NexBOQ User Guide: Step-by-Step AI Quantity Takeoff, Review and BOQ Export
Updated: Oct 6
This guide walks you through NexBOQ (Nexora AI BOQ) from your first sign-in to an exported, priced bill of quantities. Keep it open in a second tab while you work: every step matches the buttons and labels you see in the app.
New to NexBOQ? Read how NexBOQ turns PDF drawings into a reviewed BOQ first, or open the app and follow along.
Watch the NexBOQ walkthrough
Contents
Before you start
Sign in and start your free trial
Create a project
Upload your drawings
Run the quantity takeoff
Review the takeoff
Measure lengths: calibrate and trace
Build and price the BOQ
Export the BOQ
Manage projects, review queue and exports
Sheet credits and plans
Using NexBOQ on a phone
Troubleshooting and FAQ
1. Before you start
Drawings: PDF files up to 20 MB each. Native (CAD-exported), scanned and mixed PDFs are accepted. CAD-exported PDFs give the best results because their text and linework are machine-readable.
Browser: any up-to-date desktop or mobile browser. Nothing to install.
Account: you need a free Nexora account to create projects and upload drawings.
Credits: a takeoff uses sheet credits. Reviewing, editing, pricing and exporting never do.
2. Sign in and start your free trial
Open NexBOQ and click Sign in.
Create your account with email, Google or Facebook, or sign in if you already have one. New profiles are private by default.
Your workspace opens on the Project dashboard. A new account includes a free trial of 1 drawing sheet: one standard takeoff with Excel, CSV and PDF export. No card is required.
If you try to create a project or upload before signing in, NexBOQ asks you to sign in first. Anything you typed in the form stays there, so just press Save again after signing in.
3. Create a project
Click + New project at the top right.
Fill in Project name (required), and optionally Project number, Client and Location.
Choose the Currency (USD, SAR, QAR, AED or LKR) and the Primary scope: Multi-discipline, HVAC, Plumbing, Fire Fighting, Electrical, Architectural or Structural.
Click Create project. The project opens in the drawing workspace.
To change these details later, use the Project ▾ menu in the workspace and choose Edit / save project, or the ⋯ menu on the project's row in the dashboard.
4. Upload your drawings
Click Upload drawings (on the dashboard, or inside the project on the Drawings step).
Choose the Project, then drop your PDF files into the box or click to browse.
Click Validate & upload. Each file is checked and saved to the project with its revision.
Uploaded drawings are saved immediately, so you can close the browser and run the takeoff later. They appear in the project's Drawing register.
5. Run the quantity takeoff
Open the project and click Run quantity takeoff.
Pick the Drawing (and revision) to process. NexBOQ shows how many pages will be processed and the credits needed.
Choose the Extraction depth:
Standard multi-discipline takeoff: 1 credit per sheet. Available on every plan, including the free trial.
Plans + schedules cross-check: 2 credits per sheet. Reads equipment schedules and cross-checks them against the plans. Core plan or sheet packs.
Advanced MEP takeoff: 2 credits per sheet. Deepest MEP extraction. Pro plan.
Optionally add Scope and instructions, for example "HVAC only, ignore existing equipment" or "count diffusers by neck size".
Tick Use OCR only for scanned or flattened pages where the text isn't selectable.
Tick the confirmation that AI-assisted quantities need estimator review, then click Start quantity takeoff.
A progress bar shows each stage. You can keep working in other projects while it runs. One takeoff can process up to 100 pages.
Free re-run: if the result isn't what you expected, change the instructions and tick the free re-run option. It redoes the last takeoff of that drawing without charging credits (once per takeoff, within 7 days).
6. Review the takeoff
Open the Review takeoff step. The drawing is on the left or centre, the BOQ items below, and Item details on the right.
Viewer tools
Select / Pan: click items or drag the drawing.
Zoom in / Zoom out / Fit drawing: control the view; Full screen drawing gives the sheet the whole screen.
Show detections: turns the highlighted items on the sheet on or off.
Filter low confidence: shows only the items that need your attention.
Reading confidence
85% and above: high confidence. Still check it, but usually correct.
70–85%: medium. Check quantity and description against the sheet.
Below 70%: low. Excluded from approved totals until you approve it.
Approve, correct or reject
Click a BOQ line (or its highlight on the drawing). Item details shows the source page, confidence and measurement.
Correct the description, size, unit or quantity if needed.
