# Digital Measurement Book for Construction

> Record measurements as number, length, breadth and height against a BOQ item and work order, approve them and feed RA bills.

Canonical: https://superwise.site/features/digital-measurement-book/
Last updated: 2026-11-03

A measurement book records the work a contractor is paid for. SuperWise keeps it as measurement sheets linked to a BOQ item and a work order, with the net quantity computed from the dimensions.

- Number, length, breadth and height, less deductions
- Approved sheets feed the RA bill

## Two people measured one wall. Two answers.

SuperWise records the measurement once, as a sheet against the BOQ item, and the bill reads that sheet. Both sides see the same quantity.

- **Sheets against a BOQ item.** A sheet names the BOQ item measured, the work order, the date and a description such as 4th floor slab concreting.
- **Dimension lines.** Each line has a description, a number, a length, a breadth, a height and a deduction. The quantity and the net quantity are computed for you.
- **Approval that moves progress.** Approving a sheet updates the BOQ progress, and a project setting decides whether quantities follow task progress or wait for completion.
- **Quantities that feed billing.** RA bill lines take their quantities from the measured work at the work order rate, and the cumulative quantity cannot pass the work order quantity.

## How it works

One sheet carries a quantity from the wall to the bill.

1. **Pick the BOQ item.** Start a sheet against the work order and choose the BOQ items you are measuring. A measurement sheet is accepted only when its work order is accepted, so a measurement never floats free of the contract it belongs to.
2. **Enter the dimensions.** Record the number, length, breadth and height of each line, with deductions where openings are taken out. The net quantity is computed from the dimensions, so nobody keys a total by hand, and the sheet keeps its own dates and creator.
3. **Approve the sheet.** A reviewer approves or rejects the sheet. Approving it updates the progress of the BOQ item, and the rows keep who measured it and when. A rejected sheet stays on record for the dispute or the audit that may follow.
4. **The RA bill reads it.** The RA bill takes its quantities from approved sheets, and the cumulative quantity stops at the work order quantity. The billing engineer adds the deductions and sends the bill for approval, with the sheets behind every line.

## From measurement sheet to RA bill

The measurement sheet is the first record in the billing chain. Approving it updates the BOQ progress, the RA bill claims that progress against the work order, and approvers sign the bill off before payment.

1. **Measurement sheet.** Number × length × breadth × height, less deductions, against a BOQ item
2. **Measurement approval.** Approval updates the BOQ progress
3. **RA bill.** Period, cumulative quantity up to the work order, retention, mobilisation recovery
4. **Approval workflow.** Approvers by role sign the bill off in steps
5. **Payment.** Payments released against the bill, bill printed

## What the measurement book is used for

In Indian civil work the [measurement book](https://superwise.site/glossary/measurement-book/) is the ledger in which executed quantities are recorded, and contractor bills are meant to rest on its entries. A dispute is settled by going back to the dimensions behind a quantity, and in SuperWise those dimensions sit on the measurement sheet.

In SuperWise the measurement book is the set of measurement sheets in a project. Each sheet belongs to a BOQ item and, where the work is contracted, to a work order. A sheet records the date of measurement, who created it and when, and its approval status, so a quantity on a bill can be traced to one sheet.

Two related documents have names of their own. A [joint measurement record](https://superwise.site/glossary/joint-measurement-record/) lists executed quantities that the contractor and the client's representative sign together, and an [abstract of estimate](https://superwise.site/glossary/abstract-of-estimate/) summarises an estimate chapter by chapter.

## Structuring measurement sheets

A sheet has a header and lines. The header names the BOQ item being measured, the work order it belongs to, the date of measurement and a description such as 4th floor slab concreting. The total quantity is the sum of the lines.

Each line has a description such as Room 401 north wall, a number, a length, a breadth and a height in metres, and a deduction. The quantity is the number multiplied by the length, the breadth and the height. The net quantity is that quantity less the deduction, so an opening is taken off the wall it sits in. Three bays of 6 m by 12 m by 0.15 m give 32.4 cum.

