BESMM4(R) is the method of measurement Nigerian bills are prepared to, and it ships in BillMate as a work-section template — so a new project starts in the right shape rather than as a blank sheet.
The Building and Engineering Standard Method of Measurement, fourth edition revised, is the Nigerian standard method of measurement, published by the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors. It sets out how each class of work is measured, what an item description must contain, what a rate is deemed to include, and the units work is billed in — across building and civil engineering works.
A client's quantity surveyor reading your bill assumes those rules. If your excavation is measured to a different set of conventions, your rate is not comparable with anyone else's — which is the entire point of a standard method.
BESMM is a copyright document. We do not reproduce it, summarise its rules clause by clause, or offer it for download. If you prepare Nigerian bills professionally you should hold a licensed copy.
| For BESMM4 work you need | In BillMate 1.0 |
|---|---|
| A BESMM4 work-section structure | Implemented. Start a project from the NIQS BESMM4(R) (Nigeria) template and the eighteen work sections below are created for you. |
| Items worded to the standard | Supported. With BESMM4(R) selected, the AI assistant is instructed in its work sections, item descriptions, deemed-included rules and units. You still write or approve the wording — the standard guides it rather than enforcing it. |
| Dimension sheets with timesing and deductions | Implemented. Linear, area, volume and count, squared automatically, retained behind the item. Free on the 2-project tier. |
| Measuring off a drawing | Implemented, on a paid licence. Load an image of the plan, set the scale from a known dimension, and tap off measurements onto the dimension sheet — how it works. |
| Naira rates with local provenance | Implemented. NGN is a supported currency, and every library rate carries its Nigerian locality and pricing month. |
| Rate build-ups in local constituents | Implemented. Cement by the bag, sharp sand and granite by the cubic metre, gang labour by the hour. |
| Provisional and prime cost sums | Implemented. Carried as sums, printed as sums, excluded from rate checks. |
| A collected, paginated, letterheaded bill | Implemented. Part of the Pro licence. |
| Civil engineering works as well as building | Covered. The template carries a Civil Engineering Works section, and the AI instruction spans both. |
| Automatic compliance checking | Not implemented, and not planned. No software audits your measurement against a method of measurement. Anything claiming to is overselling. |
These are the eighteen sections BillMate creates when you start a project from the BESMM4(R) template. Rename, reorder, add and delete freely afterwards — the template is a starting point, not a commitment, and item references follow whatever you do to it.
That BillMate makes a bill compliant. It structures a bill for BESMM4(R) and instructs the AI in its conventions; it does not audit your measurement, and no software can make an incorrectly measured bill correct. Professional responsibility for the measurement stays with the surveyor, which is where it belongs.
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