Estimate, cost plan, takeoff, BoQ: what each one actually is

Ask a contractor to explain the difference between an estimate, a cost plan, a takeoff and a bill of quantities and most will get close, but the lines blur fast, especially when a client uses one word and means another. Here's what each one actually is, in plain terms, and when you need it.

Takeoff

The takeoff is the measured list underneath everything else. It's every element of the job, quantities taken off the drawings item by item, before any price is applied. No takeoff, no reliable number, whatever else gets built on top of it.

Estimate

The estimate is the priced number that comes from applying rates to that takeoff. It's what you put in front of a client or use to bid a tender. A good estimate is only as accurate as the quantities feeding it, which is why a rushed takeoff underneath a careful-looking estimate still produces a wrong price.

Bill of quantities

A bill of quantities, or BoQ, is the same measured information as a takeoff, but laid out item by item so it can be priced, checked and compared. On bigger jobs the client's QS issues one for you to price against. On smaller jobs, having your own BoQ built from your takeoff means your priced items and your final account numbers are the same document, start to finish.

Cost plan

A cost plan sits earlier, before the drawings are locked down, and gives a running figure for the job as the information develops. It's less precise than an estimate because there's less to measure yet, and it gets replaced by a proper estimate once the drawings are settled enough to take off properly.

Which one you actually need

If you're pricing a tender, you need a takeoff underneath an estimate. If the client's issued a bill, you need it priced against measured quantities, not guessed. If you're still at an early stage with incomplete drawings, a cost plan gives you a working figure until there's enough to measure properly.

Most of the confusion between these four disappears once you realise they're not separate jobs, they're stages of the same measured information, from rough figure to priced bid.

Send your drawings, whatever stage you're at. See a sample estimate first if you want to see what the finished numbers look like before you commit to anything.

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