What Is a Material Estimate (Muqaysa) in Utility Work?

The material estimate is where every materials calculation on a work order starts. It sets out which materials the job needs and how much, then becomes the baseline for what is received from the utility and consumed on site.

When it is missing, or kept in a spreadsheet away from warehouse records, gaps surface late: at the materials balance or the achievement certificate. This guide covers what an estimate is, how to prepare and compare it, and how ELX handles it.

What is a material estimate (muqaysa)?

A material estimate is a planned list of the materials one work order needs, each line with a material code, a unit and an expected quantity. It answers one question before work starts: what should be received and issued for this order, and how much of each?

On its own, the word muqaysa can also mean a full priced bill of quantities. In this guide, and in ELX, it means the material estimate: the materials list for one work order. Check which meaning your contract uses before comparing figures. Depending on the contract, it may arrive with the work order documents or be built by the contractor from the design and site survey. Either way its job is the same: to be the reference figure every material movement is measured against.

Material estimate

The planned materials and quantities for one work order.

Estimated quantity

The planned quantity of one material.

Received quantity

Net quantity received from the utility, after returns to the utility.

Consumed quantity

Net quantity issued to site, after returns from site.

Material code

The catalogue code used on both the estimate and the stock documents.

Many contractors still call utility-supplied materials “SCECO receipts” (warid SCECO), an acronym inherited from before the merger. The Saudi Electricity Company was formed on 5 April 2000 as a single entity combining the electricity companies of the central, eastern, western and southern regions and ten companies operating in the north, together with projects previously run by the General Electricity Corporation. The old acronym stuck in warehouse vocabulary, even though the company has been called Saudi Energy (SE) since 26 February 2026.

How is it different from the implementation-items BOQ?

Both are quantity lists, so they get mixed up. The estimate counts the materials that go into the work; the implementation-items BOQ counts the work you are paid for. A cable is a material measured in metres; laying and connecting it is an item with its own unit and contract price.

Still, the two are linked: an issued material should show up in an executed item, and an item that needs materials should be backed by issued quantities. Linking each material to the items it produces makes a missing item or an excess quantity easier to spot early. For how items drive the value of the work, see achievement certificate vs extract.

How do you prepare an estimate for a work order?

A good estimate is not a ballpark figure but a list you can match line by line against warehouse vouchers:

1. Start from the work order documents

   Use the work description, the design and any materials list that came with the order. Build it for one work order, not a batch or a whole project.

2. Check it against the site survey

   The site survey is the first test of the estimate: actual route length, drill type and source location. If the site differs from the design, fix the estimate before issuing, not after. See our Kashfia site survey guide.

3. Use the catalogue code and unit

   Enter the code exactly as it appears in the materials catalogue, not a free-text name. The code is what links each estimate line to voucher lines later, and any variation drops the material out of the comparison.

4. Keep one line per material

   Put each material’s full quantity on a single line rather than spreading it across several, so the comparison reads line against line and nobody has to add quantities up by hand.

5. Import long lists from Excel

   When the list is long, a template with material code and quantity columns saves manual typing. After uploading, fix any rows that are flagged with an error.

6. Review, then save

   Check quantities with the responsible engineer, confirm every material is in the catalogue, then save.

How do you compare the estimate with received and consumed quantities?

Compare each material across three figures: the estimated quantity, net received from the utility and net consumed on site. The last two work like this:

• Net received = receipts from the utility − returns to the utility.
• Net consumed = issues to site − returns from site.

The example below is hypothetical; its materials and figures are illustrative only.

Three lines need follow-up. The cable and breakers carry a surplus to return. The duct ran over the estimate and beyond what was received, so 30 metres came from other stock or another order. The terminations never moved: they are either late or no longer needed.

The gap against the estimate tests the estimate itself; the gap between received and consumed shows what to return to the utility or settle with it. For the latter, read material reconciliation per work order.

What should you do when consumption exceeds the estimate?

An overrun is not always a mistake, but it needs a documented explanation before it reaches the materials balance and the achievement certificate:

1. Check the vouchers first: a duplicated voucher, a material entered twice on one voucher, or an unrecorded return from site. Many “overruns” are data-entry errors.
2. Check the code: a substitute issued under a different code makes one material look over the estimate and another look unused.
3. Tie it to a site reason: a longer route, a changed drill type or extra work requested by the supervisor, recorded on the work order with notes, photos and attachments.
4. Update the estimate if scope changed: revise the quantities as the contract allows instead of leaving the gap open.
5. Trace the extra quantity: if more was consumed than received for this order, find the source and agree the settlement with the utility under the contract, so no other order is left short.
6. Close the balance before the certificate: an overrun left unexplained tends to resurface at review.

