The Foundation: Why a VOB-compliant measurement is indispensable
The Construction Contract Procedures (VOB) form the legal backbone for most construction contracts in Germany, especially for public projects. According to § 14 para. 1 VOB/B, the contractor is obligated to provide verifiable billing for their services. This means that the measurement must be detailed and comprehensible enough for an expert third party to review it in an appropriate time frame. A violation of this duty can lead to the rejection of the entire invoice and significantly hinder your company’s liquidity for months.
The basis for compensation is regulated in § 2 para. 2 VOB/B, which clearly refers to the services rendered and proven. Without a clean measurement, the foundation for your claim is missing. Studies show that over 40% of all disputes in construction projects stem from billing and measurement errors. These disputes not only cost money but also consume management capacities, averaging 20 hours per case. A precise measurement app is therefore not a luxury but an economic necessity. Clear documentation protects you from unjustified deductions and secures your margin of up to 8%.
The consequences of inadequate measurements go beyond mere payment delays. If the client rejects an invoice as unreviewable, the entire payment schedule becomes precarious. This can lead to delays of more than 60 days and significantly strain the relationship with the client. A structured approach following a clear measurement according to VOB standards is the first step to proactively minimize these risks and strengthen your legal position.
The rules in detail: Understanding VOB/C and the ATV DIN standards
While VOB/B defines the contractual framework, VOB/C defines the General Technical Contractual Conditions (ATV) and thus the specific billing rules. Each trade has its own DIN standard (e.g., DIN 18330 for masonry work), which specifies in section 5 how measurements and billing should be carried out. These rules are binding unless otherwise agreed in the contract. A typical example is the measurement rule for openings: For painting work (DIN 18363), openings such as windows or doors are measured up to a single size of 2.5 m², while for tiling work (DIN 18352), this limit is already at 0.1 m².
Knowledge of these trade-specific details is crucial for accurate billing and prevents you from losing up to 5% of the service value. Here are some central regulatory areas of the ATV:
- Determination of dimensions: Determines whether measurements are taken from drawings or on-site and which building components are to be included.
- Overmeasuring rules: Define up to which size recesses, openings, or interruptions are overmeasured and not deducted.
- Deduction and allocation: Regulate the handling of installed parts or adjacent components from other trades.
- Special services: Describe services that are not part of the normal execution and are to be compensated separately, such as closing grooves.
VOB/C stipulates that measurements should be created jointly by client and contractor to exclude discrepancies from the outset. In practice, this is often a time-consuming process that can delay the construction schedule by up to 2 days per construction phase. A digital craftsman measurement software, which documents every step with photos and timestamps, creates an irrefutable data foundation that often makes a joint measurement on-site unnecessary. This ensures compliance with complex rules without wasting valuable time.
Source of danger: Manual measurement: How errors can reduce your margin by 20%
The classic measurement with clipboard, pen, and paper is one of the biggest sources of error in the construction process. An illegible handwriting, a digit transposition, or a lost note can be sufficient to make an invoice contestable and force rework that costs an average of 10 working hours. These manual processes are not only inefficient but also pose significant financial risks. A misplaced comma can change the value of an item by a factor of 10.
The most common sources of error during the manual creation of a measurement are:
- Transcription errors: Errors occur in 15% of cases when typing handwritten notes into the office system.
- Incomplete documentation: Missing sketches, photos, or precise location information make verification impossible.
- Loss of documents: A wet or lost measurement slip means that all work must be repeated, which often costs an entire workday.
- Lack of traceability: Without timestamps and exact assignment, it is often unclear when and where the service was provided.
These errors lead to up to 20% of reviewed invoices being initially rejected. The subsequent clarification not only costs time but also damages the trust relationship with the client. A digital measurement app systematically eliminates these risks. The structured, seamless data capture ensures that all data is correctly, completely, and securely stored from the first moment. The risk of margin losses due to measurement errors thus decreases by over 90%.
The digital transformation: VOB-compliant measurement in 3 simple steps with Valoon
The digitization of measurement does not have to be complicated or require weeks of onboarding. Valoon uses the most widely used app on every construction site – WhatsApp. Your employees do not need new software or training. The process of creating a legally safe measurement according to VOB standards is reduced to three simple steps that any employee can perform in under 60 seconds.
