PURPOSES OF

BILL OF QUANTITIES

1. To Provide a Basis for

Tendering

it enables all contractors tendering for a job to

price on exactly the same information with a
minimum of effort

since it contain a complete list of quantities

and description of all items of labour,
materials and services, it provide a
competitive, fair and equitable tendering
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2. To Provide a Basis for Interim

Certificates
it enables an economic approach of preparing
detail breakdown of work done on site for the
purpose of progress payment to contractor
a quick and accurate assessment of the work
done can be evaluated and the builder is paid
according to the amounts in the BQ
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3. To Provide a Basis for Valuing

Variations
it provides a basis for the valuation of
variations which often occur during the
progress of the work
the differences in cost whether addition or
omission of any variations can be easily
checked against prices quoted in the BQ
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4. To Assist a Contractor in the

Organization of his Work
BQ gives an itemised list of the component parts of the
building, with a full description and the quantity of each part,
and this may:
assist the successful contractor in ordering materials and
assessing his labour requirements for the job
assist in preparing sub-document for the purpose of subletting works
Relieved the task of preparing their own quantities in a
limited tendering period, as this will place a heavy burden to
each participated tenderers, and this involves him additional
cost which will be spread to the contract if he is successful 5

5. To Facilitate Financial
Control by the Employer
to assist in the preparation of progressive cost
control, cash flow forecasting and preparation
of financial statements
to facilitate checking against an initial
budget, as this will allow necessary financial
adjustment to be made
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6. To Provide a Basis for Feedback

of Information for the Contractor

it gives an easier means of checking work

done and what have been spent on a
particular element

7. To Provide a Source of Data

for Estimating
after being priced, it provides a good basis
for cost planning and cost analysis for
estimating of relevant and similar future
works

8. To Serve as a Contract
Document
to act as a legal written contractual document
between the parties in the contract
to act as a common reference for all the
parties that were involved in the project
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