How to Prepare a Networking BOQ for an Office Project

By Yogesh Sagale

Three vendors quote for the same 40-seat office. One is far cheaper than the other two. After the contract is signed, you find the cheap quote assumed 5 m of cable per drop, left out the rack and UPS, and listed "Cat6 cable" without saying whether it was solid copper, and nothing about testing. The vendors were not quoting the same job. They were quoting their own interpretation of an incomplete request.

For office owners, IT managers and procurement teams, the decision is what scope to issue before requesting prices. A well-prepared Bill of Quantities (BOQ) reduces this ambiguity. It turns a design into a measurable list, so every bidder prices the same scope and you can later check what was delivered against what was ordered. This article walks through how to prepare a networking BOQ for an office, with a worked example, and ties each line to the acceptance evidence you should expect at handover.

This guide focuses on deriving quantities and writing measurable specifications. Our quotation comparison guide covers evaluating the bids, while our handover checklist covers the final document package.

What a networking BOQ is, and what it is not

A BOQ is an itemised list of materials, equipment and services, each with a description, unit and quantity. A networking BOQ covers the passive infrastructure (cabling, outlets, patch panels), active equipment (switches, firewall, access points), supporting items (rack, power, labelling) and services (installation, configuration, testing, documentation).

It is not:

• A design. The BOQ follows from a design (floor plan, outlet schedule, topology). If the design is missing, the quantities are guesses.
• A quotation. The BOQ is the scope; a quotation adds rates and commercial terms. Keeping them separate lets you issue one BOQ to several bidders and compare like with like.
• A final engineering selection. Quantities derived early are planning estimates. They become final only after a site survey and, for cabling, a pathway check.

Step 1: Fix the requirements before counting anything

Collect these inputs first. Every one of them changes a quantity.

A short requirements sheet signed off by the office owner or facility manager is a better foundation than a verbal brief.

Step 2: Follow a repeatable workflow

The outlet schedule is the backbone. It is a table with one row per drop: ID, floor, room or desk, device type, PoE needed (yes/no), estimated route length, and notes. Most passive quantities derive directly from it.

Step 3: Structure the BOQ into sections

Group items so that nothing is lost between disciplines:

1. Passive cabling: horizontal cable, outlets and faceplates, patch panels, patch cords, backbone/fibre where applicable.
2. Pathways: conduit, trunking, cable trays, firestopping, supports. These are often forgotten and are very site-dependent.
3. Active equipment: core/distribution/access switches, firewall/router, wireless controller or cloud licence, access points, transceivers.
4. Rack and power: rack, PDUs, UPS, earthing/bonding connections as applicable, cable managers, blanking panels.
5. Identification: labels for cables, outlets, panels and ports.
6. Services: survey, installation, configuration, commissioning, testing, documentation and training.
7. Licences and support: firewall subscriptions, wireless licences, warranty and support terms.
8. Provisional items and exclusions: things that cannot be measured yet, and things deliberately not covered.

Anatomy of a good BOQ line

The basis-of-quantity column makes the BOQ auditable. LSZH in this sample line is an assumed project choice, not a statement that every Indian office must use it. State the actual applicable building/fire requirements and manufacturer instructions. TIA announced ANSI/TIA-568.2-E in 2024; specify the agreed edition rather than writing only “latest standard”. Source 3

Step 4: Specify items so they can be compared and tested

Cabling

State the category, construction and sheath, not just "Cat6":

• Category and shielding: Cat6 or Cat6A; U/UTP or screened. For a conventional full-length 100 m channel supporting 10GBASE-T, Cat6A is the relevant category option; confirm the complete system and application requirements. Source 1 Category alone does not establish PoE thermal suitability: check conductor size, bundle size, ambient temperature, current and the selected manufacturer’s length/temperature guidance.
• Conductor: solid bare copper is the usual expectation for permanent links. Specify "no copper-clad aluminium (CCA)", because its higher resistance can increase heat and reduce voltage available to PoE devices. Fluke also explains resistance-unbalance concerns. Procurement checks should include manufacturer identity and compliance evidence, not just jacket printing. Source 2
• Sheath: PVC or low-smoke zero-halogen (LSZH). The choice depends on building and fire requirements, which you must confirm for your site.
• Documentation: ask for the manufacturer datasheet and any third-party test or compliance claims, and verify them.

