Bill of Quantities (BOQ) in Rwanda: What It Includes and How to Read a Contractor’s Quote

When a contractor sends you a quotation for a house in Rwanda, it usually comes as a Bill of Quantities, or BOQ. It is the most important document for controlling the cost of your build, yet many clients only look at the total at the bottom of the last page.

This guide explains what a BOQ is, what a complete one should contain, how to read a contractor’s priced BOQ line by line, and the warning signs to look for before you sign.

What is a Bill of Quantities?

A Bill of Quantities is a list of every item of work and material needed to build a project, measured from the drawings and specifications. Each item has a description, a unit of measurement and a quantity. Contractors then add a rate to each item, and the rate multiplied by the quantity gives the amount.

A good BOQ does three jobs. It lets several contractors price exactly the same scope, so their quotes can be compared fairly. It becomes the basis for paying the contractor in installments as work progresses. And it gives you a reference for pricing changes if the design changes during construction.

The BOQ is only as reliable as the drawings behind it. If the architectural and structural drawings are incomplete, the quantities will be too. That is why the BOQ normally comes after the design is fixed and, ideally, after the construction permit has been approved, so the measured design is the one you are allowed to build.

Who prepares a BOQ in Rwanda?

BOQs are prepared by quantity surveyors. In Rwanda, the profession is organised by the Rwanda Institute of Quantity Surveyors (RIQS), which publishes a list of members in good standing and refers to Law n° 023/2025 of 01/09/2025 governing the professions of architecture, engineering and quantity surveying. Before relying on a BOQ for a significant project, it is reasonable to ask who measured it and whether they are registered.

What a complete building BOQ contains

For a typical house or small building, the BOQ is split into sections that follow the order of construction. The exact headings vary, but you should expect to see most of the following:

• Preliminaries and general items: site setup, hoarding, temporary water and power, site supervision, insurance and similar costs that are not part of any single element.
• Substructure: site clearance, excavation, hardcore, foundations, damp-proof membrane and ground floor slab.
• Superstructure (frame and walls): reinforced concrete columns, beams and slabs, reinforcement steel, formwork and walling.
• Roofing: roof structure, covering, gutters and downpipes.
• Doors and windows: frames, shutters, glazing and ironmongery, usually counted by number.
• Finishes: plaster, screed, floor and wall tiles, ceilings and painting.
• Plumbing and drainage: pipework, sanitary fittings, water storage and connections.
• Electrical installation: wiring, sockets, lighting points, distribution board and connection.
• External works: paving, drainage, boundary walls and landscaping where included.
• Provisional and prime cost sums: allowances for items that cannot be measured accurately yet, such as specialist fittings chosen later.
• Summary: the totals of each section, followed by any contingency and VAT at Rwanda’s standard rate of 18% where the contractor is VAT-registered.

Material choices drive many of these lines. If you are comparing specifications for tiles, cement or steel, our guide to sourcing building materials in Rwanda explains what to check.

How to read a contractor’s priced BOQ

Every line of a priced BOQ follows the same pattern. The example below shows the structure of a few typical items. It is a format illustration only, so the rate and amount columns are left blank.

When you review a priced BOQ, work through these checks:

1. Check the arithmetic. Multiply a sample of quantities by their rates and confirm the amounts and section totals. Errors happen, and they are easier to fix before signing.
2. Read the descriptions, not just the totals. “Floor tiles” is not a specification. A clear item states the material, grade or size, and what is included, such as adhesive, grout and skirting.
3. Compare quantities with the drawings. If two contractors priced the same project but show very different quantities, at least one of them did not measure from the drawings.
4. Look at the units. Concrete in m³, reinforcement in kg, walls and finishes in m², fittings by number. A large item priced as a single “lump sum” with no breakdown deserves a question.
5. Check what is excluded. Many disputes start with items nobody priced, such as external works, water and power connections, or professional fees.

Warning signs in a BOQ

• Whole sections priced as one lump sum, with no quantities or rates.
• Rates far below the other bids for the same item. A very low rate often returns later as a variation claim.
• Large provisional sums covering work that could have been measured.
• Missing preliminaries, which suggests the contractor will recover those costs elsewhere.
• No clear statement on whether VAT is included.
• Quantities that cannot be traced back to the drawings.

Comparing quotes from several contractors

The fairest way to compare contractors is to give all of them the same unpriced BOQ, prepared by your own quantity surveyor, and ask them to fill in the rates. You can then compare item by item instead of comparing totals built on different assumptions. If you are still shortlisting builders, our sister studio’s guide on how to choose a construction company in Kigali covers the other checks to make before you sign.

Once a BOQ is agreed, it becomes part of the contract. Installment payments are usually valued against the BOQ items completed on site, and any design change is priced as a variation using the agreed rates where they apply.

How the BOQ connects to your total budget

The BOQ covers the construction work. Your full budget also needs land, design fees, permits, connections and a contingency. Our article on what drives the cost of building a house in Rwanda walks through the other cost drivers to plan for.

This article is general guidance. For a specific project, have the BOQ prepared or reviewed by a qualified quantity surveyor.