The BOQ a sheet points at has levels. A chapter is level 1, a section is level 2 and an item is level 3, and amounts roll up the tree. The BOQ status view compares planned with measured quantities for an item or a node, and the A2 BOQ summary in the MIS report shows contracted, measured, billed and remaining quantities.

One project setting decides how measurement follows progress. The project measurement setting is Manual, OnProgress or OnComplete. With OnProgress, quantities are recorded as tasks progress, and with OnComplete only when a task reaches 100 percent.

## Evidence and quality checks

Every line shows its dimensions and its deduction, so a reviewer can recompute the net quantity by hand.

The daily progress report reads the same sheets. Its BOQ Measurement Sheets section lists the measurements recorded on the report date, which lets the day's progress and the day's measured quantities be read side by side.

Over-measurement is checked at billing. An RA bill cannot claim a cumulative quantity above the work order quantity for a line, so billing more means amending the work order first. The amendment raises the revision number and keeps the earlier version on record.

## Approval, RA bills and exports

Approving a measurement sheet updates the BOQ progress. The [RA bill](https://superwise.site/features/ra-bill-certification/) then draws its line quantities from the measured work, at the work order rate, for an execution period. Each bill holds back retention and recovers the mobilisation advance.

Budget views read the same quantities. The BOQ-wise cash outflow report sets committed values against certified ones, and [budget tracking and cost control](https://superwise.site/features/estimation-vs-earned-value/) follows BOQ quantities and costs over time.

The BOQ downloads to Excel, with a separate export for the task-level BOQ. The daily progress report, which includes a measurement sheets section, downloads as a PDF or an Excel file.

If measurements still live in a spreadsheet, the [RA bill format and checklist](https://superwise.site/templates/ra-bill-format-template/) sets out what a running account bill should include. Compare it with the columns of your own sheet before you move the data across.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does a measurement sheet record?

A BOQ item, a work order, a measurement date and a description, with lines of number, length, breadth and height in metres and a deduction. Each line computes a quantity and a net quantity, and the sheet total is the sum of its lines. The sheet also records who created it and when, and its approval status.

### How is the net quantity calculated?

The quantity is the number multiplied by length, breadth and height, and the net quantity is that quantity less the deduction. Three bays of 6 m by 12 m by 0.15 m give 32.4 cum before any deduction. The deduction field on a line takes off an opening or a void, and the sheet total adds the lines.

### What happens when a measurement sheet is approved?

Approval updates the BOQ progress for the item measured. The RA bill then reads the measured quantities for its execution period at the work order rate, and its cumulative quantity cannot pass the work order quantity. The bill goes on through its own approval steps before payment, and approvers can see the trail.

### What is the project measurement setting?

It is a project setting with three values, Manual, OnProgress and OnComplete. With OnProgress, quantities are recorded as tasks progress, and with OnComplete they are recorded only when a task reaches 100 percent. The setting controls how measurement sheets link to task progress, so choose it when the project is set up.

### Can the BOQ and measurements be exported to Excel?

The BOQ downloads to Excel, and the task-level BOQ has its own Excel export. The daily progress report, which includes a BOQ measurement sheets section, downloads as a PDF or an Excel file. RA bills print as documents, generated from the record that was approved.

### How does the measurement book help in a dispute or audit?

A sheet keeps its dimensions line by line, its deductions, its date, who created it and its approval status, so a quantity on a bill can be traced to the measurement behind it. Work order amendments keep the contracted scope on record beside it.

## Related
- [RA bill software](https://superwise.site/features/ra-bill-certification/)
- [Budget tracking and cost control](https://superwise.site/features/estimation-vs-earned-value/)
- [RA bill format and checklist](https://superwise.site/templates/ra-bill-format-template/)
- [Billing engineer](https://superwise.site/professions/construction-billing-engineer/)
- [Measurement Book (MB)](https://superwise.site/glossary/measurement-book/)
- [Joint Measurement Record (JMR)](https://superwise.site/glossary/joint-measurement-record/)
- [Abstract of Estimate](https://superwise.site/glossary/abstract-of-estimate/)