CONTENTS
What is a bill of quantities?
How is a bill of quantities structured?
Which item types exist in a BoQ?
What does the bill of quantities have to do with GAEB?
How do distributors and manufacturers process a bill of quantities?
Which mistakes happen most often when pricing a BoQ?
Where does software help with BoQ processing, and where not?
Conclusion
Frequently asked questions
Thursday afternoon, a contractor sends a bill of quantities with 180 line items, and the submission deadline is Tuesday. A bill of quantities (BoQ, German: Leistungsverzeichnis or LV) is the description of the work to be performed on a construction project, broken down into individual line items: each line item has an item number (OZ), short text, long text, quantity and unit, and bidders enter their unit prices. This article explains the structure and shows how suppliers can price a BoQ quickly and reliably.
Key takeaways
The BoQ is the core of the service description for construction work. It breaks the work down into line items with item number (OZ), short and long text, quantity and unit.
Bidders enter a unit price (UP) for each line item. The total price (TP) is quantity times UP.
Item types such as alternative, provisional or supplement items decide whether a price counts toward the total bid.
In Germany, BoQs are mostly exchanged electronically in the GAEB format, the German standard for exchanging bills of quantities.
For distributors and manufacturers, the real work is in the long text: match the product, check the specification, set the price.
What is a bill of quantities?
A bill of quantities is the part of the service description that breaks construction work down into individual, similar partial services (line items), so that all bidders understand the work to be performed in the same way and can price it comparably. Alongside the BoQ there is usually a construction description that presents the project in general terms. The BoQ is normally part of the tender documents and is prepared by the owner's planner or specialist engineer.
For public tenders, this is expressly regulated in the German Construction Contract Procedures (Vergabe- und Vertragsordnung für Bauleistungen, VOB). According to § 7b EU para. 1 VOB/A (the German rules for awarding construction contracts), the work is described "as a rule by a general presentation of the construction task (construction description) and a bill of quantities broken down into partial services" (VOB/A Section 2, 2026 edition, BAnz AT 24.08.2026 B6). § 7 EU also requires that the work be described clearly and so exhaustively that all companies understand the description in the same way and can calculate their prices "reliably and without extensive preparatory work".
The alternative is the performance specification (§ 7c EU VOB/A): the client only describes the goal and requirements, and the bidders design the solution. Private owners also work with BoQs without being bound by the VOB/A.
How is a bill of quantities structured?
A bill of quantities is organized hierarchically, usually in the order trade, title, section (subtitle) and line item. On large projects, lots sit above that. Every line item is uniquely addressed by an item number. Preliminary remarks usually come first, for example on brand specifications or delivery.
The item number is more than a running number. § 7b EU para. 4 VOB/A requires that only services that are similar in technical terms and for pricing are listed under one item number (line item). An OZ such as 04.03.0010 typically reads as title 04, subtitle 03, line item 0010.
Construction bill of quantities: components of a line item
Component | Content | What suppliers should watch for |
|---|---|---|
Item number (OZ) | Unique address of the line item, e.g. 04.03.0010 | Must not be changed when returning the file |
Short text | Brief designation, often also used for invoices | Never enough for choosing a product |
Long text | Full technical description incl. standards, dimensions, performance data, brand specification | This is where it is decided which product fits |
Quantity | Tendered quantity (stated quantity) | Only an estimate for provisional items |
Unit | m, m², pcs, kg, h, lump sum | Convert to your own selling unit |
Unit price (UP) | Price per unit, to be entered by the bidder | Including surcharges, freight, packaging |
Total price (TP) | Quantity × UP | Does not apply to line items without a total amount |
Planners often use text modules such as the Standard Specification Book StLB-Bau (Standardleistungsbuch) or manufacturer texts.
Which item types exist in a BoQ?
The item type determines whether and how a line item counts toward the total bid. If you overlook it, you get the total wrong.
Item type | Meaning | In the total bid? |
|---|---|---|
Standard or execution item | Will definitely be executed | Yes |
Base item | Reference item for which alternative or supplement items exist | Yes |
Alternative item | Alternative to the base item, the client chooses | Usually no |
Provisional item | Execution still uncertain | Without a total amount: no. With a total amount: as stated in the tender documents |
Supplement item | Additional price for a base item, e.g. for fittings | Yes |
Lump-sum item (psch) | Work for a fixed amount | Yes |
Hourly-rate work | Time-and-materials work billed by the hour | Depends on the BoQ |
For public construction contracts, provisional items are only permitted as an exception (§ 7 EU para. 1 no. 4 VOB/A).
What does the bill of quantities have to do with GAEB?
GAEB (Gemeinsamer Ausschuss Elektronik im Bauwesen, the Joint Committee for Electronics in Construction) is the German standard for the electronic exchange of bills of quantities: the BoQ arrives as a structured file, and the bidder enters prices and returns it. The current version is GAEB DA XML 3.3 (GAEB).
