RA Bill Format — Free Download for Indian Builders

What is an RA bill?

An RA bill — Running Account bill — is the periodic invoice a contractor raises against a builder/owner for work executed up to a date, against the agreed BOQ. RA bills are how Indian construction projects pay contractors progressively rather than at the end. Typically raised monthly or fortnightly, each RA bill carries cumulative work-done quantities; this bill's payable amount = (cumulative now − cumulative previous bill) × BOQ rate, minus retention, advances, TDS, and plus GST.

For Indian builders, RA bills are central to cash-flow management. Get them right and your contractors stay happy and on schedule. Get them wrong — disputed quantities, missed retention, GST mistakes — and your project stops. RERA also requires RA bill records to be maintained and auditable for the project's duration.

When are RA bills raised?

Per the contractor agreement — most Indian residential and commercial projects use monthly RA bill cycles (1st to 30th, paid by 15th of next month). Larger EPC and PSU contracts run fortnightly. A "Final RA bill" closes the contract once all items are 100% executed and the defect liability period is over.

Key fields in this RA bill template

• 1. Project + contractor + bill number + period
• 2. BOQ item code, description, unit, rate
• 3. Cumulative quantity executed up to this bill
• 4. Quantity in previous RA bill
• 5. This bill's quantity (current − previous)
• 6. This bill's value per item
• 7. Gross value of the bill
• 8. Retention deduction (typically 5–10%)
• 9. Mobilisation / material advance recovery
• 10. TDS as per Section 194C / 194Q
• 11. GST (18% works contract, typical)
• 12. Net payable in figures and words

How to prepare an RA bill — step by step

1. Pull the BOQ items relevant to this billing period.
2. Site engineer measures cumulative work — joint measurement with the contractor's representative for honesty.
3. Compute this-bill quantity = cumulative now − cumulative previous bill.
4. Multiply by BOQ rate to get item value.
5. Apply deductions — retention 5%, mobilisation advance recovery (pro-rated), TDS 1–2%.
6. Add GST as per the agreement (18% for most works contracts) and finalise net payable.

Common mistakes

• No joint measurement. If the contractor's site supervisor doesn't sign the measurement sheet, expect disputes.
• Forgetting retention. Retention released too early means no leverage during defect liability.
• Wrong GST rate — works contract is 18%, but composite supply for under-construction residential is 5% / 7.5%. Confirm with your CA.
• Missing advance recovery. If you paid mobilisation advance, recover it in proportion across RA bills.
• No DPR backup. Every RA bill needs a DPR + photo file as supporting evidence.

How Site Setu automates this

Site Setu's RA-bill module pulls live BOQ items, asks the site engineer for work-done %, and auto-computes quantities, retention, advance recovery, TDS and GST. The bill comes pre-attached with the relevant DPRs and photographs — auditor-ready. See features · Pricing.