Click Approve item to include it in the approved BOQ, or Reject to exclude it.
Work through the Issues tab until nothing is left pending.
Nothing reaches the approved BOQ automatically. Only approved lines are totalled and exported. This is deliberate: a qualified estimator or engineer stays responsible for the quantities.
7. Measure lengths: calibrate and trace
Counted items (units, diffusers, valves) need no scale. Lengths of duct and pipe runs need a verified scale. If the page shows Scale not detected or Scale unverified, calibrate it once:
Click Calibrate plan and click two points on the plan whose real distance you know, for example a gridline spacing.
Enter the Known distance in metres (6 for 6000 mm).
Tick the check that the reference is on the same, uniformly scaled plan (not a detail, an equipment dimension or an NTS sketch), then click Apply to plan runs.
To measure a run the AI found only partly, select the line, click Trace selected run, click along the route, then Finish. Calibration only updates unapproved runs on that page, so approved quantities never change behind your back.
8. Build and price the BOQ
Open the BOQ & pricing step. Lines are grouped by discipline and by system (for example AHU-01 or FCU-43), with a subtotal per system. Use search and the discipline filter to find items.
Add a missing item: click + Add row and fill in item number, discipline, description, system, size, unit, quantity and unit rate.
Enter rates: type unit rates directly into the Rate column, or apply a company rate library.
Company rate libraries (Core and Pro): go to Rate libraries → Import XLSX / CSV rates. Give the library a name, region and currency, and upload a file with these columns: item code, description, unit, material, labor, equipment, subcontractor, markup and final rate. Then apply it to a project; it matches by item code, description and unit. The library currency must match the project currency.
Pricing and editing never use sheet credits.
9. Export the BOQ
Click Export BOQ (or Create export on the Exports page) and choose the project.
Pick the Format: XLSX, CSV or PDF report.
Choose what to include: unit rates, subtotals and grand total; confidence and review status; the AI-assisted takeoff disclaimer.
Click Generate export. The file appears in the Exports list for download.
Only approved lines are exported; pending and low-confidence lines stay out. In Excel, each system gets a header row and a subtotal. Exports never use credits.
10. Manage projects, review queue and exports
Dashboard: shows active projects, items pending review, approved projects and storage used, plus every project with its status and last update.
Rename or remove a project: use the ⋯ menu on the project's row, or Project ▾ inside the project. Removing asks for confirmation.
Review queue: lists every project with items still waiting for review, with an Open review link.
Exports: every generated file, its format, review status and download link.
11. Sheet credits and plans
Your balance is shown at the top of the app and under Sheet credits in the sidebar. Open Plans & billing (or click Upgrade) to top up.
Free trial: 1 drawing sheet, standard takeoff.
Sheet packs: 25 sheets USD 59, 100 sheets USD 199, 300 sheets USD 499. Never expire.
Lite: USD 99/month, 50 sheets.
Core: USD 249/month, 200 sheets, rate libraries, plans + schedules cross-check.
Pro: USD 599/month, 500 sheets, advanced MEP takeoff.
Annual billing gives two months free, and unused subscription sheets roll over. Payment is processed securely by PayHere; credits are added after the payment is verified.
12. Using NexBOQ on a phone
NexBOQ works in a mobile browser. The menu moves to a tab bar at the bottom of the screen (Home, Projects, Review, Exports, Rates, Plans), projects show as cards, and the ⋯ menu on each card gives rename and remove. Reviewing large sheets is easier on a laptop, but checking status, approving items and downloading exports all work on a phone.
13. Troubleshooting and FAQ
It says "Please sign in to continue".
Creating projects, uploading and running takeoffs need an account. Sign in from the prompt; your form stays filled in.
My upload was rejected.
Check that the file is a PDF and under 20 MB. Split very large sets into several files.
Lengths show "Needs scale" or "Scale unverified".
Calibrate the plan once (section 7). Counted items don't need a scale.
Many items are low confidence.
Usually a scanned or low-resolution sheet. Try the OCR option, add clearer instructions, and use the free re-run within 7 days.
Some items are missing from my export.
Only approved items are exported. Open the Review queue and approve or reject the pending ones.
Is my data private?
Yes. Drawings are stored privately, are never used to train AI models, and are deleted when your plan's retention period ends.
Still need help?
Use the Help button in the app to come back to this guide, or contact the Nexora team with your project name and what you were trying to do.
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