How to Build a QS Rate Book in Excel (and Keep It Current)

Every quantity surveyor and contractor who prices work regularly ends up with a rate book, whether they call it that or not. Sometimes it is a carefully kept Excel file. More often it is a folder of old bills, a WhatsApp chat with a block supplier and a few numbers remembered from the last job. The difference shows when prices move. In 2026 cement has ranged from about ₦9,300 a bag in January to ₦12,000–₦15,000 in most markets, and diesel has changed several times a month. A rate book that is a year old can quietly cost you your margin on the next tender.

This guide explains what a rate book is, how to build a unit rate from first principles, what to record so the book stays useful, and how to keep it current without it becoming a full-time job.

What a Rate Book Is

A rate book is a list of the items you price (blockwork per m², concrete per m³, plaster per m², a door set per number) with the rate you use for each, how you arrived at it and when. It has two layers:

• Resource rates: the prices of the things you buy. Cement per bag, blocks per piece, sand and granite per tonne, a mason's day rate, plant hire per day.
• Unit rates: the price of a measured item of work, built up from resource rates and outputs. For example, 9-inch blockwork per m² is so many blocks, so much mortar and so much labour, plus waste and margin.

Keeping both layers is what makes a rate book easy to update. When cement goes up, you change one resource rate and every unit rate that uses cement updates with it.

How to Build a Unit Rate: 9-inch Blockwork

Here is a build-up for 9-inch (225 mm) hollow sandcrete blockwork per m², using the same quantity assumptions as our Estimator: 10 blocks per m², one bag of cement per 48 blocks and one tonne of sharp sand per 200 blocks for a 1:6 mortar. Resource prices are our current baseline market rates (Enugu); Lagos is about 20% higher.

In Lagos the same build-up comes to about ₦20,450 per m². Notice what this simple build-up leaves out: scaffolding, water, plant, supervision, attendance and risk. Published market rates and contractors' quotes are often higher than a bare build-up for exactly that reason. The point of a rate book is that you decide what each rate includes and write it down, so you never double-count or forget an allowance.

What to Record for Every Rate

A rate without context is hard to trust six months later. For each line, record:

1. Item and unit, described the same way every time (for BESMM4 work, use the bill's own description and unit).
2. The rate and whether it is a resource rate or a unit rate.
3. What it includes: materials only, labour only, or complete; with or without waste, overheads and profit.
4. Source: supplier quote, your own site records, a published price list.
5. Date and location. A Lagos rate from January is not an Abuja rate in October.
6. Output assumption for labour: how many m² a mason lays in a day on your sites.

Setting It Up in Excel

A simple, durable layout uses three sheets:

• Resources: one row per material, labour or plant item, with columns for unit, rate, source, date and city.
• Build-ups: one block per unit rate, pulling resource prices from the Resources sheet by lookup (INDEX/MATCH or XLOOKUP), never by typing the number again.
• Rates: the finished unit rates, one per row, linked to the build-ups. This is the sheet you price bills from.

Keep descriptions consistent, never hard-code a price inside a formula, and keep the date column filled. Our free BESMM4 take-off template already uses this idea: its Rates sheet has a market rate and a "My rate" column, and the bill always uses your rate when you have one.

Keeping It Current

The hardest part of a rate book is not building it but keeping it right. A routine that works for most practices:

• Monthly: update the handful of resources that drive most of the cost. Cement, blocks, reinforcement, sand and granite, roofing sheets and diesel. Our material prices tracker shows month-on-month movement by city, and the weekly news roundup flags the big changes.
• Per project: check labour outputs against your last site and get fresh quotes for anything above a few percent of the contract value.
• Before every tender: look at the date column. Anything older than three months on a volatile item deserves a phone call.

Prices in Nigeria do not move evenly. In the first half of October 2026, diesel moved from ₦1,780 to ₦1,700 to ₦1,800 a litre within ten days while the naira held near ₦1,330 to the dollar. Imported finishes stayed steady, but haulage-heavy items did not. A rate book with dates and sources lets you see which rates are affected and update only those.

Common Rate Book Mistakes

• Mixing complete rates and labour-only rates in the same column. Always state what a rate includes.
• Copying a Lagos rate to another city without adjustment, or the reverse.
• Adding margin twice: once inside the unit rate and again as overheads and profit in the summary.
• Undated rates. Without a date you cannot tell a current rate from an old one.
• One giant sheet with prices typed into formulas. It works until the first update, then nobody trusts it.

Using Your Rate Book on This Site

If you price with our tools, you no longer need to retype your rates for each project. My Rates is a free rate book on your account. You can:

• enter your own material prices, labour rates and complete BoQ unit rates next to the current market rate for any of 11 cities;
• download it as an Excel file, update it offline or paste in your own price book, and upload it again;
• tick "Price with my rates" on the Estimator, Drawing Take-off or BoQ Import to price with your own numbers. Anything you have not set stays at the market rate.

Your rates are used exactly as you enter them, whatever city the project is in, so if you keep separate rates for different cities, enter the one for the project you are pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should a rate book include overheads and profit in the unit rates?

Either approach works, as long as you are consistent. Many QSs keep unit rates net (direct cost only) and add overheads and profit once in the summary, which makes it easier to compare jobs and adjust margin per tender.

How many items should a rate book have?

Start with the 30 to 50 items that make up most of your work: excavation, concrete, reinforcement, blockwork, plaster, screed, tiling, painting, roofing, doors and windows. Add items as projects need them.

Where do I get reliable prices?

Your own suppliers and site records are the best source. For comparison, use published market rates such as our material prices page, which shows current prices and their movement for 11 cities.

Is a rate book the same as a cost plan?

No. A cost plan estimates what a whole building will cost, element by element, usually before detailed drawings exist. A rate book is the set of rates you use to price measured work. A good rate book makes your cost plans and bills more accurate.