Table of Contents

Process a BoQ with Project Construction

The COSMO Bill of Quantities Management app allows you to transfer BoQ files electronically between companies for the purpose of bidding on and awarding construction projects based on a standard process.

This topic describes the process of creating the construction project to importing the BoQ from the customer to exporting the BoQ to the customer with your bid.

To create a construction project

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter Construction Projects, and then choose the related link.
  2. Choose the New action.
  3. Insert a new number.
  4. In the Description and Description 2 fields, enter relevant descriptions of the project.
  5. In the Contact No. field, enter the number of the customer who sent the quote request.
  6. In the Person Responsible field, enter the resource responsible for the project.
  7. In the Salesperson Code field, enter the salesperson responsible for the project.
  8. In the Estimated Order Value (LCY) field, enter the estimates price for the project, if known.
  9. In the Bidding FastTab, enter the bidding date, submission and execution dates and a description of the service, if available.
  10. In the Construction Site FastTab, enter the location information for the construction site, if known.

For more information about the Construction Project, see Construction Project Card.

To create a BoQ project

  1. On the New menu, choose the Create Project action and then choose the Yes button.
  2. In the Project Types page, select the Project Type associated with Structure Type = Bill of Quantities.
  3. Choose the OK button.

The Bill of Quantities project is created with links to the project and the Project Card opens.

For more information about BoQs projects, see Project Structure Type = Bill of Quantities (BoQ).

To import a BoQ file

  1. On the Actions menu, choose the Import BoQ action.

  2. In the Import BoQ To Project dialog, choose the ellipse in the Bill of Quantities No. field to open the Bill of Quantities page.

  3. Existing bill of quantities are listed. If a bill of quantities doesn't exist:

    1. Choose the New action.
    2. Insert a new number.
    3. In the Description field, enter a relevant description of the BoQ file.
    4. On the Home menu, choose the Import File action.
    5. In the Import BoQ File dialog, choose the Choose button.
    6. Locate and select the BoQ file for import and then choose the Open button.

    In the Bill of Quantities Card page, information from the BoQ file is transferred to the BoQ Positions FastTab as well as some information in the Placing and BoQ Info FastTabs.

  4. Go back to the Bill of Quantities page.

  5. Choose the file and then choose the OK button.

  6. In the Transfer Price field, select which price should be transferred to the BoQ Budget Calculation. The options are None, Unit Price (LCY), and Direct Unit Cost (LCY). Typically for an initial import, the default of Unit Price (LCY) is used.

  7. The BoQ Position Component Code, Use Item Assignment, and Sales Code fields are populated with default values from the Project Construction Setup and Projects Setup pages.

  8. Choose the OK button.

  9. If any units of measure from the BoQ file do not exist in Business Central, the BoQ Unit of Measure Assignment page will open.

    1. In the Unit of Measure Code field for an empty line, select a corresponding unit of measure or add a new one.
    2. In the Item No. field for an empty line, select the item to use for the unit of measure when importing the BoQ to the project. For more information, see the Use Item Assignment field in Project Construction Setup.
    3. Choose the Close button.

    In the Project Card page, information from the BoQ file is transferred to the BoQ Budget Calculation page as well as some information in the Bill of Quantities FastTabs.

For more information about about creating BoQs, see Create BoQs and about the Project Card, see Project Card.

Note

The Import BoQ action is also accessible from the Construction Project by choosing Functions > Import BoQ on the Projects FastTab.

To update the BoQ information

  1. In the Project Card, choose Calculation > BoQ Position List to review the BoQ information.
  2. On the Views menu choose either the Budget Calculation action or Fast Calculation action to update the BoQ information.

You can also update the Unit Price or Direct Unit Cost in BoQ Positions using the Import Prices action, which is accessible from the Actions menu on the Project Card.

To compare and update a project with a BoQ

After the initial data transfer between a Bill of Quantities and its Project, the Update Project (Import) action compares the current Bill of Quantities with the Project and lists the differences, so you can review and selectively apply new, changed, or removed positions. The BoQ line and the Project line remain linked independent of the BoQ Position No., so the comparison still finds the matching line after a position is renumbered.

Note

The Project must already have BoQ positions from the initial transfer, and the Protect Bill of Quantities toggle on the Project Card must be turned off, to use the Update Project (Import) action.

