Measurement book software: from the drawing set to a checkable MB and the bill
Measurement book software in CivilOS turns the drawing set into a linked MB workbook: one sheet per drawing or item, every dimension kept as the expression it came from, every quantity feeding the abstract through a live formula, and the mode of measurement from IS 1200 shown against each item. It then runs the checks a departmental checker makes — before the book is booked, not after it is returned — and produces the abstract and the running account bill from the same rows.
It is written for Indian practice, where the MB is not an internal note but a document three parties act on: the contractor measures against it, the department checks it, and the bill is paid on it. It runs in the browser on a Free plan with nothing to install, and the Excel it writes opens in Excel without an argument.
What you can do
| Feature | What it does | Export / status |
|---|---|---|
| From the drawing set | An MB sheet per drawing, rows picked from the CAD drawing — a length or an area measured on the sheet lands in the row with its expression | Excel |
| Dimension expressions | 2 × 3.60 × 0.23 stays an expression; the number is Excel's result, not a pasted value | Excel |
| IS 1200 modes | The mode of measurement per item — deductions, rounding, what is measured net and what gross — applied and shown | Excel · PDF |
| Linked abstract | Each sheet's total feeds the abstract as a cross-sheet formula; change a dimension and the bill changes | Excel |
| Pre-inspection checks | Impossible dimensions, wrong modes, inconsistent links and pasted totals flagged before issue | On screen |
| RA bill | Measured-to-date, previously paid and now payable from the same MB, deductions as their own lines | Excel · PDF |
| Valid Excel | Validated as a package the way Excel validates it, so the file opens in Excel, not only in a browser reader | .xlsx |
A book the checker can follow
An MB fails a check when a number cannot be traced: a quantity with no expression, a total that was typed, a deduction that does not say what it deducts. This book keeps the trail. Every dimension is the expression it was measured as, every sheet total is a formula the checker can click into, every item names its IS 1200 mode, and every deduction is its own line citing its authority. The abstract is a formula over the sheets, so a corrected dimension corrects the bill without anyone re-adding anything.
Checked before it is booked
The pre-inspection checks are the objections a checker would raise, run in advance: a plaster area larger than the wall it is on, a deduction mode applied to an item measured gross, a sheet that says one thing and an abstract that says another, a cell that carries a value where a formula should be. None of them replaces the checker; they mean the book reaches the checker with those objections already answered.
How to start
- Open Quantity Survey & BBS and choose the drawing set or upload the drawings.
- Build the MB — one sheet per drawing; pick lengths and areas on the CAD sheet into the rows, or type the expressions.
- Set the mode per item from IS 1200 where the default is not right.
- Run the checks and answer the flags.
- Export the linked workbook, the abstract and the RA bill; print on the firm's letterhead.
What CivilOS does not do
- No departmental standing. A prepared MB, not an e-MB system; the engineers named on it are responsible for it.
- No AI in the arithmetic. Reading quantities out of an uploaded drawing image is AI-assisted and is a draft; the MB itself is arithmetic.
- No rate analysis here — rates belong to the Cost Estimator and the BOQ, which read this MB.
- No structural or MEP design.
- The IS 1200 modes are the published ones; a departmental deviation must be set by you.
Where a browser tool fits
Departmental e-MB systems exist for the department's own workflow — authenticated entries, approval chains and audit trails inside a government system. A contractor or consultant does not get to run one of those.
What they need is an MB prepared correctly the first time, in a workbook the department will accept and a checker can follow, produced from the drawings rather than retyped from them. That is this tool, and it costs nothing to start.
Open Quantity Survey & BBS free → the linked MB, the checks, the RA billFrequently asked questions
What is measurement book software?
The measurement book (MB) is the record of the work executed — each item measured with its dimensions, in the mode IS 1200 prescribes, on a numbered sheet a checker can sign. This software builds that book from the drawing set as a linked Excel workbook, runs checks on it before it is booked, and produces the abstract and the running account bill from the same rows.
Is it free?
Yes, to start. Create a free account (no card) and the Free plan opens every module, including the Quantity Survey and Measurement Book tools, with a monthly allowance; prints carry the CivilOS letterhead. Pro, Max and Enterprise Seats plans add more hours and generations and put your own letterhead on every print. The Training Corner, Knowledge Library and Feedback are free without limit.
What are the pre-inspection checks?
Arithmetic checks that a departmental checker would make and that a spreadsheet does not: a dimension that cannot come from the drawing, a mode of measurement wrong for the item, a quantity inconsistent with the sheet it is linked from, a total that is a pasted number rather than a formula. They are flagged on screen before the book is issued.
Does the Excel open cleanly in Excel?
Yes. The workbook is written by CivilOS itself and validated the way Excel validates it — well-formed parts, correct content types and relationships, no style index out of range, every cell inside its sheet's dimension — because the online spreadsheet readers forgive files that Excel refuses. Every roll-up is a live formula.
Is it a departmental e-MB system?
No. It prepares an MB in the format a department expects and carries no official standing; the measurement, the check and the signature remain the responsibility of the engineers named on it.
Do I need to install anything or create an account?
No installation: CivilOS opens in an ordinary browser on a laptop, tablet or phone and can be installed as an app from the sidebar. A free account is needed to open the engineering modules; it takes a minute and asks for no card.
Draft for checking. Every safety-critical output of CivilOS is a preparation document. Drawings, quantities, rates, programmes and inspections must be verified, and the result signed off, by a licensed professional before they are issued, tendered, built or paid against.