QS Tools (Quantity Surveying)
The QS group on the DVD Cons tab serves the monthly grind of a quantity surveyor or site engineer: reconciling quantities between two BoQ versions, registering and valuing variation works, and building the interim-payment valuation table for the period.
Each command reads a range you select and generates a new, fully bordered sheet with totals — the source data is left untouched.
Commands in this group
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| Compare BoQ | Matches two bills of quantities by code → a reconciliation sheet marked Increase / Decrease / New / Removed, with % and value deltas |
| Variation Register | Builds a valued variation register with approval status (Proposed / Approved / Rejected, approval document No.) |
| Interim Payment | Builds each period's payment file ("Period n" sheet, Form 03.a/TT layout): approved variations + price adjustment, advance / recovery / retention / VAT; the next period reads this one's cumulative |
| AI Construction Estimate | Estimates unit prices by province/quarter, published bulletin prices first, source labelled on every row — see its own page |
| Compare drawings | Compare two PDF drawings and show exactly what changed: red is gone, blue is new |
Valuing one payment period
- Reconcile the quantities — open both BoQ versions (tender and as-measured) and click Compare BoQ. Pick File A (original) and File B (new), choose the Scope (Single sheet or Multiple sheets — tick to choose), map Code / match-key column, Description column, Unit column, Quantity column and Unit price column, set Header rows to skip, then click Compare.
- Split out what is outside the contract — rows flagged New, and quantities beyond the contract, go into a separate measured variation table with the reason or basis recorded (site instruction number, revised drawing). Tick Also create a Variation register from the changed rows when comparing to skip the copying.
- Price what has no rate — for variation items with no contract rate, use AI Construction Estimate for a reference figure, then check it against cost norms and supplier quotations.
- Register and approve the variations — select the measured variation table → Variation Register → map Description column, Unit column, Variation qty column (accepts +/−), Unit price column and Reason / basis column; enter Project / package, Default reason, Register / batch No. and Date → Create. When the client approves, set Status to Approved and record the document number. For price adjustment, also create a Price Adjustment sheet.
- Build the period payment file — select the BoQ range → Interim Payment → map the columns by letter (Item, Unit, Contract qty, Unit price, Progress) and the progress type (% or quantity, cumulative or this period); enter contract value, advance, recovery, retention and VAT (pre-filled from period 2 on); tick approved variations and price adjustments → Create. Next period, just update progress and run it again.
- Issue the submission — the result sheet already has borders and a totals row; export it with Sheets → PDF and attach the variation register and the BoQ reconciliation.
Example
The reconciliation step: workbook "BoQ Area A" holds two sheets with the same layout, Du thau and Nghiem thu (B = code, C = description, D = unit, E = quantity, F = unit price). Scope Single sheet, Sheet A = Du thau, Sheet B = Nghiem thu, header rows to skip = 1 → Compare:
| Code | Qty (A) | Qty (B) | Delta | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AF.11110 | 120.0 | 132.5 | +12.5 (+10.4%) | Increase |
| AE.22110 | 850.0 | 812.0 | −38.0 (−4.5%) | Decrease |
| AK.31120 | — | 45.0 | +45.0 | New |
| AB.10100 | 260.0 | — | −260.0 | Removed |
The payment step: workers' housing superstructure BoQ, selection A4:H60: column B item, D unit, E contract quantity, F unit price, G cumulative % complete, H prior cumulative value. Mode Cumulative, Period = "Period 3", Date = 22/08/2026.
| Item | Unit | Contract qty | Unit price | Cum. % | Cumulative value | Prior cumulative | This period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Column concrete | m3 | 120 | 1,850,000 | 60% | 133,200,000 | 88,800,000 | 44,400,000 |
| Blockwork 200 | m2 | 850 | 265,000 | 40% | 90,100,000 | 60,000,000 | 30,100,000 |
In the same period, site instruction 12/CT-CĐT adds lighting-column footings and deletes part of a concrete apron → run Variation Register for batch 2, and the register closes with Total increase / Total decrease / Net variation to attach to the payment file.
Tips and caveats
- Interim Payment, Compare BoQ and Variation Register map columns by sheet column letter (
B,E,AA…), while AI Construction Estimate counts columns from the first column of the selection — mixing the two conventions corrupts the whole table. - Select the range before clicking the command; none of them auto-detect the table (Compare BoQ instead needs at least two sheets open and refuses the same sheet for both A and B).
- Compare BoQ matches purely on the code: one character out and the row shows as "Removed" in A and "New" in B; repeated codes within a sheet are summed, and both versions must share the same column layout.
- In Variation Register the sign convention is mandatory: positive qty = increase, negative qty = decrease; entering a reduction as a positive number breaks the net figure.
- Choosing the wrong % complete mode (Cumulative vs This period only) makes the period value completely wrong — check the totals row before issuing.
- Results land on a new sheet and cannot be undone with Ctrl+Z; delete the sheet to discard it. These tables are drafting aids — still check them against the contract forms and current regulations.
- Compare BoQ, Variation Register and Interim Payment need an active account (Standard/PRO, trial included); AI Construction Estimate is PRO only.
See also
- AI Construction Estimate — how to price items that have no contract rate yet.
- Acceptance Plan — the acceptance listing that backs the quantities being paid.
- Autosum — total quantity groups quickly on the result sheet.
- Sheets → PDF — export the payment package as a single PDF.