Outlets, patch panels and patch cords should be from the same system category as the cable (a Cat6 link with a lower-category component is not a Cat6 link). Where the supplier offers a manufacturer warranty on a complete system, state whether it is required.

Active equipment

Do not write only "24-port switch". Include port count and speed, PoE standard and total PoE budget if needed, uplink type (SFP/SFP+), layer-2 or layer-3 features required (VLANs, link aggregation, ACLs), management method, power supply redundancy if needed and warranty terms. For PoE sizing, use the method in our PoE Power Budget Calculation article rather than relying on port labels.

For the firewall, specify the real constraint: tested or declared throughput with the security features you intend to enable, concurrent sessions, VPN requirements and licence term. Vendor datasheet throughput figures are measured under vendor-defined test conditions, so treat them as comparison data, not as guaranteed office performance.

"Or equivalent" clauses

Allow equivalents only with conditions: equal or better specification, submission of datasheets before ordering and written approval. Otherwise the clause becomes a way to substitute cheaper items quietly.

Step 5: A worked example

This is a hypothetical office used to illustrate the method. It is not an APYS project and the numbers are not measurements.

Assumptions

• Single-floor office, one rack room.
• 48 workstations, 2 data ports each = 96 drops.
• 20 additional drops: 6 wireless access points, 8 IP cameras, 3 printers/MFDs, 3 meeting-room endpoints.
• Total horizontal drops = 96 + 20 = 116.
• From the floor plan markup: shortest route 8 m, longest 62 m (both route lengths, not straight-line distances). For this hypothetical calculation, independently assume a 35 m average route. The mean of the shortest and longest routes does not establish the average of 116 routes.
• Service allowance: 3 m at the rack end and 1 m at the outlet end = 4 m.
• Cable wastage and re-termination allowance: 10%.
• Cable supplied in 305 m boxes.

Cable quantity

• Per-drop length = 35 + 4 = 39 m
• Base length = 116 × 39 = 4,524 m
• With 10% allowance = 4,524 × 1.10 = 4,976.4 m
• Boxes = 4,976.4 / 305 = 16.316, rounded upward to 17 boxes. Supply length = 17 × 305 = 5,185 m. Sixteen boxes supply 4,880 m, 96.4 m short of the planning allowance.

Box rounding adds 208.6 m beyond the 4,976.4 m allowance. Do not invoice all delivered cable as installed cable unless the agreed measurement basis is supply by box. Plan cuts across reels/boxes: a sufficient aggregate length does not guarantee efficient individual run allocation.

The average-length method is a planning estimate. For final ordering, sum the actual measured route lengths from the outlet schedule. Also check that the longest route, including service loops, stays within the permanent-link and channel limits of the cabling standard you are designing to. For conventional structured balanced cabling, Fluke describes a 90 m permanent link and 100 m overall channel. Patch-cord construction and temperature can require length adjustments; use the selected system guidance. In this example, the longest assumed installed cable is 62 + 4 = 66 m, leaving nominal room below 90 m, but this is not a certification result. Source 4

Passive components

The example assumes all devices terminate through outlets and equipment cords. If an AP or camera uses a modular plug terminated link (MPTL), replace the outlet/cord line with the specified field plug and the appropriate certification setup. Confirm cord lengths on site; 1 m and 2 m are assumptions, not universal sizes. Fluke explains why MPTL testing needs the correct adapters. Source 4

Note that only 4 spare panel ports (about 3%) is thin if growth is expected. The trade-off is explicit: a sixth panel adds cost and 1U of rack space but gives headroom. Record the decision in the BOQ remarks. Six 24-port panels provide 144 termination positions, leaving 28 spare positions; these positions still need future cable runs, jacks and testing.