  1. On the Project Card, Project List, or the Projects FastTab of the Construction Project, on the Actions menu, choose Update Project (Import).
    You can also start the comparison from the Bill of Quantities Card by choosing the Compare & Update Project action on the Actions menu; in this case the Bill of Quantities No. and BoQ Version No. fields default to the linked bill of quantities and can't be changed.
  2. In the Compare & Update Project dialog, select the Bill of Quantities No. and, if needed, a different BoQ Version No. The selected bill of quantities must already be linked to this project.
  3. Choose the OK button.
    The Compare & Update Project page opens and lists each BoQ position that is new, changed, or no longer present in the Project. The Action Message field classifies each line as Insert, Modify, or Delete; positions that are identical in the Bill of Quantities and the Project aren't listed.
  4. Select a line to view its field-level changes in the Field Differences FactBox. For a changed long text, choose the old or new value to open the Compare Long Text dialog and view both versions side by side.
  5. To exclude a line from the update, turn on its Skip Action checkbox, or choose the Skip Inserts, Skip Modifies, or Skip Deletes action to skip all lines of that type at once. Choose Reset Skip to clear all skip selections.
  6. To review the source or target position of a line, select the line and choose the BoQ Position Details or Project BoQ Position Card action.
  7. Choose the Apply Changes action and then choose the Yes button to confirm.
    Each non-skipped line is applied individually, so a failure on one line doesn't prevent the other changes from being applied. A notification reports the number of applied changes; if any line couldn't be applied, a message also lists the failed lines with their errors.

Rich text editor data transfer

The integration automatically transfers continuous text between BoQ and Project when you import or export BoQ files. This feature enables formatted text content to move seamlessly in both directions.

When you import a BoQ file to a Project, any continuous text from the BoQ positions is transferred to the Project lines. Similarly, when you export a Project to a BoQ file, continuous text from the Project lines is transferred to the BoQ positions.

Important

The Rich Text Editor feature is enabled by turning on the Enable Continuous Text toggle in the Construction Library Setup page (accessed via Tell Me).

Once enabled, the rich text editor feature migrates all existing records to the new logic. This enablement cannot be reverted.

For information about setting up and using the rich text editor in COSMO Bill of Quantities Management, see Rich Text Editor and in COSMO Project Construction, see Rich Text Editor.

If you have the integration with Advanced Construction Suite (ACS), you can use the integration with COSMO Text Module (see Rich Text Editor in BoQ Project Text).

To export the BoQ

  1. Go back to the Project Card.
  2. On the Actions menu, choose Export BoQ.
  3. In the Export Project to BoQ dialog, the:
    • Exchange Format field is set to the same as used for the import but can be changed as needed.
    • Exchange Phase field is set to 84 Offer, which is the next step in the bidding process, but can be changed as needed.
    • Transfer Price field defaults to the Unit Price (LCY) option but can be changed as needed.
  4. Choose the OK button.
  5. The Downloads dialog opens. Choose Open to view the file or Save as to save the file for later retrieval.
Note

The Export BoQ action is also accessible from the Construction Project by choosing the Functions > Import BoQ drop-down arrow > Export BoQ on the Projects FastTab.

The BoQ structure is checked before the export; if structural errors are found, the export is blocked until the errors are resolved. For more information, see BoQ Check.

To review the BoQ files from the project

  1. On the Related menu, choose Construction Work > BoQ Data Exchange to open the list of related BoQ files.
    You can also access the list of related BoQ files from the Construction Project page by choosing Project > BoQ Data Exchange in the Projects FastTab.

  2. Select the BoQ from the list.

    This is the initial import of the BoQ, as noted in the Data Exchange Phase field = Offer Request.

  3. To see the BoQ file that was exported to the customer, choose the Versions action on the Related menu or choose the value in the No. of Versions field.

  4. Select the BoQ from the list.

    This is the exported BoQ, as noted in the Data Exchange Phase field = Offer.

Next steps

Once the file is returned by the customer with their changes, repeat the processes above to import the BoQ file, make changes as needed, and export the file back to the customer.

These processes will continue until either you win or lose the bid.

  • If you win the bid, you will complete the process by updating the construction project and project with relevant information. This may also involve completing any opportunity stages that were created for this project.
  • If you lose the bid, you can complete any opportunity stages and then complete the construction project.

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