GETTING STARTED
Quickstart
From a blank workspace to a priced BOQ in under ten minutes. This guide covers account setup, your first project, BOQ construction, and export.
On this page
Prerequisites
Nothing to install. ZRO runs in your browser. If you are self-hosting, follow the self-host guide first, then return here.
Step 1 — Create your workspace
Sign up
Navigate to /signup. Fill in your full name, work email, and a password of at least 12 characters. Select your country and preferred platform language from the dropdown. Click Create workspace.
Complete onboarding
The onboarding wizard opens after signup. It walks you through your platform capabilities, creates your first project, and optionally loads a sample BOQ so you can see the editor in a populated state. You can skip the sample data — your workspace is fully functional immediately.
Step 2 — Create a project
Open Projects and click New Project
Every estimate, BOQ, cost record, and field report is scoped to a project. A project represents a single construction work — a building, infrastructure package, or defined scope of works.
Fill in the project form
Step 3 — Build a BOQ
Open the BOQ editor
From the project detail page, click BOQ in the sidebar. The editor opens with an empty work breakdown structure. Click Add section to create a top-level section — for example, 02 Substructure or 03 Frame.
Search for CWICR positions
Within a section, click Add position. The position search panel opens. Type a description in plain language:
reinforced concrete suspended slab 200mm
external thermal render on block
structural steel column H-section
precast concrete stair flight
aluminium curtain walling systemThe semantic search engine returns ranked matches from the CWICR database. Each result shows the position code, full title, unit, and total unit rate for your selected regional market.
Set quantities and review the breakdown
Select a position. Enter the quantity. The editor shows the full resource breakdown — labour, materials, equipment, overhead — and calculates the line total in real time. Repeat for each element in your scope. Use sections to group by trade or building element.
Step 4 — Quick Estimate (feasibility path)
If you need a rapid cost indication before committing to a full BOQ, use the Quick Estimate module instead of steps 5–7 above.
Describe the scope
Navigate to Quick Estimate. Enter a scope description, gross floor area in m², and the project location. The system processes your description through the regional cost database and returns a structured preliminary estimate with line items, subtotals, contingency, and an overall confidence score within seconds.
Step 5 — Export
From the BOQ editor or the Estimates list, click the Export menu.