Active equipment and rack

• Switch ports: This scenario assumes all 116 outlets are active immediately. If the second desk port is a passive spare, separate installed outlets from activated switch ports and patch cords. For this scenario: 116 active access ports / 48 = 2.42, so 3 × 48-port switches (144 ports, 28 spare). This assumes dedicated SFP/SFP+ uplinks that do not consume the 144 copper ports. Subtract any copper firewall, server or inter-switch connections and any shared combo ports before claiming 28 spare access ports. Which switches need PoE depends on the 14 PoE-type devices (6 APs and 8 cameras) and their power budget, so use maximum/startup demand and required per-port capability, then total the allocation on each switch. Typical measured draw may be lower than reserved power. Distinguish power sourcing equipment (PSE) output from power received by the powered device (PD), allowing for cable loss. Cisco documents this allocation distinction. Source 5 No device models were supplied, so no certified wattage budget is claimed here.
• Rack space (planning estimate): panels 5U + switches 3U + firewall 1U + router/ISP equipment 1U = 10U; cable managers 6U; UPS 2U (if rack-mounted) = 18U. Add 25% spare: 22.5U, so choose the next available size, such as 24U, subject to equipment depth, load rating, ventilation, usable U and UPS support. This assumes vertical 0U PDUs, and that every selected device actually has the stated height. Desktop ISP equipment may need a shelf; horizontal PDUs consume additional U. With six panels, occupied space becomes 19U and 19 × 1.25 = 23.75U, still nominally fitting 24U under those assumptions. The 25% allowance is a planning choice, not a standard requirement.

Services

Lines for survey, installation, termination, labelling, switch and firewall configuration, commissioning, Level of testing and documentation. For the testing line, state the quantity explicitly: 116 permanent-link certification tests, with the named standard/category limit, suitable tester accuracy and adapters, calibration status and report format. Record link IDs consistently. Interpret PASS* using manufacturer guidance: Fluke states that PASS* is a standards-compliant pass within measurement uncertainty; any stricter procurement rule must be agreed in advance. Source 4 Continuity testing alone is not certification (see our Fluke Testing and Cat6/Cat6A Certification article).

Traceability matrix (hypothetical)

Step 6: Handle quantities that cannot be known yet

Use provisional items for work that depends on conditions found during installation (e.g., core drilling, extra containment, fire-stopping). A provisional item has a described scope, an allowance and a rule for remeasurement. Use exclusions to state what is not included: civil work, false ceiling modification, electrical points, ISP circuit charges, end-user device configuration, or anything else you are not buying.

Step 7: Compare bids properly

When quotes arrive, compare line by line:

1. Are all sections priced, or are items quietly absent?
2. Do descriptions match the specification, or are there substitutions?
3. Are quantities identical? Differences usually reveal a different assumption (for example, shorter average cable length).
4. Are testing and documentation priced as separate lines?
5. Are supply and installation separated, so rates can be checked?
6. What is the warranty and support term, and who provides it?

Ask for clarification in writing and issue any tender changes to all bidders. For normalising prices and evaluating compliant bids, use our LAN quotation comparison checklist. State GST inclusion/exclusion, delivery, installation, licence renewal and payment terms separately. This example provides quantities, not current Pune market rates.

Common failure modes in BOQs

Troubleshooting a BOQ that "does not match" the site

1. Recheck the outlet schedule against the latest floor plan.
2. Verify route lengths on site for the longest and shortest drops.
3. Compare delivered quantities with the basis of quantity column.
4. Identify variations: client-requested changes versus original errors.
5. Record the quantity, reason, commercial/time impact and approval before changed work proceeds. The contract determines whether a design correction or site condition is a chargeable variation.

Acceptance tests: linking the BOQ to evidence

For each BOQ section, define what will be inspected or tested, what evidence is retained and what the pass criterion is.

