A budget becomes easier to review when every material has a quantity, unit and quoted rate. The Whatson Construction Budget Planner is a manual bill of quantities, not a calculator that infers all materials from the house size.
Use other quantity tools or a measured takeoff to obtain the quantities first. Then record the supplier’s rate in the same unit as each line.
Start with the three fields that must agree
For each material, enter a useful name, a unit and a quantity. The rate is PKR per that written unit. A cement quantity in bags needs a per bag rate; a sand quantity in cft needs a per cft rate.
Quantities can be fractional. That allows a measured delivery such as 100.5 cft without rounding it to a different bill.
The project label identifies the worksheet. It does not change the calculation or create a separately saved project record.
Check a sample bill with hypothetical quotes
Use these illustrative rates, not current market prices:
| Material | Quantity | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cement | 10 bags | PKR 1,400/bag | PKR 14,000 |
| Bricks | 1,000 pieces | PKR 18/piece | PKR 18,000 |
| Sand | 100.5 cft | PKR 80/cft | PKR 8,040 |
The material subtotal is PKR 40,040. At an entered 5% material tax, tax is PKR 2,002. Add PKR 25,000 labour and PKR 4,000 transport, then a 10% contingency.
The checked final budget is PKR 78,146.20. The contingency is PKR 7,104.20, calculated after material tax, labour and transport are included.
The tax setting has a specific scope
The entered percentage applies only to the material subtotal. It is a calculation input, not advice about a legally applicable tax rate.
If supplier rates already include tax, adding the same tax here can duplicate it. If different lines have different tax treatment, calculate those differences outside this one shared percentage and record an appropriate budget adjustment.
Avoid a believable but incomplete total
A positive quantity with a zero rate contributes nothing to the subtotal. The calculator flags those missing quotes, but the total still reflects only entered values.
Check labour and transport separately. They may already be included in a contractor’s material or inclusive job quote. Adding them again would overstate the budget.
Download the CSV to keep the line items with the result. The plugin does not save visitor projects, and the worksheet is not an invoice or a commitment from a supplier. Record quote dates and scope in your own project notes before relying on the total.