BC3 Importer
Import estimates in BC3 format (the Spanish construction standard) with their chapters, items, measurements and prices, without typing a single line.
A construction estimate has hundreds of lines organised into a hierarchy of chapters and items, each with its measurement, unit price and cost breakdown. Entering that by hand is not just slow: it is where the errors later discovered at certification are born, when fixing them already means renegotiating.
The importer reads the file and turns it into the project budget, keeping the chapter structure. From then on it is just another budget in the system: hours and materials are charged against it, planned is compared with actual, and completed work is certified.
It is the format used by the sector's standard measurement software, so it works both for what your own surveyor prepares and for what arrives from a client or a main contractor.
What a BC3 file is
The format construction estimates travel in
BC3 is the Spanish standard for exchanging construction cost databases. It is the format the sector's usual measurement software exports to, and therefore the one estimates arrive in from a client, an architect or a main contractor.
Inside comes the estimate's full structure:
- Chapters and subchapters, with their hierarchy.
- Items with their code, description and unit of measure.
- Measurements with their detail lines.
- Unit prices and their cost breakdowns.
That is hundreds of hierarchically organised lines. Entering it by hand is not just slow: it is where the transcription errors later discovered at certification are born, when fixing them already means renegotiating with the customer.
What happens on import
The estimate comes in with its structure, not as a flat list
The importer reads the file and turns it into the project budget, keeping the hierarchy of chapters and items. That matters because the job is executed, controlled and certified by chapter: if the structure is lost on import, it has to be rebuilt by hand and the saving disappears.
From then on it is just another budget in the system, with everything that implies:
- Hours are charged against it and materials consumed from stock.
- Planned is compared with actual by chapter and by item.
- Completed work is certified and invoiced from there.
And it works in both usual scenarios: the estimate your own surveyor prepares in their measurement software, and the one that arrives from outside and has to be executed as it stands.
After importing
The point is not importing: it is what you can do afterwards
A construction estimate that only serves to be submitted is a document; one you control execution with is a tool. The difference is whether the BC3 items are the same ones hours and materials are later charged against.
When they are, you get the information that actually decides whether a job makes or loses money: which chapters are running over and which are compensating, which items are systematically losing margin, and whether what has been certified to date covers what has been executed.
That chapter-by-chapter comparison is what you take into the meeting with the client. And because it is calculated on real data rather than an office estimate, it holds up when somebody questions it.
Clearing things up
Frequently asked questions
Answers to what we get asked most.
What is the BC3 format?
The Spanish standard for exchanging construction cost databases, the format the sector's usual measurement software exports to. It contains chapters and subchapters, items with their code and unit, measurements with their detail, and unit prices with their breakdowns.
Is the chapter structure preserved on import?
Yes, and that is the key point: the job is executed, controlled and certified by chapter. If the hierarchy is lost on import it has to be rebuilt by hand and the saving disappears.
What can I do with the estimate once imported?
It becomes just another budget in the system: hours are charged against it and materials consumed from stock, planned is compared with actual by chapter and item, and completed work is certified and invoiced from there.
Does it work if the client sends the estimate?
Yes. It works the same for the estimate your own surveyor prepares in their measurement software and for one arriving from a client, an architect or a main contractor that has to be executed as it stands.
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