Unit rate build-up for construction
A rate build-up shows where a unit rate comes from: the material, the labour and the plant that go into one unit of work. It is what makes a rate defensible when someone asks why. This guide walks through the method, a worked example, and how to keep your build-ups in a library you can reuse.
Rate build-ups and the rate library are free on every plan
What goes into a unit rate
Material
The quantity of each material in one unit of work, including an allowance for waste, priced at the delivered cost.
Labour
The time each trade needs to complete one unit, priced at the labour rate.
Plant
The machinery time needed for one unit, priced at the hire rate.
Overheads and profit
The allowance added on top of the direct cost, often applied as a markup on the bill.
A worked example
Take one cubic metre of reinforced concrete placed in a slab. The prices below are illustrative, to show the method, and are not market rates.
| Component | Quantity per m³ | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ready-mixed concrete, including 5% waste | 1.05 m³ | RM300.00 | RM315.00 |
| Mason and labourer | 0.8 hr | RM25.00 | RM20.00 |
| Poker vibrator | 0.2 hr | RM15.00 | RM3.00 |
| Composite rate | RM338.00 / m³ |
Each line is a quantity multiplied by a rate. Change one input, such as the price of concrete in a different state, and the composite rate moves with it. That traceability is the point: anyone reviewing the bill can see which figures produced the rate.
Building a rate up in Caprix
- Inside a BOQ item, open the build-up editor.
- Add a row for each component: the material, the labour and the plant.
- Use rate lookup on a row to drop in the live figure for your state, then set the quantity or coverage.
- Caprix totals the components into a composite rate. Apply it back to the item.
Composing a build-up is free on every plan. Only the live rate lookups you run inside it spend credits, at 2 credits each. For looser arithmetic, custom columns accept formulas, and a markup percentage can be applied to each bill.
Keep your rates in a library
A build-up you have worked out once should not have to be worked out again. The Rate Library is your own store of saved build-ups, grouped by category and reusable across every project.
- Save a build-up from any item, with a name, category, unit and an optional remark.
- Reuse it on a later project. The components come with it, so the figure stays auditable.
- Edit a saved rate to refresh its components with current prices.
- Market rates you save from an Analyse result in chat sit under their own tab, and can be picked as a component of any build-up.
The Rate Library is free on every plan, including Free. Saving a market rate from chat costs 1 credit.
A shared rate book for teams
On a Corporate account the same panel holds two libraries: My Library, private to you, and the Company Library, your organisation's shared rate book. Any team member can correct a company rate in place, each change shows who last edited it, and only the author or an admin can remove one.
The inputs to a build-up come from the same data as the rest of Caprix. See building material prices and labour and machinery rates.
Questions about rate build-ups
What is a rate build-up?
How do I build up a unit rate?
Is the rate build-up free in Caprix?
Can I reuse a build-up on another project?
Can my team share one set of rates?
Is it free to try?
Build a rate you can stand behind
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