Turn a BOQ PDF into one Excel sheet that ties out to the tender

Most BOQs print a running subtotal at the foot of each page or section: "Carried to Collection", "Carried forward", "Page total". The converter adds up the amounts it extracted since the previous subtotal and compares the result with the figure printed in the document. If the two agree it shows the checkpoint as tying; if they do not, it shows the difference in red so you know which page to open.

Item count, quantity totals per unit and amount totals per section are shown for every section as well. On an unpriced tender copy there are no amounts to compare, so the checks that remain are item count, duplicated item numbers and quantities without a unit.

Item, Ref, No. or Item No. for the reference; Description or Particulars; Unit or UoM; Qty or Quantity; Rate or Unit rate; Amount, Total or Sum. Currency marks in a heading such as "(£)" are ignored, and a second header line on the next page is skipped rather than read as an item.

If a table has no usable header row, the columns are worked out from what the cells contain, and a flag tells you that the mapping was inferred so you can check it.

A row that has no item number and no quantity is treated as the continuation of the description above it and is joined to it, including across a page break. It is not counted as an item. Counting wrapped lines as items is the usual reason a hand-typed or generic-converter sheet disagrees with the document on item count.

They stay in the sheet as ordinary items and carry a tag: provisional-sum, prime-cost, rate-only, included or extra-over. A provisional sum keeps its stated amount, a rate-only line keeps its blank quantity and an "Included" line keeps its place in the order. Filter the Tags column when you want to price them separately or leave them out of a subtotal on purpose.

Yes. Most tender copies arrive with the Rate and Amount columns empty. The Excel file leaves the rate cells blank and sets each Amount cell to Quantity x Rate, so the sheet totals itself as you price. The Sections sheet adds up your amounts per section and shows the difference from the document's stated collection figure where the document prints one.

No. Quantities, rates and amounts are exported as read from the document. Where something looks wrong, such as an amount that is not quantity times rate to within 0.5%, a quantity with no unit, or an item number used twice, the item gets a flag and stays exactly as printed. Deciding what to do about it is your call.

Free: 1 file per day, up to 10 pages, no account. Pro is $99 a month for 60 BOQs a month and files up to 150 pages. Team is $249 a month for 5 seats and 250 BOQs a month. A paid plan arrives as a page code by email, holding the month's files counted in pages (60 x 150 = 9,000 on Pro, 250 x 150 = 37,500 on Team); unused pages roll over and never expire.

A 300-page tender is over the current 150-page cap, so split it at a bill or section boundary and convert the parts. Each part ties out on its own. See plans and limits.

Files are processed in memory and deleted after conversion. Pages that need a second look may be sent to Google's Gemini API for a vision check, and under Google's terms that data can be retained for up to 55 days. Uploads are not used to train models. The privacy page lists the sub-processors. Samples and pasted rows are read in your browser and never uploaded.

Scanned pages are read with text recognition on the server, and the result says when a file needed it. Misread digits are the main risk with scans, which is why the subtotal check matters more there: a wrong digit usually surfaces as a variance at the next "carried to collection". Open the page behind any red row before you price from it.

Treat it as your working sheet. Most tender instructions require prices to be entered in the BOQ as issued, with the same item order, numbers and layout, so copy your rates back into the issued document or the tender spreadsheet if one was provided. The converter does not replace the issued document and it does not measure anything.