Importing BOQ Tables
A Bill of Quantities (BOQ) table is the foundation of every project in Conio. It defines what work needs to be priced: the descriptions, quantities, and units.
Supported source
Conio imports tables from Google Sheets only. Excel and CSV files are not accepted directly. If your BOQ is in Excel or another format, upload it to Google Sheets first (see below).
The Google Sheet must be shared with "Anyone with the link — Viewer" access before Conio can read it.
Preparing your Google Sheet
If your BOQ is already in Google Sheets: confirm it is shared correctly:
- Click Share (top-right in Google Sheets).
- Under General access, set to Anyone with the link → Viewer.
- Copy the share URL.
If your BOQ is in Excel or CSV:
- Go to sheets.google.com and click Blank.
- In the new sheet, go to File → Import → Upload and select your file.
- Choose Replace spreadsheet and click Import data.
- Share the sheet as described above.
Multi-sheet workbooks
If your Google Sheet has multiple sheets (tabs), Conio will show a sheet selector after you paste the URL. You can import each sheet as a separate BOQ table, or select only the relevant tab.
Import walkthrough
Step 1 — Open the import dialog
- Click Table Manager in the left sidebar.
- Click Import Google Sheet (top-right of the header).
Step 2 — Paste the Google Sheets URL
Paste the share URL of your Google Sheet into the URL field and click Load.
Conio validates access and reads the sheet. If the sheet is not publicly shared, an error will appear — re-check the sharing settings and try again.
If the sheet has multiple tabs, a Sheet dropdown appears. Select the tab containing the BOQ data.
Step 3 — Map columns
Conio reads the sheet and shows a column mapping panel. Assign the correct columns to each target field:
| Target field | What to map | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Description | The column containing item text | Yes |
| Quantity | Numeric quantity per item | Yes |
| Unit | Unit of measurement (m², m³, lm, pcs, etc.) | Yes |
| Reference | Item code or reference number | No |
Conio automatically detects ancestor headings from indented rows, merged cells, or blank-quantity rows above leaf items. You will see the heading hierarchy reflected in the preview.
Step 4 — Preview and confirm
Check that:
- Leaf items have quantities and units.
- Heading rows are correctly identified (shown in lighter text).
- The item count at the bottom matches your expectation.
Click Import. The table appears in Table Manager immediately.
What Conio extracts
From each row, Conio stores:
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
leaf_description | "Excavation in hard rock, depth 0–1.5 m" |
ancestor_path | "Substructure > Earthworks > Excavation" |
quantity | 42.5 |
unit | m³ |
The ancestor_path (the chain of heading rows above each item) plays an important role in matching quality. Conio uses it to narrow the search scope before comparing leaf descriptions. See Scenario Studio for details.
Troubleshooting imports
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "Access denied" or URL error | Sheet not shared publicly | Open the sheet → Share → Anyone with the link → Viewer |
| All items show zero quantity | Quantity column mapped incorrectly | Re-map to the correct column; quantities may be in a separate sub-column |
| Ancestor path is flat (no headings) | Headings not detected | Ensure heading rows have a blank or zero quantity cell |
| Garbled characters in descriptions | Special characters in source | Re-save the source file as UTF-8 before uploading to Google Sheets |