Profit.co PPM lets you record penalties, retentions, and other amounts withheld against individual Bill of Quantities line items, each tagged with a standard classification and a written reason.
Table of Contents
- What Are BOQ Deduction Types?
- Why Do BOQ Deduction Types Matter?
- How Do I Set Up and Apply BOQ Deduction Types?
- What Happens When You Apply a BOQ Deduction?
- What Needs to Be in Place Before You Apply Deductions?
- What Are the Best Practices for BOQ Deduction Types?
- Related Articles
- What Are Some Frequently Asked Questions About BOQ Deduction Types?
What Are BOQ Deduction Types?
A deduction type is a classification that Super Users define in Settings, such as Penalty, Refund, Adjustment, or Discount. A deduction is an individual record added to a BOQ line item and classified with one of those types.
Every deduction appears in the Deduction History of its line item with these details, along with the date recorded against it:
| Column | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| ID | The deduction’s reference number |
| Name | A short label for the deduction, such as Retention Money |
| Reason | Why the amount was deducted, such as a standard 5% retention held for 12 months of defect liability |
| Deduction Type | The classification applied, such as Penalty |
Note
Deductions are recorded on the line item’s Deduction tab, separately from the Expenses tab where expenses and payments are recorded.
Why Do BOQ Deduction Types Matter?
Construction projects regularly withhold money for delays, compliance issues, and defect liability. When those amounts sit in side spreadsheets, nobody can see from the BOQ itself why a line item was reduced or by how much.
| Benefit | What Changes |
|---|---|
| One classification list for every project | Super Users define deduction types once, so a Penalty on one project means the same thing as a Penalty on another. |
| A documented reason on every deduction | Each record carries its own Reason, so the basis for withholding an amount stays attached to the line item it affects. |
How Do I Set Up and Apply BOQ Deduction Types?
Create Deduction Types (Super Users)
- Go to Settings → Portfolios and Projects → Projects from the left navigation panel.
- Switch to the Financials tab, then the Bill of Quantity sub-tab.
- Turn on the Bill of Quantity toggle if it is not already enabled.
- In the Deduction Type section, click + Create Deduction Type.
- Enter the deduction type details and save.
Apply a Deduction to a Line Item
- Open the project and switch to the Financials tab.
- On the Bill of Quantity sub-tab, click the line item name.
- In the line item panel, switch to the Deduction tab.
- Click + Add Deduction.
- Fill in the deduction details, including the Deduction Type and Reason, and save.
What Happens When You Apply a BOQ Deduction?
| Scenario | What Happens |
|---|---|
| You add a deduction to a line item. | Profit.co lists it in that line item’s Deduction History with its ID, Name, Reason, Deduction Type, and date. |
| You add deductions to the same line item. | Profit.co totals them in the Total Deduction figure at the top of the line item’s Deduction tab. |
| You record deductions on several line items. | Profit.co shows each line item’s deduction total in the Deduction column of the Bill of Quantity table. |
| You record deductions across the project. | Profit.co adds them up in the Deductions card on the project Dashboard. |
What Needs to Be in Place Before You Apply Deductions?
Before anyone can apply a deduction, the Bill of Quantity toggle must be on in Settings, and a Super User must have created at least one deduction type.
The project also needs BOQ line items. In the BOQ user guide example, the project was created with the BOQ - Driven Budget Tracking budget type, and line items were added from the Financials tab using + Create BOQ → Line Item.
What Are the Best Practices for BOQ Deduction Types?
- Write each Reason as the specific contractual basis, including the percentage and period where one applies, because Deduction History is where reviewers see why money was withheld.
- Keep the deduction type list short and clearly separated, because the same types apply to every BOQ project in your organization.
- Record each deduction against the line item it relates to, since the Bill of Quantity table reports deductions line by line.
- Create deduction types before project teams start recording deductions, so every deduction is classified from the first entry.
Related Articles
What Are Some Frequently Asked Questions About BOQ Deduction Types?
Use the Filter option or the Search Deduction box above the Deduction History table.
Yes. Number Generation supports Deductions, so you can set a prefix and a starting number for auto-generated deduction IDs.
No. Deduction types are defined in Settings and applied consistently across projects.
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