Quantity Takeoff Sheet: Excel Template, Format and Worked Example

A quantity takeoff sheet is the working page of an estimate: one row for each thing you measure on the drawings, with its item number, description, drawing reference, location, No., L, B, D/H, quantity, unit and any deduction. Rows that share an item number add up to one quantity in the BOQ.

Download the quantity takeoff sheet in Excel (.xlsx). It has three sheets. Takeoff has the 13 columns below, a live No. × L × B × D/H formula and a Y/N deduction column. Abstract totals each item from the takeoff rows, with a blank rate column and amount formulas. Read me lists the units, rounding and IS 1200 deduction rules the example follows. There are no macros. More formats, including the measurement book, JMS and BOQ formats, are in our construction templates library.

This page is about the sheet itself: what goes in each column, a worked example and how deductions are written. For how a takeoff differs from a BOQ and an estimate, read quantity takeoff vs BOQ.

Quantity takeoff sheet format: the 13 columns#

Each row records one measurement, and only the Quantity column is calculated. Everything else is typed from the drawing, so another engineer can check any row against it.

Book dimensions in the same order every time: length, then breadth, then depth or height. That is the IS 1200 booking order, and a sheet in a fixed order is quicker to check.

The quantity formula#

In row 6, the Quantity cell holds:

=IF(COUNT(E6:H6)=0,"",IF(MIN(E6:H6)<0,NA(),IF(K6="Y",-1,1)*IF(E6="",1,E6)*IF(F6="",1,F6)*IF(G6="",1,G6)*IF(H6="",1,H6)))

It does four things:

• A blank No. or dimension counts as 1, so one formula works for every unit.
• A row with nothing entered from No. to D/H stays blank instead of showing 1.
• Y in Deduction? makes the quantity negative. Enter the opening's size as positive numbers.
• A negative entry shows #N/A, so a deduction cannot be made negative twice.

Which dimensions to fill for each unit#

The 0.888 kg/m is the IS 1786 nominal mass of a 12 mm bar; see the unit weight of steel chart for other sizes. For a whole structure, a bar bending schedule is the better steel takeoff; carry its diameter-wise totals into the BOQ in kg.

Worked example: footings, columns, a wall and a slab#

The workbook measures four BOQ items for a small ground-storey frame: footings 10.40 cum, columns 3.73 cum, a 230 mm brick wall 1.95 cum after two deductions, and a roof slab 8.40 cum after one. The frame is an original teaching example, not a client's project, and the rows below match the Excel file.

The working, item by item:

• RCC-01 footings: 8 × 1.50 × 1.50 × 0.45 = 8.100, and 4 × 1.20 × 1.20 × 0.40 = 2.304. Total 10.404, rounded to 10.40 cum.
• RCC-02 columns: 12 × 0.23 × 0.45 × 3.00 = 3.726, rounded to 3.73 cum.
• BW-01 brickwork: gross 4.55 × 0.23 × 2.80 = 2.9302. The door deducts 1.00 × 0.23 × 2.25 = 0.5175 and the window 1.50 × 0.23 × 1.35 = 0.46575. Net 2.9302 − 0.5175 − 0.46575 = 1.94695, rounded to 1.95 cum.
• RCC-03 slab: 9.20 × 6.40 × 0.15 = 8.832, less the staircase opening 2.40 × 1.20 × 0.15 = 0.432, gives 8.400, or 8.40 cum.

The measurement conventions sit in the Remarks column, because they decide what is counted once. The slab is measured over its full area, so the columns stop at its soffit; beams would be measured below the slab under their own item. PCC, formwork and reinforcement are separate items and are not in these rows.

From takeoff to BOQ: the Abstract sheet#

The Abstract sheet adds up the takeoff rows for each item code with SUMIF and rounds the total to 0.01, which gives you the quantity column of the BOQ. For the first item the formula is:

=IF(A5="","",IF(G5=0,"",ROUND(SUMIF(Takeoff!$A$6:$A$105,A5,Takeoff!$I$6:$I$105),2)))

The rate column is blank on purpose. Fill it from a dated source: CPWD DSR, your state SOR or a dated quotation. Each amount appears when its rate is entered, and the total appears once every item has a rate.

Two checks catch the usual slips. Unit check flags a takeoff row whose unit differs from its item's unit. Row check compares the measured rows on Takeoff (8 in the example) with the rows carried to Abstract (also 8); a row with a missing or unlisted item code shows up as a difference.

How to write IS 1200 deductions in a takeoff sheet#

Give each deduction its own row: enter the opening's size as positive numbers, put Y in Deduction? and name the clause in the IS 1200 column. An opening that the code does not deduct still gets a row, with no dimensions and a note, so a checker can see you looked at it.

