These four screens carry a works contract from the work order to the last retention release: Contracts, BOQ, Measurements and RA bills. The BOQ is measured in the measurement book, certified measurements become running account bills, and each RA bill becomes one tax invoice. Retention, deductions, advances, subcontractors and site material hang off the same contract.
Where to find it
On Projects, tap Contractor BOQ and RA bills. Four tabs across the top move between Contracts, BOQ, Measurements and RA bills. Below the contract register sit two more sections: Variations, guarantees, subcontracts and site materials and Daily progress. Below the RA bills sits Retention and reports.
Setting up a contract
Tap Add contract. Pick the Client and give the Work order no. and Title. The rest of the form:
- Site state code. The two-digit GST state code of the site, for example 27. It decides IGST or CGST and SGST when you raise an invoice, and an invoice cannot be raised without it.
- Contract value, Start date, End date. The value is what the Reports compare your billing against.
- Retention % and Security deposit %. Every new RA bill on the contract starts with these deductions filled in. You can change them on the draft bill.
- DLP (months). The defect liability period. A final bill cannot be certified until this is filled in, because the end of the DLP is when retention falls due.
- Cost centre. Pick one, or tap Create site cost centre: it makes a cost centre named after the contract title and selects it, so the site's bills and expenses add up to one site P&L. If a cost centre with that name already exists, it selects that one rather than making a second. The invoice raised from an RA bill and a subcontractor's bill both carry it. See Cost centres.
- Godown. The store at the site where this contract's material is kept.
- GST TDS applies and Labour cess applies. With GST TDS ticked, an invoiced bill offers Record GST-TDS. With labour cess ticked, a new bill starts with a 1% labour welfare cess deduction.
A contract's Status moves forward one way only: Tendered, then Awarded, then In progress, then Completed, then Defect liability, then Closed. At any of those stages it can also go straight to Closed (lost, cancelled, terminated, or completed with no DLP). When you edit a contract, the status list offers only where it is now and its allowed next steps, and the server refuses any other move with a reason. A closed contract is not reopened. Certifying the final bill moves the contract to Defect liability on its own.
Building the BOQ
On the BOQ tab you can add items one at a time, import them from a CSV file, or build them from an estimate your client accepted.
- Add BOQ item. Contract, Item no., Description, Unit, Contract quantity, Rate and an optional SOR / DSR reference. Tick Extra item (not in the original BOQ) for work outside the tender. Once an item has been billed, tick Save as a new revision to change it: a billed item is never changed in place. An item can be voided with a reason.
- Import from CSV. Choose the contract and the file, then tap Preview. Nothing is saved until you import. The preview shows how it read the columns ("Columns as we read them; check each one", or "Columns as you mapped this file last time" for a file with the same columns as one you imported before), with a picker for each: Item no., Description, Unit, Quantity, Rate, SOR / DSR reference, SAC and Extra item. The first five are required. If you change a column, preview again. Each row shows To add, Already on file, Conflict or Error with the reason, then Import N items saves the new ones. An item already on the contract is never changed: the same values count as already on file, so importing a file twice adds nothing, and different values are a conflict you settle on the BOQ itself.
- BOQ from estimate. Pick the contract, then one of its client's accepted estimates, and tap Build BOQ. Its item lines become BOQ items and the screen says how many were added and how many were already on file. Charge lines such as transport are left out, and the screen says so. A second tap adds nothing. If the client has no accepted estimate, the screen says so. See Estimates, deposits and payment schedules.
- Main material and Material per unit of work. Optional, on the BOQ item form: the item's principal material and how much of it one unit of work takes (for example bags of cement per cubic metre). Give both or neither. The Material use per BOQ item report compares them with what was issued.
The measurement book
On Measurements, tap Add measurement: the BOQ item, the date measured, a location, Nos, Length, Breadth and Height (at least one), the MB page, and This is a deduction for a negative line. A row moves from Measured to Checked with Mark checked, then to Certified with Certify. Only certified quantities are billed, and a certified row cannot be edited or voided. Going over the item's contract quantity saves the row and tells you by how much; it never blocks it.
Once a contract's final bill is certified, its measurement book is closed and a new measurement is refused: record further work as a variation.
Recording a measurement with no signal is not switched on yet. Until it is, a new measurement saves only while you are connected. Once offline field entry is on, a measurement typed with no signal is kept on the phone ("Saved on this phone. It will be sent when you are back online.") and sent once you are connected, without being saved twice. Edits and certifying stay online only, and no photo is taken.
Extra items, variations and the deviation statement
Under the contract register, the Variations tab lists every variation with its revised quantity, rate and status. Add variation takes the contract, an optional BOQ item, a description, the revised quantity, the rate and the rate basis. While a variation is proposed you can Approve, Reject or Edit it; once decided it stays as it is.
