How to produce an NRM2 Bill of Quantities

Published on 15 July 2026

In short: you produce an NRM2 Bill of Quantities by measuring the works from the drawings and specification, describing each item to the RICS NRM2 rules, then ordering everything into the standard bill structure: preliminaries, measured works across NRM2's 41 work sections, provisional and prime cost sums, and a summary that carries through to the tender figure. This guide walks through it the way a working estimator actually does it.

What you are producing

An NRM2 bill of quantities is a structured, priceable list of everything a project needs, measured to a common rule set so every contractor prices the same scope the same way. NRM2, the RICS New Rules of Measurement 2: Detailed Measurement for Building Works, is that rule set. If you want the background first, read what an NRM2 bill of quantities is. This guide is about how to build one.

A finished NRM2 bill falls into a few clear parts:

• Preliminaries, the project-wide costs of running the job.
• Measured works, the physical quantities, ordered by work section.
• Provisional sums and prime cost sums, for work that cannot be fully measured yet.
• A summary, carrying every section total through to the contract sum.

The NRM2 structure, in one look

NRM2 organises building work into 41 numbered work sections. Section 1 is Preliminaries. Sections 2 to 41 run through the works, roughly in the order they are built: off-site items and groundworks, then concrete, masonry, carpentry and the finishings, the site and external works, drainage, and the mechanical and electrical services, ending with the builder's work that ties those services in. Measuring in that order is what makes a bill readable: anyone who opens it knows where to find the drainage or the suspended ceilings without hunting for them. For the full list, see the NRM2 work sections.

Step 1: gather the drawings and specification

Assemble the full tender set, the architect's and engineer's drawings, the specification and any schedules. Confirm the revision of every drawing and note it, because a bill measured off a superseded sheet is worse than no bill at all. Check the scale on each sheet before you trust it; a drawing printed to fit is a common way for a whole section of quantities to come out wrong.

Step 2: measure the quantities

This is the takeoff. Working sheet by sheet, measure the lengths, areas and counts the works require, in metric units, and keep them grouped so they map onto the work sections later. How to take off quantities from a PDF covers the mechanics. The habit that matters most here is traceability: every quantity should tie back to a drawing and a location, so you can stand behind it when a query comes back.

Step 3: describe each item to the NRM2 rules

A quantity on its own prices nothing; the description tells the contractor what the rate has to cover. For each work section, NRM2 sets out what must be stated and the unit to measure in, whether that is linear metres, square metres, cubic metres, number or item. Follow those rules so that, for example, skirting is measured in metres with the material and girth stated, rather than left for the pricer to guess. Consistent, rule-based descriptions are what let two returned tenders be compared like for like.

Step 4: code and order by work section

Give each item its NRM2 code and drop it into the correct work section. This is the step that turns a pile of measurements into a bill. Keep the section order and keep the coding consistent, so the bill cross-references cleanly and the totals roll up in a way anyone can follow.

Step 5: add preliminaries, sums and risk

Measured works are only part of the price. Add the preliminaries in Section 1, the provisional sums for work that is not yet designed, any prime cost sums, and the risk allowances NRM2 makes room for. Giving these a defined place in the bill, rather than leaving them to convention, is one of the things NRM2 handles better than the older SMM7 method (see NRM2 vs SMM7).

Step 6: assemble, price and check

Bring the sections together, carry each total into the summary, and check the casting so the parts add up to the whole. Drop in your rates and the bill becomes a tender price. Before it goes out, read it as a contractor would: is anything ambiguous, double-counted or missing? A clean bill gets cleaner prices back. See a worked example of NRM2 bill lines to picture the finished article.

Producing an NRM2 bill without the reformatting

Most of the work in a bill is not the judgement, it is the keying-in and the tidying: transferring quantities, formatting the spreadsheet, keeping the coding straight. We built Kestrel™ to take that part off your plate. It is made by a working UK estimating firm and used on live jobs. You measure straight off the PDF, and Kestrel exports an NRM2 Bill of Quantities in Excel with the codes, descriptions, units and live formulas already in place, so your time goes on pricing and checking rather than reformatting. It runs on Windows with a 14-day free trial. Read what an NRM2 bill of quantities is, or download Kestrel to try it on your next job.