In practice, suppliers often receive a request for quotation (extension X83) and return a priced quote (X84). In Austria, ÖNORM A 2063 is the corresponding exchange format. Distributors and manufacturers also often receive BoQs as PDF, Excel or scan. Which GAEB extension means what is explained in the article GAEB format explained.
How do distributors and manufacturers process a bill of quantities?
Distributors and manufacturers who have to create a quote from a BoQ proceed in five steps: import, filter the relevant line items, match each line item to an item and check it against the long text, set prices, and return the quote in the required format. The bottleneck is almost always matching: planners write in functions and standards, while the item master thinks in item numbers.
Step | What happens | Typical source of error |
|---|---|---|
1. Import | Open GAEB, PDF or Excel, read the preliminary remarks | Preliminary remarks are skipped |
2. Filter | Mark line items from your own range, hide installation services | Relevant line items in other titles are missed |
3. Match and check | Choose an item from the item master, compare dimensions, standards, performance data | Matched by short text only |
4. Price | ERP price, project terms, surcharges, freight; price request to the upstream supplier for non-stock items | Selling unit not converted |
5. Return | GAEB X84, Excel or PDF with brand details; set a follow-up | OZ changed, brand missing |
Manufacturers also check whether their product is equivalent to a competing product named in the tender. Distributors request prices from upstream suppliers for items they do not carry.
Which mistakes happen most often when pricing a BoQ?
Most mistakes when pricing a bill of quantities happen before the price: with the long text, units and item types.
Only the short text was read. Accessories, minimum performance values or test certificates are in the long text.
Units not converted. The BoQ asks for meters, and you sell bars of 5 m or rolls of 50 m.
Item types overlooked. Counting an alternative item in the total bid distorts the price comparison.
Price or brand left blank. For public construction contracts, missing price information generally may not be requested afterward (§ 16a EU para. 2 VOB/A). Your customer therefore needs a price for every relevant line item and, where required, the brand.
"Or equal" without proof. Anyone who deviates from the specification must prove equivalence with the quote (§ 13 EU para. 2 VOB/A), which means supplying data sheets.
Freight and packaging forgotten. With small quantities, freight quickly eats the margin.
File returned damaged. Changed item numbers make the GAEB file unusable.
Where does software help with BoQ processing, and where not?
Software helps suppliers above all with matching line items to items, not with pricing strategy. AVA programs (Ausschreibung, Vergabe und Abrechnung: tendering, awarding and billing) are built for planners. Distributors and manufacturers often work with a GAEB viewer, Excel and ERP side by side.
Mercura, an AI software for quote and order automation in technical sales, starts exactly there. It reads BoQs in any format (GAEB, PDF, Excel, scan), matches each line item to your own catalog, including long texts, checks the specification and sorts suitable options by margin. For non-stock items, it creates price requests to suppliers, writes the approved quote to the ERP and exports GAEB or PDF. Uncertain line items are flagged, not guessed, and inside sales approves every quote. At building technology manufacturer REHAU, Mercura delivers product suggestions for up to 98% of BoQ line items, with a match rate of up to 90% (REHAU success story).
Honestly: with two BoQs a month and ten standard line items, Excel is enough. Software pays off when BoQs arrive regularly, are long and requests are left sitting. The pricing logic stays in your ERP. More at Price tenders and BoQs automatically and on the page Quotes and tenders.
Bring a real bill of quantities: in 30 minutes we show you how Mercura handles it in your process. Book a call
Conclusion
A bill of quantities breaks construction work down into uniquely addressed line items with short and long text, quantity and unit. For distributors and manufacturers, it is a translation task: from the planner's language into your own item master. If you check long texts, units and item types carefully and return the quote in the required format, you avoid most mistakes. The more BoQs come in, the more it pays to automate the matching.
Further reading
Frequently asked questions
What does LV mean? LV is the German abbreviation for Leistungsverzeichnis, the bill of quantities in construction: the description of the work to be performed, broken down into line items with quantities and units.
What is the difference between a service description and a bill of quantities? The service description (Leistungsbeschreibung) is the umbrella term, and the bill of quantities is part of it. A service description with a bill of quantities consists of a construction description and the BoQ. A service description with a performance specification has no classic BoQ.
Who creates the bill of quantities? As a rule, the owner's planner, architect or specialist engineer creates the BoQ, usually with AVA software. Manufacturers often supply tender texts for it.
How do you create a bill of quantities? To create a bill of quantities, you break the work down into titles and similar line items, assign item numbers and describe each line item with short text, long text, quantity and unit. AVA programs, text modules such as StLB-Bau and the GAEB format are commonly used to create bills of quantities.
Does the bill of quantities become part of the contract? Usually, the priced BoQ becomes part of the contract when the bid is accepted. The order of precedence of the contract documents is set by the respective contract. If in doubt, seek legal advice.
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