RA Bill & Measurement Book (Excel)
Record every measurement once, in a measurement book with the bill number it belongs to, and the running account bill builds itself. For each item it shows the quantity up to the previous bill, in this bill and up to date, values them at the agreement rate, flags any item that has gone beyond the agreement quantity, and then works out GST, retention money, TDS and the other deductions to reach the net amount payable.
Free · no sign-up · opens in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice and WPS Office. Files contain no macros.
Preview
Real view of the file with its sample data (yellow cells are where you type).
| RUNNING ACCOUNT BILL No. 2 | |
| Construction of G+2 commercial building, Phase 1 | |
| Employer | Gill Developers Pvt. Ltd. |
| Contractor | Sharma Builders & Contractors |
| Work order / agreement | WO/2026/031 dated 19-08-2026 |
| Bill date | 02-11-2026 |
| Work done during | 03-10-2026 to 01-11-2026 |
| Gross value of work done up to date | ₹ 26,58,940.16 |
| Less: value up to previous bill | ₹ 9,91,993.76 |
| Value of work done in this bill | ₹ 16,66,946.40 |
| Add: GST @ 18% | ₹ 3,00,050.35 |
| Bill amount including GST | ₹ 19,66,996.75 |
| Less: retention money @ 5.0% | ₹ 83,347.32 |
| Less: income-tax TDS @ 1.0% | ₹ 16,669.00 |
| Less: GST TDS @ 0.0% | ₹ 0.00 |
| Less: labour welfare cess @ 1.0% | ₹ 16,669.00 |
| Less: mobilisation advance recovery | ₹ 50,000.00 |
| Less: other deductions | ₹ 0.00 |
| Total deductions | ₹ 1,66,685.32 |
| NET AMOUNT PAYABLE | ₹ 18,00,311.00 |
| Rupees Eighteen Lakh Three Hundred Eleven Only | |
| Retention money held up to date (all bills) | ₹ 1,32,947.01 |
| Value of work done up to date as % of contract value | 35.6% |
What's inside
- Contract sheet: name of work, employer, contractor, agreement number, current bill number and dates, and the deduction rates (retention, income-tax TDS, GST TDS, labour cess) with advance recovery and other deductions
- Items sheet: agreement items with unit, quantity, rate and amount; contract value totals itself
- MB (measurement book) sheet with 1,000 rows: date, bill number, item, location, Nos × L × B × D and who measured it
- Bill items sheet: previous, this bill and up-to-date quantities and amounts for every item, with an "excess" warning beyond the agreement quantity
- Bill summary: value of work done, GST, retention, TDS, cess, recoveries, net payable in words, retention held to date and signature lines
How to use it
- On the Contract sheet type the name of work, the employer, the contractor and the agreement details. Check each deduction rate against your agreement and change it if needed.
- On the Items sheet list the agreement items exactly as in the work order: item number, description, unit, agreement quantity and rate.
- Each time work is measured, add rows on the MB sheet: date, the bill number the measurement belongs to, the item number, the location and the dimensions. The quantity calculates itself.
- When a bill is due, type its number on the Contract sheet (Bill No. for this bill). Measurements with a lower bill number count as "previous", those with this number as "this bill".
- Open Bill items to check quantities. Any item shown as Excess has gone beyond the agreement quantity and needs an extra item or variation approval.
- Open Bill summary for the net amount payable, print both bill sheets, and get them signed by the contractor, the site engineer and the person approving payment.
Tips
- Never edit old measurement rows after a bill is paid. If something was measured wrongly, add a correcting row with a negative Nos in the next bill, so the history stays visible.
- Ask the client's engineer to initial the printed MB pages at each measurement; it saves arguments at the final bill.
- Retention is usually released after the defects liability period. Keep the "retention held to date" figure from the last bill to claim it.
- TDS and cess rules depend on the contractor's status and the client (for example individual or company, government or private). Check the current rates with your accountant.
Questions and answers
What is an RA bill?
A running account (RA) bill is a part payment for the work done so far in a long contract. Each RA bill shows the work done up to date, subtracts what was already billed, and pays the difference after deductions. The final bill closes the account.
How does the bill know which measurements are previous?
Every row in the measurement book carries a bill number. Rows with a bill number lower than the current bill are counted as "up to previous bill", rows with the current number as "this bill".
Why is GST added before retention and TDS?
GST is charged on the value of work billed, then the employer makes its deductions from the bill. In this sheet retention, TDS and cess are worked out on the value of work excluding GST, which is the usual practice; change the rates to zero for any deduction that does not apply to your contract.
Can I bill extra items not in the agreement?
Add them on the Items sheet with a new item number (for example EX-1) and an agreement quantity of 0 once they are approved. They will show as Excess until the approved quantity is entered.