Top Excel Shortcuts for Construction Billing | BOQ, RA Bills & Cost Analysis

Afroz Civil - Excel Shortcuts for Construction Billing

1. Measurement Sheet & BOQ Management

Shortcut	Function
Ctrl + ;	Insert today's date (record work progress)
Ctrl + Shift + ;	Insert current time
Ctrl + "	Copy value from the cell above
Alt + Enter	Add a new line within the same cell (for multiline descriptions)
Ctrl + T	Convert range into a table (easier filtering & calculations)

2. Quantity & Rate Analysis

Shortcut	Function
Alt + =	AutoSum (quickly total quantities & amounts)
Ctrl + D	Copy formulas downward
=PRODUCT(A2, B2)	Multiply quantity × rate = amount
Ctrl + `	Show/hide all formulas (to check calculations)

3. Linking BOQ, RA Bills & Measurement Sheets

Shortcut	Function
=Sheet1!A1	Fetch data from another sheet
Ctrl + [	Jump to a linked formula cell
Alt + M + D	Trace dependents (check which cells use the selected value)

4. Construction Billing & RA Bills

Shortcut	Function
Ctrl + K	Insert hyperlinks (link to project documents, invoices, PDFs)
Alt + N + P	Insert a picture (scanned invoices, site images)
Ctrl + P	Print RA Bill or invoice
Alt + A + S + S	Sort ascending (e.g., by serial number)

5. Managing Large BOQ & Work Orders

Shortcut	Function
Ctrl + Shift + Space	Select the entire worksheet
Alt + D + F + F	Apply filters (to filter by item, rate, or amount)
Ctrl + G → Special → Blanks	Select blank cells (to quickly identify missing data)

6. Cost & Rate Comparison

Shortcut	Function
=IF(A2>B2, "Higher", "Lower")	Compare contractor rates
=VLOOKUP(A2, Sheet2!A2:B10, 2, FALSE)	Fetch rates from another sheet
Alt + N + C	Insert a chart (for tracking material/labor cost trends)
Alt + D + P	Create a PivotTable (for cost breakdown analysis)

These Excel shortcuts will help you speed up construction billing, BOQ preparation, RA Bills, and cost analysis.