1.3 Definitions

The following terms will be used in the manual:

• BoQ: A Bill of Quantity or Bill of Materials, comprising a list of priceable items (see bill item below), often arranged in a hierarchy. Refer to section 3, Bill of Quantities.

• Bill Item: An item in a BoQ that represents a precisely identified cost item in the construction process, including materials, fittings/fixtures, labour or equipment hire, and usually consisting of a key (see key below), name, unit of measurement, rate and description. Refer to section 3, Bill of Quantities

• Category: The headings when the BoQ is arranged in a hierarchy. A category must have at least on bill item nested under it. Bill items are always at the bottom level of the hierarchy.

• Key: A unique identifier (often a number) for a category or item in the bill. The key will be prefixed with the key of any category above it and typically separated by a dot, e.g. 100.21.173

• Traits Data attached to construction elements that are often essential for costing, including properties, classifications and recipes. These are generally summarised as traits to avoid repetition.