Here’s how digital measurement capture works with Valoon:
- Photo and voice message: The employee on-site takes a photo of the service provided and dictates the dimensions and related LV position via voice message directly into the project chat. This takes an average of only 45 seconds.
- Automatic transcription: Valoon’s AI converts the voice message into text and analyzes the data. All information is automatically assigned to the correct LV position.
- Legally compliant protocol: In the Valoon web portal, a measurement protocol is immediately created with photo, timestamp, GPS data, and transcribed text. This document is 100% verifiable and cannot be manipulated.
This process reduces on-site data capture effort by up to 70% and eliminates transcription errors completely. The data is immediately available in the office, which reduces the time between service provision and invoicing from days to just a few hours. Through comprehensive documentation, including visual evidence, discussions about services rendered are practically excluded. This significantly accelerates the VOB acceptance and massively increases legal certainty, without burdening employees on-site with complex technology.
Conclusion: Your advantage with Valoon – Simple, Efficient, Legally Compliant
Creating a measurement according to VOB standards is one of the most critical, but also error-prone tasks in the construction process. Manual methods waste time, cause errors, and lead to costly payment delays that can reduce your margin by up to 20%. A digital solution is the only way to ensure long-term efficiency and safety. Valoon offers a uniquely straightforward approach that guarantees acceptance on-site while ensuring perfect, VOB-compliant data in the office.
Your advantages at a glance:
- Simplicity: Your employees continue to use WhatsApp. There is no training effort or acceptance issues, which speeds up the introduction by 90%.
- Time savings: Documenting a measurement point takes less than 1 minute. Automatic logging saves the office at least 5 hours of manual work per week.
- Legal certainty: Every capture is documented with photo, time, and location stamps, and is unchangeable. This creates a 100% verifiable foundation for your revision documents according to VOB and minimizes the risk of disputes by 95%.
Stop wasting valuable time and money with outdated processes. Secure your liquidity and strengthen your legal position with a system made for construction sites. Schedule your free demo now and experience how easy VOB-compliant measurement can be.
More Links
The Federal Ministry of Finance provides detailed information on procurement under VOB (Construction Contract Procedures) at the federal level.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community provides the administrative regulation for the introduction of VOB at the federal level.
Das German Institute for Standardization (DIN) offers search results and additional information on VOB.
Das Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) provides current statistics and data on construction in Germany.
Der Main Association of the German Construction Industry discusses the cooperative collaboration through the new VOB/B in an article.
Das Fraunhofer IESE offers a blog article on digitization in the construction industry and relevant studies.
FAQ
Is a measurement according to VOB always mandatory?
If a construction contract is concluded based on VOB/B, a verifiable measurement is mandatory for billing the services rendered. While VOB-compliant billing is not required for BGB contracts, the contractor must also prove their services comprehensively, which a measurement provides the best foundation for.
How do I create a measurement sheet according to VOB standards?
A measurement sheet should be clearly structured. It contains header data (construction project, date, creator), followed by columns for the LV position number, description of the service, individual dimensions (length, width, height), calculated quantity, and unit. Sketches and photos should be attached. Valoon automates this process and creates the protocol for you.
What happens if the client does not acknowledge the measurement?
If the client rejects the measurement as ‘not verifiable’, they must do so within the verification period (usually 30 days for final invoices) with a comprehensible justification. The contractor must then revise the work. A digitally created measurement with photographic and timestamp evidence significantly minimizes this risk, as the proof is clear.
What advantages does a digital measurement with Valoon offer?
Valoon makes the measurement process extremely easy since your employees only use WhatsApp. The benefits include: 70% time savings in data capture, no transcription errors, immediate data availability in the office, and automatically generated, legally compliant protocols with photo, time, and GPS stamps. This speeds up invoicing and secures your liquidity.
Do my employees need to learn a new app for Valoon?
No. That is the key advantage of Valoon. Your employees on-site communicate and document simply through the familiar WhatsApp chat. All intelligent processing and logging occurs in the background. This guarantees 100% acceptance from day one.
Are the data sent via WhatsApp GDPR compliant?
Yes, Valoon ensures compliance with the GDPR. The data is processed through a secure interface and stored on servers in Germany. The use occurs under a data processing agreement (DPA) that ensures the privacy-compliant handling of all information.