What about change-order limits in government contracts?

Under the version of the Government Tenders and Procurement Law currently published by the Ministry of Finance, a government agency may issue change orders that raise the contract value by up to 10% or reduce it by up to 20%. Those limits belong to government contracts under that law; do not read them as a rule for utility work orders, which are governed by their own contract. The principle still carries over: every quantity change needs a record that ties it to its cause.

On 5 August 2026 the Ministry announced Cabinet approval of a new Government Tenders and Procurement Law; the announcement gives no effective date, so always check the terms that apply to your contract.

What are the common mistakes in managing estimates?

Most gaps found at close-out start with how the estimate was kept, not with the site:

• A separate file: a spreadsheet on one laptop that the storekeeper never sees at issue time.
• Names instead of codes: a short name that does not match the voucher code drops out of the comparison.
• One estimate for several orders: pooled quantities that cannot be split back to each work order.
• No update after the survey: the route changed on site; the estimate did not.
• Unrecorded returns: materials back from site without a voucher inflate consumption.
• Comparing only at the end: one check at certificate time instead of tracking during execution.

The fix: one system for the estimate and warehouse movements, tied to the work order and the same material code. More in contractor warehouse management software: what to look for.

How does ELX manage estimates and the estimate report?

ELX is a bilingual (Arabic/English) cloud (SaaS) system that Matrix hosts and operates. It runs in the browser with no servers needed on the contractor’s side, and is built for electricity-network contractors in Saudi Arabia to carry each work order from registration to archive. Estimates live in its warehouse and materials module, which ties every work order to its material movements and its estimate.

• Estimates at work-order level: each estimate is recorded against a specific work order with an automatic number; materials and quantities can be added by hand.
• Excel template import: a ready template with material code and quantity columns, with any error flagged on the row where it occurs.
• Estimates list: reopen any saved estimate to edit its materials and quantities, or soft-delete it so the record stays traceable.
• Estimate vs actual materials report: per work order, each material’s E.M.S code, consumed quantity (issues minus returns from site), received quantity (utility receipts minus returns to the utility), quantity to return and quantity to issue, beside the estimated quantity; view, print or export to Excel.
• Voucher-backed movements: every receipt, issue and return is a numbered stock document linked to the work order and warehouse. Where issues are already recorded for the same order, material and warehouse, a return from site larger than the net issued is rejected; returns to the utility are checked against net received in the same way.
• Materials balance and requirements report: the balance shows what to return or issue so both quantities match. The requirements report lists materials issued beyond what was received as “required from the utility”, and materials received beyond what was issued as “required from the contractor”.

Applied to the worked example above, the protection duct would appear under “required from the utility” with a 30-metre gap, while the cable and breakers would appear under “required from the contractor”. The comparison with the estimated quantity itself comes from the estimate vs actual materials report.

Before any of this, the survey team records in ELX whether the materials match, within the site survey and excavation permits module. On a mismatch, the system fills a material-matching form from a template and emails it, and the order goes back to the work-order stage until the work-order team confirms material matching.

Master data sits under permissions, settings and master data: a materials catalogue (unique code, name, contract, unit) and a per-contract implementation-items list with unit prices. Both are imported from Excel through a review screen that marks each row new, update or skip before anything is applied, and only users with the Import permission can run it.

Per contract, each material can be linked to the implementation items it produces. When that is enabled, issuing materials adds those items to the project automatically and returns from site reduce them; certificate items can also be refreshed from the same links.

Want to see how one work order is followed from its estimate to the materials balance? Request a demo. If your work orders and materials catalogue live in Excel today, moving them into the system and training your team are part of the services Matrix provides with ELX.

Checklist before closing a work order’s materials

• The estimate is on the right work order, with its number and work description.
• Every material uses its catalogue code, on a single line.
• The estimate reflects the site survey and any approved scope change.
• Every receipt, issue and return has a voucher on the same work order.
• No issue or return requests from site are still pending.
• Every material over the estimate has a documented reason and attachments.
• Surpluses are marked for return and shortfalls for settlement with the utility.

With this done, your materials balance and certificate rest on figures you can defend.