Build a priced BoQ from scratch, price one you already have, or measure one straight from your drawings — with rates for the city you're building in.
New Download your BoQ in the NIQS BESMM4 elemental format →For contractors & builders
Generate a tender submission document
Bidding for a job? Build a trade-by-trade BoQ with your company name, markup and contract sum, laid out the way a QS would produce it.
Answer guided questions about your project and the system measures and prices the full BoQ for you.
Already have measured quantities? Upload your Excel BoQ and we fill in a rate for every line we can match.
Best for QSs and contractors with existing BoQs
Upload Excel BoQ →Any layout — your first Smart Import is free
Open your floor plan, set the scale and measure walls, rooms, roof, doors and windows straight from the drawing.
Best when you have the drawings · AI reading coming later
Open Take-off →Your drawing stays on your device
Every estimate from the Estimator can now be downloaded two ways: the simple trade-by-trade BoQ, or a bill arranged the way Nigerian quantity surveyors prepare them — following the elemental layout and measurement principles of BESMM4, the NIQS Building and Engineering Standard Method of Measurement (4th Edition).
Same estimate, same total, same price. Both formats come from the same calculation and add up to the same naira, and the BESMM4 BoQ is covered by the usual 7-day or 90-day unlock.
Generated automatically and not certified by NIQS — have a registered quantity surveyor check it before using it for a formal tender or contract.
| Item | Code | Description | Unit | Qty | Rate (₦) | Amount (₦) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1.5:6.2.1 | Excavation from stripped level; foundation trenches; not exceeding 2.00m deep | m³ | 42.84 | 8,000.00 | 342,720 |
| D | 1.11:2.1.2/1*2 | Reinforced in situ concrete (1:2:4); horizontal work ≤300mm; in strip foundations | m³ | 10.71 | 146,774.98 | 1,571,960 |
| E | 1.14:1.2.1 | 225mm hollow sandcrete blockwork in cement-sand mortar (1:6); walls below DPC | m² | 63.46 | 13,261.82 | 841,595 |
| I | 1.11:34.1.2 | High yield steel bar reinforcement; 12mm; straight and bent; in foundations | t | 0.192 | 1,593,750.00 | 306,000 |
| … continues · Bill No. 02 carried to Main Summary | ||||||
Bills
Up to 17
Units
m² · m³ · t · nr
Summary
BESMM4 layout
Path 02 · Excel upload
Have a BoQ from your QS or contractor? Get every line priced for your city in a few minutes.
01 · Prepare
Use our template or your own sheet. We need a description, unit and quantity; the rate column can be blank.
02 · Upload
Upload the .xlsx and choose where you are building. City price adjustments are applied to every rate.
03 · Review
See which price-list item each line was matched to. Fix or price any line we couldn't match.
04 · Export
Get a priced PDF with totals and a summary, or your own Excel file with the rates filled in.
How a BoQ is put together
Work is grouped into trade bills. Each bill is totalled, and the totals are carried to a General Summary that gives the contract sum.
Bill 01
Site set-up, mobilisation, temporary works, insurances and site supervision.
Bill 02
Site clearance, excavation, hardcore, blinding, foundation concrete and blockwork, DPC and the ground-floor (German floor) slab.
Bill 03
9-inch and 6-inch blockwork, columns, ring beams, lintels, suspended slabs and staircases.
Bill 04
Wall plates, trusses, purlins, roofing sheets or tiles, fascia, gutters and ceiling boards.
Bill 05
Door frames and leaves, aluminium or uPVC windows, burglary proofing and ironmongery.
Bill 06
Plastering, screeding, floor and wall tiling, painting and decoration.
Bill 07
Plumbing and sanitary fittings, septic tank and soakaway, wiring, distribution board, sockets and lighting.
Bill 08
Fence and gate, driveway and paving, surface drainage and other site works.
General Summary of Bills = contract total
Example: 3-bed bungalow · Lagos · from our EstimatorSubstructure
₦7,605,000
Superstructure
₦7,097,500
Roofing & ceiling
₦4,469,400
Finishes & services
₦6,111,100
Contingency (10%)
₦2,528,300
Total
₦27,811,300
Before the contractor's overheads and profit. The full estimate breaks each bill into its individual lines.
The most useful document you can have before a building project starts.
Common questions
Use the Estimator (Path 1) if you are starting from scratch and don't have measured quantities yet — it guides you through the project and calculates everything. Use the Excel upload (Path 2) if you are a QS or contractor who already has a measured BoQ and just needs rates filled in. Use Drawing Take-off (Path 3) if you have the floor plans and want quantities measured from the actual design.
Any layout works with Smart Import — we read the sheet and work out which columns are description, unit, quantity and rate. Your first Smart Import is free. You can also download our template from the upload page. Existing rates in your file are kept.
It depends on how closely your descriptions match our price list. Standard Nigerian construction terms (9-inch blockwork, BRC mesh, aluminium roofing sheets) match well. Lines we can't match are left for you to price, never guessed — and you can price them with one of our calculators.
Yes, as a working document. It has item references, units, quantities, rates and amounts, and both the PDF and Excel exports are laid out for contractors to price. For formal tenders or large projects, have a registered quantity surveyor review it before issue.
Yes — from the Estimator (Path 1). After your estimate is calculated, choose "BESMM4 BoQ" to download it as elemental bills (Substructure, Frame, Upper Floors, Roof, Walls, Finishes, Services, External Works) with BESMM4 work-section codes, measured quantities such as m² of blockwork, m³ of concrete and tonnes of reinforcement, and a Main Summary with Preliminaries, Provisional Sums and Risk. It totals exactly the same as the standard BoQ. It is generated automatically, so have a registered quantity surveyor check it before formal use; it is not certified by NIQS.
11 cities: Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Enugu, Benin City, Owerri, Warri, Calabar, Kano and Onitsha. Each city has its own price adjustment.
Choose the path that fits your project — the guided Estimator, your own Excel BoQ, or measuring straight from your drawings.
Received a contractor's quote instead? Check if the prices are fair →