RA bill software: the running account bill, the deviation statement and 10CC
RA bill software has one job a spreadsheet does badly: keep a running bill exactly consistent from the first bill to the final one. CivilOS writes the running account bill in the government 13-column form with the four rules a checker enforces built in — the bill is cumulative and may be negative, the tender premium touches the total and never a rate, measured is not the same as payable, and every money column is derived so the totals equal their own subtraction.
Around it sit the documents a works contract needs: the deviation statement before deviated work is paid, the 10CC and 10CA price variation on a long contract, and the sanctioned estimate pack the work started from. Each is an Excel workbook with every amount and total as a live formula beside its value. It runs in the browser on a Free plan.
What you can do
| Feature | What it does | Export / status |
|---|---|---|
| Running account bill | 13 columns: up to date, previously paid, this bill — in quantity and money — per item, with deductions and premium | Excel · PDF |
| Carry forward | The next bill starts from the last; or read the last bill's Excel, ours or hand-made | Excel |
| Deviation statement | Agreement vs executed, excess and saving at the agreement rate, extra and struck-out items, net and percentage | Excel · PDF |
| Price variation | CPWD 10CC by component and 10CA by material, indices and every step shown | Excel · PDF |
| Estimate pack | Technical sanction, tender rates, abstract by part, BoQ, consolidation and measurement sheets | Excel |
| Measurement book | The linked MB the bill is measured from, with IS 1200 checks | Excel |
Four rules a checker looks for first
An executive engineer checking a bill looks for the same faults every time: a column 13 that was clamped at zero, rates quietly discounted by the premium, a payable figure that equals the measured one when a deviation should have limited it, and a G. TOTAL that does not equal its own subtraction because two halves were rounded separately. Each of those is prevented in the arithmetic itself, not by a warning after the fact.
Deviation is not variation
A change of quantity is a deviation; a change of rate is not. The deviation statement prices the moved quantity at the agreement rate, marks items beyond the item margin for approval before payment, and states the net against the overall limit your agreement sets. An item whose rate moved is counted and said there, and priced as a revision of rate — the distinction a department draws and a careless statement blurs.
How to start
- Open Quantity Survey & BBS and choose RA bill (the estimate pack is on the BOQ tab).
- Start the bill — from the agreement BOQ, from the last bill, or from the last bill's Excel.
- Enter the measured quantities up to date, or link them from the measurement book.
- Add deductions, the premium, the deviation statement and the 10CC statement where they apply.
- Export the workbook and print on the firm's letterhead for signature.
What CivilOS does not do
- No official standing. It prepares the documents; certification and payment remain with the engineers and the department.
- No GST or TDS advice. Deductions are lines you enter at the rates your contract and the law require.
- No AI in the bill. All of it is arithmetic you can follow.
- Not an ERP. No accounts posting or payment tracking against a bank.
- The limits are your agreement's. 30 % and 10 % are defaults, not rules the software claims.
Where a browser tool fits
Departmental works-management systems and contractor ERPs handle bills inside their own approval chains and ledgers, for the organisations that run them.
The contractor's billing engineer, the consultant checking a bill, the small firm on its fifth RA bill in Excel — they need a bill that is right the first time in the form the department expects, started from the last one, with every number traceable. That is this tool.
Open Quantity Survey free → make the running billFrequently asked questions
What is an RA bill?
A running account (RA) bill is the periodic payment certificate on a works contract: for every item, the quantity and amount executed up to date, what was paid in earlier bills, and what is payable now, with the deductions and the tender premium. CivilOS produces it in the 13-column form used by CPWD and State PWDs.
Is it free?
Yes, to start. Create a free account (no card) and the Free plan opens every module, including the estimate pack and RA bill, 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.
Can a bill go negative?
Yes, and it must be allowed to. A bill is cumulative: this bill = up to date − previously paid. When work paid under one item number is moved to another, the first item's figure for this bill is negative — a recovery. Software that clamps it at zero pays the contractor twice.
How is the tender premium applied?
To the total, never to the rates. The bill prints the agreement rates so a checker can compare them with the agreement, and the premium (or rebate) is a line on the total. Discounting each line gives the same money and a bill nobody can audit.
Does it make the deviation statement and 10CC?
Yes. The deviation statement lists every item whose quantity moved — agreement against executed, the excess or saving priced at the agreement rate, extra items and items struck out, the net and its percentage of the agreement — with the limits taken from your agreement. The price variation statement follows CPWD clauses 10CC (V = W × X/100 × (Pi − Po)/Po) and 10CA for named materials, showing every index and step.
I already have four bills in Excel. Can I start here?
Yes. Load the last bill's workbook — one made by CivilOS or a hand-made one in the 13-column form — and the next bill starts with each item's previous figures, the bill number and the deductions carried forward, read from what that bill printed.
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.