- Extra items waiting for an approved variation. An extra item can be billed only once a variation for it is approved. This list shows each extra item no approved variation covers yet, with Propose variation, or "Variation proposed, waiting for a decision" if one is already proposed.
- Deviation statement. Choose a contract. For each BOQ item it shows the BOQ qty, what has been executed, the approved qty from the latest approved variation and the deviation in rupees, with any quantity beyond the approved quantity marked. Variations for new items are listed too, and the last row is the total deviation.
- Rate analysis. On a proposed variation, Attach rate analysis uploads the working behind the rate. Once attached, anyone can Open rate analysis, and while the variation is still proposed you can Remove it.
Running account bills
Create the bill
On RA bills, tap New RA bill, pick the contract, the period and, for the last one, Final bill. Create bill bills every quantity certified since the last bill at the BOQ rates, and adds the contract's retention, security deposit and, where it applies, labour cess as deductions.Record what the client certified
Record certified amount takes the amount the client certified. It cannot be more than the amount claimed.Raise the invoice
Raise invoice asks for the invoice date, the due date and the GST rate, which is yours to state for a works contract. It creates the one tax invoice for the bill: CGST and SGST or IGST follow the site state, and if the client certified less than you claimed, the difference is taken off as a discount. It needs the site state on the contract and your business GSTIN.Record GST-TDS, if the client withheld it
On a contract with GST TDS ticked, an invoiced bill offers Record GST-TDS: enter what the client withheld, as its certificate or GSTR-7A shows it, to claim it later as credit.
The invoice carries the RA bill no., the bill period from and to, the work order and site, and the measurement book pages measured in the bill period (a long list ends with "+N more"), with each line's BOQ item no. These are invoice fields, so each one prints on the PDF only when that field is set to Show on invoice PDF; see Custom fields on your records if one does not print.
Printing the Form 26 abstract
Every RA bill row has Form 26 abstract, which opens Abstract of cost (Form 26) for that bill:
- Part I: work done. Each item's quantity up to date, previous and this bill, its rate and amount, then the value of work done up to date, less what was paid on previous bills, and the value of work done this bill.
- Part II: secured advance. The secured advances recorded on this bill. Until your workspace is set up for secured advances, it says so and shows 0.
- Memorandum of payments. The work done, any secured advance, the GST on the invoice, the gross amount, less each deduction, and the net payable. Before the invoice is raised, it says no GST is shown yet.
If the client certified less than you claimed, the abstract says so. Print prints the abstract alone, not the screen behind it. When GST on retention is due is a question for your CA, so the abstract shows retention as deducted on this bill and decides nothing more.
Deductions and the memorandum of payments
Deductions on a bill row opens Deductions and payments: what the bill holds back, the memorandum of payments, and what is left of each advance.
- Add a deduction. While the bill is a draft, choose the kind (retention, security deposit, mobilisation advance recovered, secured advance recovered, material recovered, income-tax TDS, labour welfare cess, penalty or liquidated damages, or other) and give an amount or a % of the bill, not both. Retention, security deposit and the cess start at the contract's rates. Each line can be changed or removed while the bill is a draft. Once certified or invoiced, the deductions are fixed and the dialog says why.
- The memorandum. Taxable value, GST (or "Not charged yet"), invoice total, less deductions and net payable. Deductions can never add up to more than the bill.
- Allocate a payment. Once the invoice is raised and a payment is recorded against it, pick it under Payment received and tap Allocate to this bill. The dialog then says whether the bill is settled (the cash received and every deduction add up to the invoice total) or how much is still to come.
The labour welfare cess is a deduction from what is paid. Whether GST applies to it is a question for your CA; nothing here changes the tax.
Advances and recoveries
- Secured advance. Record a secured advance on a draft bill: the material, quantity, unit and amount paid with this bill on materials brought to site. It shows in Part II of the abstract and is recovered on later bills with a secured advance recovered deduction.
- Mobilisation advance. Record a mobilisation advance received on this contract takes the date received, the amount, the guarantee given for it and a UTR or cheque reference. Recover it on later bills with a mobilisation advance recovered deduction. Recovery can never run past the advance you recorded, and the guarantee amount does not raise that limit. The dialog keeps a running line: given, and recovered so far.
- Free-issue material. When the client gave you material free (a material issue ticked as free issue), Recover free-issue material appears on a draft bill. Pick the material, give the quantity consumed as certified and the issue rate. Only what was consumed beyond what the client issued is recovered; if some of the issue is still unused, nothing is recovered.
The final bill, the DLP and when retention falls due
Certifying a bill marked Final bill completes the work. The screen says "The final bill is certified: the defect liability period runs to (date), when retention falls due." The DLP runs for the contract's DLP months from completion: a completion date already on the contract, else the final bill's period end, else the day you certify. At the same moment the contract moves to Defect liability and shows DLP ends with the date under its status, every retention line on the contract's bills gets that date as its due date, and the measurement book closes.
