| Base units, BWP carcass, laminate shutters, soft-close | sq ft | 46 | ₹1,950 | ₹89,700 |
| Wall units, MR carcass, laminate shutters | sq ft | 34 | ₹1,650 | ₹56,100 |
| Tall unit for oven and pull-out pantry | sq ft | 22 | ₹2,250 | ₹49,500 |
| Quartz counter 20 mm with drip lip and sink cut-out | sq ft | 34 | ₹620 | ₹21,080 |
| Hardware upgrade: tandem drawers, corner unit, bottle pull | set | 1 | ₹46,000 | ₹46,000 |
| F · Modular kitchen — sub-total | ₹262,380 | |||
| G · Wardrobes and storage | ||||
| Hinged wardrobe, MR carcass, laminate shutters, internals | sq ft | 108 | ₹1,750 | ₹189,000 |
| Sliding wardrobe with top-hung system, mirror shutter | sq ft | 56 | ₹2,250 | ₹126,000 |
| Loft storage above wardrobes | sq ft | 42 | ₹1,350 | ₹56,700 |
| G · Wardrobes and storage — sub-total | ₹371,700 | |||
| H · Loose joinery | ||||
| TV unit with drawers, back panelling and cable management | sq ft | 38 | ₹1,850 | ₹70,300 |
| Crockery unit with glass shutters and profile lighting | sq ft | 26 | ₹2,100 | ₹54,600 |
| Study table with keyboard pull-out and cable grommet | sq ft | 16 | ₹1,700 | ₹27,200 |
| Shoe unit at the entrance with a bench top | sq ft | 14 | ₹1,650 | ₹23,100 |
| H · Loose joinery — sub-total | ₹175,200 | |||
| Sub-total (ex-GST) | ₹1,381,135 | |||
| GST @ 18% | ₹248,604 | |||
| Grand total (incl. GST) | ₹1,629,739 |
Amounts are Qty x Rate. Sub-totals and the GST row are live formulas in the spreadsheet.
How to use it
- Send it to each contractor as the rate schedule and ask them to price your quantities rather than supply their own.
- Keep the heads and the units fixed. The moment two quotations use different units, they stop being comparable.
- Ask for the brand against each hardware and material line. A rate without a specification is a guess dressed as a number.
- Check the multiplication. The formula does it here; on a PDF quotation from a contractor, it is worth verifying by hand.
Three problems it solves
- Quotations that cannot be compared. Same heads, same units, same quantities makes the difference visible.
- A lump sum with no breakdown. A head-wise bill shows you where the money actually is, which is almost always joinery.
- GST applied line by line at inconsistent rates. One GST row at the foot, applied once, is correct and checkable.
Learn to read one in how to read an interior quotation, or compare three of them with the vendor comparison sheet.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a BOQ and a quotation?+
A BOQ is the measured schedule of work — items, units and quantities — and ideally it is issued by the designer. A quotation is a contractor's prices against that schedule. When the contractor supplies both, you lose the ability to compare, because each one measures differently.
How should joinery be measured?+
On elevation area, in square feet: width times height of the finished unit, with internals included in the rate. Some contractors measure on developed area, which counts every internal surface and produces a number roughly two and a half times larger at a correspondingly lower rate. Neither is wrong; mixing them is.
Is 18 per cent GST right for interior work?+
For most interior works and works contracts, yes. Some supply-only material lines attract different rates, and a purely supply transaction is treated differently from a works contract. Your contractor's invoice should show the split; if it shows a single 18 per cent on a works contract, that is normal.
Should the BOQ include a contingency?+
Not inside the priced items. Keep it as a separate head you control, at 7 to 12 per cent depending on how much civil work is involved. A contingency buried inside the rates is spent whether or not anything goes wrong.
What if the contractor wants to change the quantities?+
That is a legitimate conversation and often a useful one — they may have measured something you got wrong. What matters is that the change is made on the shared sheet, visible to everyone pricing, rather than absorbed into one contractor's version.