Billing and Quantity Surveyor job description
A Billing and Quantity Surveyor measures completed construction work and prepares the bills for clients and subcontractors. They protect the contractor's cash flow and the project's cost control.
Why the role exists
On an Indian construction project, work is paid by measurement. This role takes quantities from drawings and site, prepares running account bills and checks subcontractor claims. They sit between the site engineer, the accounts team and the client's representative.
What the person does
- Take off quantities from drawings and the bill of quantities for concrete, steel, masonry and finishing items.
- Measure completed work on site with the site engineer and record it in the measurement book.
- Prepare running account bills for the client in the format agreed in the contract, with supporting measurements.
- Check subcontractor and labour contractor claims against measured work before they go to accounts for payment.
- Reconcile steel and cement consumption against the quantities built, and flag large gaps to the project manager.
- Track variations, extra items and client instructions, and prepare the rate analysis for items not in the contract.
- Follow up on bill certification with the client's engineer and record the status of each bill raised.
- Maintain the cost-to-complete sheet and tell the project manager early when a package is heading over budget.
Skills and tools
- Quantity take-off from drawings and the bill of quantities
- Measurement book entries and joint measurements on site
- MS Excel for bills, reconciliation and rate analysis
- AutoCAD or PDF measurement tools for drawing takeoff
- Reading contract conditions, schedules of rates and variations
- Rate analysis for items not in the contract
- Billing software or ERP used by the contractor
- Careful, patient follow-up with client engineers and accounts
Education and experience
Preferred, never a bar: equivalent experience counts.
- Preferred: diploma or degree in civil engineering, or equivalent experience in billing on building projects.
- Preferred: two or more years preparing running bills and reconciling material on live sites.
- Preferred: familiarity with contract bills of quantities and common Indian measurement practice.
- Preferred: working knowledge of Excel and a billing or ERP tool, or equivalent experience.
How the work is judged
- Accuracy of bills, judged by the corrections the client raises.
- Time taken from work completion to bill submission.
- Match between measured quantities and the material consumed.
- Subcontractor claims checked correctly before payment.
- Quality of cost-to-complete forecasts shared with the project manager.
Where the role can lead
- Senior Billing Engineer or Contracts Engineer.
- Contracts Manager or Cost Controller on large projects.
- Project Manager with added site and commercial exposure.
Interview questions to ask
Ask every candidate the same questions in the same order and score them against written anchors, so the decision rests on the work and not the impression.
- Walk us through how you prepare a running bill from site measurements to submission.
- A subcontractor claims more brickwork than you measured. How do you resolve it?
- How do you handle a client engineer who rejects part of your bill?
- How would you reconcile steel use against the bar bending schedule?
- Describe how you price an extra item that is not in the contract.
- Tell us about a cost overrun you spotted early and what you did.
Hiring tips for this role
- Give the candidate a sample drawing and measurement sheet and ask for a bill. The test shows speed and accuracy better than a conversation.
- Check whether the person has worked on client billing or only subcontractor billing. They are different skills.
- Ask about the contract types handled, such as item rate or lump sum. Experience in the wrong type causes errors.
- Do not hire for Excel alone. Look for site sense, since a surveyor who never visits site will miss real progress.
Questions about hiring a billing and quantity surveyor
They calculate quantities, measure completed work, prepare bills for the client, check subcontractor claims and track costs. Their work decides how much the contractor can invoice.
Titles vary by company. Billing engineers often focus on running bills and measurement, while quantity surveyors also handle take-off and estimates. Define the scope in your job description.
Yes, for much of the time. Joint measurement happens on site, and the surveyor needs to see actual progress. Office days are used for bills and reconciliation.
GullyHR helps with permanent hiring. We agree the job description with you, find and screen billing and surveying candidates, and support the offer stage.
Hiring a billing and quantity surveyor?
GullyHR runs talent acquisition for permanent roles. We agree the job description with you, find and screen candidates against it, and support the offer through to joining. We recruit permanent employees. We do not supply contract or temporary staff.