The brick wall in the example follows IS 1200 Part 3 (brickwork). The clause numbers below are from the 1976 edition, the freely available scan of IS 1200 Part 3:

• Cl. 4.1.4(b): no deduction for openings up to 0.1 sqm; larger openings are deducted. The door (2.25 sqm) and the window (2.025 sqm) are deducted. The 0.09 sqm vent is not.
• Note to cl. 4.1.4: a separate lintel or sill is included in the size of the opening, but the lintel's end portions are not. That is why the door is deducted as 1.00 × (2.10 + 0.15) m and the window as 1.50 × (1.20 + 0.15) m.
• Cl. 4.1.4(a): no deduction for the ends of lintels, beams and similar members up to 0.1 sqm in section. The lintel bearings here are 0.23 × 0.15 = 0.0345 sqm in section, so they stay in the wall.
• The rest of cl. 4.1.4 also leaves in bearings of slabs and chajjas up to 10 cm thick, pipes up to 300 mm diameter and chases up to 50 cm girth.

The slab follows the concrete rule in IS 1200 Part 2: openings up to 0.1 sqm are not deducted. The 2.88 sqm staircase opening is deducted and the 0.09 sqm pipe opening is not.

The thresholds change by trade, so write the part in every deduction row:

Our IS 1200 method of measurement guide has the full deduction matrix and the plaster decision tree. Two cautions apply. BIS issued a revised Part 2 in 2025, so check which edition your contract names before you quote a clause number. And many government contracts make the CPWD specifications govern first, with IS 1200 applying where they are silent.

One more point on units. IS 1200 Part 3 (cl. 4.1.1) measures walls one brick thick or less in sqm, stating the thickness, while CPWD DSR 2023 prices 230 mm brickwork per cum (item 6.4.2) and half-brick walls per sqm (item 6.13.2). The example uses cum to match its BOQ item. Use the unit of your BOQ item, and keep every row of that item in the same unit.

Takeoff sheet vs measurement book vs BOQ#

A takeoff sheet measures from the drawings before work starts, a measurement book records work done on site for payment, and a BOQ lists the item totals that get priced.

When the contractor and the client's engineer measure together on site and both sign, that record is a joint measurement sheet, and its entries go into the measurement book. For the full comparison of takeoff, BOQ, estimate, rate analysis and MB, with one footing traced through all of them, see quantity takeoff vs BOQ.

Common takeoff sheet mistakes#

Most takeoff errors are rows that cannot be checked or rows that count something twice.

• Typing a quantity instead of dimensions. If a number cannot be traced to No. × L × B × D/H and a drawing, the checker has to measure it again.
• Lumping members together. "All footings, 10.40 cum" hides a wrong count. Give F1 and F2 their own rows.
• Netting openings in your head. Typing the wall length as 3.55 instead of 4.55 hides a 1.00 m door. Measure the wall in full and deduct each opening on its own row.
• Deducting what the code ignores. In brickwork and concrete, openings up to 0.1 sqm stay in. In plaster, the limit is 0.5 sqm.
• Leaving the lintel out of the opening. Under IS 1200 Part 3, a separate lintel over a door or window is part of the opening size.
• Counting junctions twice. Decide once where columns, beams and slabs stop, and write it in Remarks. In the example, the slab runs through and the columns stop at its soffit.
• Mixing units within one item. Rows in cum and sqm under the same code add up to a meaningless total. The Abstract's Unit check flags it.
• No drawing revision. When drawings change, you need to find every row taken from the old revision.
• Rounding every row. Keep rows unrounded and round the item total, as the Abstract sheet does.

If you'd rather have the takeoff done for you, our engineers prepare it from your drawings as part of a BOQ from your drawings: measurement sheets to IS 1200 and an item-wise BOQ in Excel, with a second take-off checking the first. First project 50% off, minimum ₹2,500. To see what that looks like first, open our sample BOQ with its measurement sheets.

Frequently asked questions#

What is a quantity takeoff sheet?#

It is the working sheet where you measure each item of work from the drawings, one row per measurement, with the drawing reference, No., L, B, D/H, quantity and unit. Rows with the same item code are totalled to give the BOQ quantity.

What columns should a takeoff sheet have?#

Item no, description, drawing reference, location or grid, No., L, B, D/H, quantity, unit, a deduction flag, the IS 1200 part or clause, and remarks. Only the quantity column is a formula.

How do I calculate quantities in a takeoff sheet in Excel?#

Multiply No. × L × B × D/H, treat a blank dimension as 1, and make the result negative for a deduction row. Then total each item with SUMIF on its item code. The downloadable sheet has both formulas.

How are deductions shown in a takeoff sheet?#

As separate rows: the opening's size as positive numbers, Y in the deduction column and the IS 1200 clause beside it. In brickwork, openings up to 0.1 sqm are not deducted (IS 1200 Part 3:1976, cl. 4.1.4), and a separate lintel counts as part of the opening.

Is a takeoff sheet the same as a measurement sheet?#

Usually, yes: Indian estimators often call the takeoff the measurement sheet. A measurement book is different. It records work done on site for billing, not measurements from drawings.

Should a 230 mm brick wall be taken in cum or sqm?#

Use the unit of your BOQ item. IS 1200 Part 3 (cl. 4.1.1) measures walls one brick thick or less in sqm, stating the thickness, while CPWD DSR 2023 prices 230 mm brickwork per cum (item 6.4.2) and half-brick walls per sqm (item 6.13.2). Keep every row of one item in the same unit.

How many rows does the template hold?#

The quantity formula runs to row 105, which leaves about 100 measurement rows, and the Abstract reads that whole range. For more, insert rows above row 105 so every range grows with them, then copy the quantity formula down.