How to write a BMS points list that gets an accurate quote
By Tristan Newton, Commercial Director · 31 July 2026 · 4 min read
A BMS panel is priced from its points list. Not from the building, not from the number of AHUs, not from the controller: from the list of inputs and outputs the panel has to handle. Send a good one and you get a price the same day and drawings in two working days. Send "about 60 points, Trend, usual stuff" and you get questions.
Here is what a points list needs, and a template to start from.
What a point is
A point is one signal between the controller and the plant: one thing it reads or one thing it commands. There are four kinds:
- DI, digital input: the controller reads on or off. A fan run status, a filter dirty switch, a boiler fault.
- DO, digital output: the controller switches something on or off. A fan enable, a boiler enable, a damper open.
- AI, analogue input: the controller reads a value. A temperature, a pressure, a CO2 level.
- AO, analogue output: the controller commands a value. A valve position, a fan speed.
Every line on the points list is one of those four. Count them and you have the size of the controller and the panel.
What each line needs
For the panel builder to price and draw the panel, each point needs:
- Which panel it is in, if the job has more than one.
- The plant it belongs to: AHU-1, Boiler 2, LTHW pumps.
- A description: "supply fan run status", not "status".
- The type: DI, DO, AI or AO.
- The signal: volt-free contact, 24V, 0-10V, 4-20mA, Pt1000, NTC. This decides the terminal, the relay, the fuse and sometimes the controller module.
- The field device, if known: the make and model of the sensor or actuator. It settles the signal type and whether the panel has to power it.
- Whether the panel terminates the field cable, or the signal comes from another panel or a starter.
That is the whole list. Two or three columns of it are usually the ones missing.
What to put on the front page
- The controller: make and model, or "to be advised". Trend IQ4 or IQ5, Distech, ISMA, Tridium JACE; whether it is free issue from you or supplied by us. Free-issue controllers explains the process.
- Form of construction, if the specification asks for one (Form 2, 3b, 4b). Form 4 or Form 2?
- Where the panel lives: plant room, riser, roof, and the IP rating that implies.
- Supply: 230V single phase for most outstation panels; three phase if the panel also has starters in it.
- Starters: if the panel is a motor control centre as well as an outstation, list the motors, their kW and starting method separately. How to specify a pump control panel covers what a motor needs.
- Programme: when you need drawings for approval, and when the panel has to be on site.
What to leave out
The control strategy, the graphics, the alarm routing. They matter to the BMS integrator and not to the panel. A points list that is really the controls specification with a points schedule buried on page 40 slows everything down.
The template
Download the points list template (CSV) and open it in Excel or Sheets. It has the columns above and a few example lines. Delete the examples, fill in yours, send it back. A rough list is fine; we would rather have 50 points with three unknowns than wait a week for a perfect one.
What happens next
From the list we size the controller and its expansion modules, count relays, fuses and terminals, choose the enclosure and price it. For a standard Evometrix panel, up to 95 points, that is a price the same day and drawings in two working days, with the panel built in 10 to 20 working days. A bespoke panel with starters takes a little longer to draw.
Frequently asked questions
Do spare points cost extra?
Only the terminals and, if they push the count over a module boundary, the extra module. Ask for 10 to 20 per cent spare; it is far cheaper now than as a site modification.
What if I do not know the field devices yet?
Give the signal type and leave the device blank. The signal is what sizes the panel; the device confirms the wiring detail later.
Can you work from the controls specification instead?
Yes, but it takes longer and we will still send you a points list to confirm. Sending the list yourself is the fastest route to a price.
What is the difference between a points list and an I/O schedule?
Nothing, in practice. Some specifications call it an I/O schedule or points schedule. Same document.
Written by the engineers at G&G Controls, a UK control panel manufacturer in Stoke-on-Trent. For general guidance only; consult a qualified professional for advice on your own installation.
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