In construction, Excel is not the problem. The problem starts when everyone has their own version of the file, variations live in e-mails, documents live in folders and management sees the full picture too late.
In construction, Excel is not the problem. The problem starts when everyone has their own Excel version, variations live in e-mails, documents live in folders and management only sees the full picture of the project after someone has pieced it together by hand.
On a small project this is an inconvenience. On a project worth a million or several million it becomes money.
Even a 0.5% error on a EUR 1,000,000 project is EUR 5,000. That can be one overlooked BoQ item, a wrongly re-typed quantity, a late variation or a report that does not match the current data.
In brief
- Excel does not have to go. What has to stop is running the project through parallel file versions.
- The biggest problem is not administration but late control over money, variations and documents.
- RIXBUILD turns the BoQ into the working backbone of the project: work done, progress claims, variations, documents and the financial overview.
Where money disappears in a construction project
Money usually does not disappear in one dramatic moment. It disappears in small everyday deviations.
One file holds an old version of the BoQ. Another holds a corrected quantity. An e-mail holds an approved variation that is not linked to a specific item. The progress claim is prepared separately, and someone re-types data that was already in the project.
Each of these cases looks small on its own. Together they add up to administrative disorder that costs money.
0.5% is not an aggressive assumption
If a construction project is worth EUR 1,000,000, then 0.5% is EUR 5,000.
That is not a “digital transformation miracle”. It is a very practical number. That is what the following can cost:
- an incorrect or overlooked BoQ item;
- a variation that is not noticed in time;
- a quantity that has to be recalculated later;
- a dispute about what was agreed;
- several days of manual work to assemble reports and evidence.
On a EUR 3,000,000 project the same 0.5% is already EUR 15,000. And in construction that is still not a dramatic scenario — it is an everyday process risk.
On a EUR 1,000,000 project a 0.5% process risk is EUR 5,000. That is often more than the annual fee for a project control system.
Research confirms the same problem
The McKinsey Global Institute study on construction productivity notes that construction has long lagged behind other industries in productivity and digitalisation. This is not just an IT question. When data is scattered, decisions are made later and the team spends more time piecing information together.
The NIST study on inadequate interoperability in the US capital facilities industry estimated that fragmented information exchange, manual processes and poor data flow between project parties cost USD 15.8 billion a year.
These studies should not be used to scare clients. They simply confirm common sense: when project information lives in too many places, it costs money.
Why Excel is here to stay
A good construction process does not mean Excel disappears. Excel remains a convenient format for BoQs, exports, templates and data exchange.
The problem arises when Excel becomes the only mechanism of project control.
The RIXBUILD approach is different: the Excel BoQ is imported and becomes the living backbone of the project. From it flow work done, progress claims, variations, documents and the management overview.
What the contractor gains
For a contractor this is not just a matter of convenience. It is a matter of margin.
If work done, subcontractor quantities, variations, contracts, invoices and balances are not in one transparent workflow, management may see where the margin is leaking too late.
RIXBUILD helps the contractor see how work done builds up from the BoQ, where variations arise, what has been approved and where financial risk begins.
What the client or developer gains
For the client the question is even simpler: can I see what I am paying for?
When variations and documents are scattered, the client often sees the situation after the fact. When the process runs in one system, it is easier to check what has been submitted, what has been approved, which variations have arisen and what justifies them.
This does not mean the system resolves every dispute. But it reduces the situations in which each party lives with its own document and its own version.
Conclusion
Excel will remain in construction for a long time. But construction project control should not rest only on Excel versions, e-mails and people's memory.
The bigger the project, the more expensive late control becomes.
RIXBUILD helps organise the project workflow so that the BoQ, work done, variations, documents and financial reports work together — not each in its own file.
Want to know what this costs in your project?
Try the RIXBUILD pricing calculator or book a demo to discuss your specific project process.
Quick answers
- Does Excel have to be replaced completely?
- No. Excel can remain as an input and export format. The risk lies in parallel versions and manual re-keying.
- Why is 0.5% of the project value a reasonable assumption?
- Because even a small error or late control of variations on a EUR 1M project can mean several thousand euros. 0.5% of EUR 1M is EUR 5,000.
- Who does this matter more to — the contractor or the client?
- Both. For the contractor it is margin control. For the client it is avoiding overpayment, having documentary evidence and controlling variations.
- Does RIXBUILD guarantee savings?
- No. RIXBUILD helps organise the process and reduce the risk of errors, version chaos and late control. The actual benefit depends on the project size, the existing level of order and the team's discipline.
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