• Cabling: certification of every permanent link against the stated standard and limit; keep native test files and summary reports; any failure is corrected and retested, with the retest recorded.
• Labelling: spot-check against the port schedule and outlet drawing.
• Rack and panels: photographs, port map, cable management inspection.
• Switches: firmware version, VLAN and port configuration, backup of the configuration, PoE draw readout where available.
• Firewall and internet: rule export, NAT/VPN checks, failover test if specified, and a measured throughput test described honestly as measured under stated conditions (nominal link speed is not measured usable throughput).
• Wireless: survey or validation results where specified (see WiFi Access Point Placement).
• Documentation: as-built drawings, IP plan, credentials handover and warranty details.

Handover checklist

• Final BOQ with approved variations
• Outlet schedule and as-built drawings
• Cable certification reports (native and PDF), with retests
• Equipment serial number list and warranty documents
• Configuration backups, IP/VLAN plan, admin credentials delivered securely
• Rack photographs and port map
• Firewall and wireless configuration summary
• Training or walkthrough completed
• Open items list with owners and dates

Worked change: three extra outlets do not always mean another cable box

Continue the hypothetical 116-drop example above. A revised layout adds three ordinary outlet-terminated links with surveyed routes of 31 m, 47 m and 58 m. Keep the same assumed 4 m service allowance per link and 10% procurement allowance. These are arithmetic inputs, not surveyed APYS measurements.

The estimate still rounds to 17 boxes, but the margin beyond the allowed quantity falls from 208.6 m to 45.8 m. Aggregate metres alone do not prove that the remaining reel lengths can produce the three new unjointed runs. Check the cutting schedule, usable stock and route changes before ordering or promising that no purchase is required. This calculation assumes the original order has not been consumed or wasted differently.

If the original 5% spare-cord policy and cord lengths still apply, each end needs ceil(119 × 1.05) = 125 cords, up from 122. Faceplate and back-box quantities depend on where those three ports are grouped; they are not automatically three extra single-port plates. Active switch and PoE quantities depend on activation and device type, not just the added cable count.

Issue a measurable revision record

Record revision number, changed outlet IDs, route measurements, old/new quantities, stock and cut-plan assumptions, specification changes, certification scope, rack/containment impact, commercial effect and approval. Mark whether the BOQ is paid by delivered box, installed metre or completed tested link; do not mix those units when reconciling invoices. Supplier price and contract treatment require confirmation. Update the floor plan, outlet schedule and acceptance ledger together so the revised BOQ remains traceable.

Frequently asked questions

Should I issue a priced BOQ to contractors?

Issue a common quantity/specification sheet with blank rate and amount columns for competitive bids. Keep the internal budget separate. Ask each bidder to identify deviations explicitly rather than silently editing quantities.

Can suppliers propose a different cable box length?

Yes, if the specified cable construction and system compatibility are maintained and the alternative is approved. Compare delivered metres and run allocation, not just box counts; update the quantity basis before ordering.

Should a BOQ include renewal costs?

List the initial licence term and request renewal terms separately. Clarify which functions remain available after expiry, support eligibility and who owns the cloud account. Do not assume all firewall or WiFi licences behave alike.

Who is responsible for a manufacturer system warranty?

State whether the project requires one, who applies for it and the eligible products, installer conditions and documents. Keep it separate from equipment warranty and the installer’s workmanship warranty. Do not assume the programme exists for any mixed-brand system.

How should unverified existing cabling be listed?

Use separate inspection/retest lines and a defined replacement contingency. Do not mix reused links into the new-cable quantity or promise target-category performance before testing.

Plan your office network with APYS Projects

APYS Projects, based in Wagholi, Pune, helps offices with structured LAN cabling, certification testing, office WiFi, firewall configuration, switches and rack installation. Share your floor plan, workstation/device list, existing rack details and proposed cable schedule for a BOQ review or site-survey enquiry. APYS Projects serves projects across India. Email Purchase@apysprojects.com, call +91 9921490342, or send your requirements.