RateGen
Construction rate database for Nigeria
RateGen builds construction rates from first principles using Nigerian material, labour and plant costs. It is not a fixed price book. You control the inputs, and every rate that uses an input updates when you change it.
It is built by ADLM Studio, a Lagos company registered as RC 7440343 and founded in 2018. We are the Official Technical Partner to the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors and have trained more than 800 AEC professionals.
- Founded
- 2018
- Registered
- RC 7440343
- Based in
- Lagos, Nigeria
- NIQS
- Official Technical Partner
- Trained
- 800+ AEC professionals
Why a fixed rate book does not survive here
A published rate is a snapshot. It bundles material cost, labour output, plant, overhead and profit into one number that was true on the day it was compiled. In a market where material prices move month to month and the exchange rate moves with them, that number starts drifting immediately and there is no way to see which part of it drifted.
The usual workaround is a percentage uplift across the board. That is a guess applied evenly to items that did not move evenly. Steel and cement do not track each other, and neither tracks labour.
Building the rate from its components fixes this. You hold the material, labour and plant costs, and the rate is assembled from them. When a price moves you move that one input, and every rate containing it recalculates correctly rather than uniformly.
How build-ups work
Each rate is assembled from constants and costs: how much material a unit of work consumes, how much labour it takes, what plant is involved, and what those cost today. Build-ups are aligned to BESMM4R.
Material and labour constants are editable. This matters because output rates are a matter of professional judgement and local conditions, not a universal figure. A practice can hold constants that reflect how its own projects actually perform and defend them, rather than inheriting an assumption it cannot see.
Because the components are visible, a rate can be explained. When a client or an arbitrator asks why an item is priced as it is, the answer is the build-up, not a citation of a book.
Where the quantities come from
RateGen prices work regardless of how it was measured. QUIV brings quantities out of Autodesk Revit models, HERON measures 2D drawings and PDFs, the Revit MEP plugin covers building services, and CIVIQ covers infrastructure in Civil 3D.
All of them feed the same rate engine and produce the same bill format, which is what lets a practice run one pricing process across modelled and drawing-based projects at the same time.
Quantities can also come from an uploaded bill. A bill in Excel can be brought in and turned into a material and labour schedule, including services, without the bill total moving.
International rates and currency
The default assumptions are Nigerian, because that is who the tool is for. The same engine supports international rates when a project needs them.
Subscription pricing is set in naira, with dollar pricing available where a client needs it, converted at the live rate. Card payment in naira is supported directly, and auto-renew is opt-in rather than a default you have to cancel.
Getting the team using it
A rate library is only as good as the discipline behind it. Constants have to be reviewed, prices have to be updated, and the practice has to agree what its build-ups mean. That is a process question as much as a software one.
Our training covers it alongside the tools, in person and online, with corporate programmes built around a firm's own projects. Current courses are on the Learn page and upcoming sessions under training and events.
Common questions
Is this a price book I can look rates up in?
No. It builds rates from material, labour and plant costs you hold and can edit. That is what lets a rate stay correct when one input moves and the others do not.
Which standard are the build-ups aligned to?
BESMM4R. Material and labour constants are editable so a practice can hold figures that match how its own projects actually perform.
Can I use it with quantities measured elsewhere?
Yes. QUIV, HERON, the Revit MEP plugin and CIVIQ all feed it, and a bill uploaded from Excel can be converted into a material and labour schedule without the total changing.
Does it handle rates outside Nigeria?
Yes. The default assumptions are Nigerian, but the same engine supports international rates when a project calls for them.
Where to go next
Work out what this costs for your firm
Pick the tools you need, set how many people use them, and add training. The quotation builder prices it in naira or dollars and you can print or email the result.