Retention: what is held, when it is due, releasing it
Under the RA bills, Retention and reports opens on Retention. The first line totals all contracts: held, released, still held and overdue. Each contract then shows its own totals and either "Due on (date)" or "Not due yet: it falls due when the final bill is certified.", with Overdue marked. Each bill's line shows what it held, what was released and its due date, tagged "Falls due within 30 days" when it is close.
Release on a line records a release. Without a guarantee, only what is due can be released. To release early, choose the bank guarantee given in lieu of retention on that contract; it must still be valid. A release is recorded here only: no tax invoice is raised for it, because when GST on retention is due is for you and your CA to decide.
Finocket does not send you a reminder before retention falls due yet. Check the tag on this screen.
Subcontractors: orders, their bills, TDS and retention
On the Subcontract orders tab, Add subcontract order takes the contract, the subcontractor, the BOQ item, quantity, rate and retention %, and three ticks: Back to back with the client's bill, Subcontractor is a micro or small enterprise and There is a written agreement. Subletting more than the contract quantity saves with a warning. For a micro or small enterprise, the screen says within how many days it must be paid.
Record bill on an order opens Record subcontractor's bill: the subcontractor's bill no., quantity, bill date, due date, their invoice no. and what kind of deductee they are. It is saved as a purchase bill for the site, on the site's cost centre, with TDS under section 194C and the retention you hold back. The screen then shows the bill, the TDS, the retention held and what is left to pay.
- TDS. 1% for an individual or HUF, 2% for others, and a higher rate if their PAN is not on file. None is deducted until the bill crosses ₹30,000, or their bills in the year cross ₹1,00,000.
- Retention. The order's own %, or, for a back-to-back order with none, the contract's retention %.
- Quantity. The quantity billed to date cannot run past what the client has certified on that BOQ item, unless you tick Record past the certified quantity.
- No double entry. Use the subcontractor's own bill number: recording the same number twice records it once.
Because the bill is a purchase bill with TDS on it, the TDS is listed with the rest of the tax you have deducted; see TDS for paying and filing it.
Material: issue, use and wastage
On the Material issues tab, Issue material to site records what left a godown for the site: the contract, an optional BOQ item, the cost centre, the godown, the item, the quantity, the date, and Free issue by the client (nil value). Saving takes that quantity out of the godown's stock. An issue cannot be edited afterwards.
The Material use per BOQ item report (under Reports) works out what each item should have used: the work measured times the material per unit set on the BOQ item. It shows this as Should use next to what was Issued to that item, and the Difference. More issued than needed is wastage. An item with no material per unit says so.
Daily progress reports
Under the contract register, Daily progress keeps one report per contract per day. Tap Add daily report, pick a contract that is not closed and the date, then the weather, the people on site (a head count), the work done, hindrances and the plan for tomorrow, and Save report. Write about the work, not the people: a head count only, with no worker names or photos. Saving a second report for the same contract and day changes nothing, and the screen says the first one is kept.
Contract reports and the 43B(h) warning
Retention and reports then Reports is read-only:
- Billed against contract value. Contract value, claimed, certified and the % billed.
- BOQ progress. BOQ value, executed (certified), billed and the % done.
- Retention still held, by age. No due date yet, not yet due, and overdue up to 30 days, 31 to 90 days and over 90 days.
- Deductions by kind. The total of each deduction, and for retention how much was released.
- Material use per BOQ item. As above.
- Micro and small suppliers paid late (section 43B(h)). Bills from subcontractors marked micro or small that are still unpaid after 45 days (with a written agreement) or 15 days (without), with the days late. It is a warning, not a block, and Finocket does not send a reminder for it yet.
What is still waiting for setup
These parts need a setup step on your workspace that may not be done yet. Until your workspace is set up for them:
- DLP dates. Certifying the final bill still moves the contract to Defect liability and tells you the date, but the DLP ends line does not show under the status.
- Rate analysis. The attach and open buttons do not show on a variation.
- Subcontractor's bills. Saving says it is not set up yet, and nothing is saved.
- Secured advance. The dialog says it is not set up yet, offers no form, and the abstract shows Part II as 0.
- Mobilisation advance. The dialog says a recovery cannot be recorded yet.
- Material per unit of work. A BOQ item saved with a material says it is not set up yet; save it without one for now. The Material use report says it is not set up yet.
- Material issues. Moving stock out of the godown needs its own setup step. Until it is done, saving an issue says it is not set up yet and nothing is saved, so an issue is never recorded without the stock moving.
- Daily progress. Until it is set up, the section says it is not set up yet.
Your workspace's other jobs, sites and running bills are covered in Run a civil or interiors contracting business on Finocket.