Writing the bill, one old bill at a time
A surveyor is preparing a bill of quantities for a new school. For each item they need a description that follows the measurement rules, refers to the right specification clause, and reads the same way as the rest of the bill. The quickest way is to open the last school's bill and copy.
So the new bill inherits the old bill's wording, including a reference to a specification clause that was renumbered, a British Standard that has since been superseded, and a description of a fire stopping product the architect no longer specifies. A tenderer queries it. The surveyor finds the same error has been in the practice's bills for years.
Why descriptions drift
- There is no master set of descriptions, only previous bills.
- Specification references change with each project's specification, but copied descriptions keep the old ones.
- Different surveyors word the same item differently, so bills are inconsistent across the practice.
- Updates to standards and product references are not tracked against descriptions.
- Nobody owns the wording, so nobody maintains it.
Each individual copy is a reasonable shortcut. Across a practice and many years, the shortcut builds up a lot of quiet error.
What inconsistent descriptions cost
Tender queries you should not have needed to answer. Pricing risk, because a contractor who reads an item differently prices it differently, and the difference surfaces later as a variation. Reviews that take longer because the checker cannot trust any line. And a look of carelessness in a document your client relies on.
| Issue | Where it comes from | How the library helps |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong specification clause | Copied from an old job | Clause references linked to this project's specification |
| Superseded standard | Nobody updated the wording | Entries flagged when a reference is marked as withdrawn |
| Inconsistent wording | Different surveyors | One approved wording per item |
| Missing measurement detail | Rushed copy | Required fields for each item type |
The library we build
- We gather descriptions from your recent bills and group duplicates and near duplicates by item, with a senior surveyor choosing the approved wording for each.
- Descriptions are organised by the measurement rules your practice uses, such as NRM2 work sections, with the required details for each item type.
- Each description has placeholders for project-specific details, such as the specification clause, product and size.
- For a new project, the specification's clause list is loaded, and placeholders are linked to the right clauses, with anything unmatched flagged.
- References to standards and products are tagged, so when someone marks a reference as superseded, every description using it is listed for update.
- Surveyors build bills by picking items from the library into your Excel or bill production template, with quantities coming from take-off.
- A named person owns the library, and proposed changes from surveyors go to them for approval.
The library holds wording. Which measurement rules apply, and what the specification requires, remain matters for your surveyors and the design team.
Bills after the library
Surveyors spend their time on measurement and on the unusual items, not on retyping standard ones. Bills read consistently across the practice. When a standard or product changes, the library tells you where it appears, and the next bill is right. Tender queries are more likely to be about the design than about your wording.
Training changes as well. A new surveyor learns the practice's way of describing work from a maintained library with notes, rather than from whichever old bill they happened to be given, which means their first bills need less correction.
Does this sound like your bills?
- Bill descriptions are copied from the last similar project.
- Tenderers have queried out-of-date clause or standard references.
- Two surveyors describe the same item in different ways.
- Nobody maintains a master set of descriptions.
- Checking a bill means reading every line with suspicion.