---
title: BOQ estimation
summary: Plan the bill of quantities of a project, change quantities and rates, and send the changes for approval.
menu: Planning > BOQ Estimation
route: /projectboq/summary
who: People who have the View Project BOQs permission to open the page. The menu item shows to people who have the Add Project BOQs permission. Changing a BOQ needs Edit.
---

A bill of quantities (BOQ) is the list of work items of a project with a quantity and a rate for each. For example, "Excavation in soil" with 3,200 cubic metres at a rate of 850. Quantity multiplied by rate is the **Amount**. Billing, work orders and measurement all use the BOQ.

**BOQ Estimation** is where you build and change the BOQ before it becomes final. Most changes go into a draft. An approver must accept the draft before it becomes part of the approved BOQ.

## Before you start

- Choose the project in the project list at the top of the screen.
- The project needs work items. See [Work items](../planning/work-items.md).
- For work by template or area, the project needs a schedule template. You set it up in the schedule.

## How the work goes

1. Open **Planning > BOQ Estimation**. You see the BOQ items of the project.
2. Change the draft. Choose one way:
   - Edit quantities, rates and work items in a sheet. See [Update the BOQ in a sheet](update-boqs.md).
   - Set the BOQ of each schedule task for each area. See [BOQ playground](boq-playground.md) and [Add BOQ items to many tasks at once](bulk-add-boqs.md).
   - Build the rate of an item from resources. See [Rate analysis](rate-analysis.md).
3. Check the changes on the playground summary, then ask for approval. See [Approve BOQ changes](approve-boq-changes.md).
4. The approver accepts or rejects the draft. An accepted draft becomes a new revision. See [BOQ revisions](boq-revisions.md).
5. Read the approved BOQ in [Project BOQ](../project-boq/index.md).

## How to read the BOQ estimation page

The page lists the work items of the project in groups by category. The group row shows the total of the category.

1. Open **Planning > BOQ Estimation**.
2. To find an item, type at least 3 characters in **Search (min. 3 characters)**.
3. To read more about an item, click the arrow at the start of its row. A panel opens with the tabs **Related Tasks**, **Rate Analysis** and **Description**.
4. To go to another tool, click **Actions** (mark 1) and choose from the list.
5. To download the table, click **Export to CSV** (mark 2).

![The BOQ Estimation page. Mark 1 is the Actions button. Mark 2 is Export to CSV. Mark 3 is the dollar button that opens the rate analysis of an item.](../media/boq-estimation-list.png)

The list in **Actions**:

| Choice | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Update BOQs** | Opens [the sheet](update-boqs.md) where you add, change and delete BOQ items. |
| **Revision History** | Opens [BOQ revisions](boq-revisions.md). |
| **BOQ Playground** | Opens the [BOQ playground](boq-playground.md). It shows only when the project has a schedule template and you may view templates. |

![The list of the Actions button.](../media/boq-estimation-actions.png)

## How to change a quantity, a rate or a description on this page

1. Click the cell you want to change in **Description**, **Estimated Qty** or **Avg Rate**.
2. Type the new value.
3. Click outside the cell. Superwise saves it. The message **BOQ Estimation updated successfully** shows.

## What the columns mean

| Name | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| **Code** | The code of the work item. |
| **Work Item Name** | The name of the work item. |
| **Description** | The text that describes the work. |
| **Estimated Qty** | The planned quantity, with its unit. A note such as "allocated 80" shows when the allocated quantity is not the same as the estimate. |
| **Avg Rate** | The rate of the item. |
| **Amount** | The quantity multiplied by the rate. |

## Rules to know

- **Estimated Qty** cannot go below the quantity that is already allocated. The page says **Error: Cannot reduce BOQ beyond allocated quantity**.
- A rate must be above 0. The page says **Error: Rate cannot be less than or equal to 0 (zero)**.
- If the save fails, the page says **Error: BOQ Estimation could not be updated** and gives the reason.
- An approval changes the BOQ for everyone. Work orders, requests for proposal and requests for quotation that use a BOQ item can block an approval. See [Approve BOQ changes](approve-boq-changes.md).

## Related pages

- [Update the BOQ in a sheet](update-boqs.md)
- [BOQ playground](boq-playground.md)
- [Add BOQ items to many tasks at once](bulk-add-boqs.md)
- [Rate analysis](rate-analysis.md)
- [BOQ revisions](boq-revisions.md)
- [Approve BOQ changes](approve-boq-changes.md)
- [Project BOQ](../project-boq/index.md)
- [Project BOM](../project-bom/index.md)