Bidfident for excavation contractors
Estimating software for excavation
Pricing a dig in Bidfident starts with the cubic metre. Bulk excavation, footing and trench digging, topsoil stripping and compacted backfill each go on their own line, with operator and labourer hours, granular fill with a waste percentage, and the excavator, dozer or roller charged for the hours it runs. Carry trucking and disposal as a subtrade, and the superintendent by the week.
Enter your email and Bidfident sends you a sign-in link. New companies start with a starter rate library. Who runs Bidfident, and what it keeps about you.
Sound familiar?
The excavator charged for the whole day
A spreadsheet often charges the excavator for every hour the crew is on site, even while it waits on trucks. Over 3,000 cubic metres that adds up fast. In Bidfident each line's equipment has its own hours per unit, so bulk digging and footings each carry the machine time they really need.
Haul quotes that never line up
Three trucking outfits quote off-site disposal by phone, email and text, and the best number gets lost. In Bidfident their bids sit side by side, the lowest is flagged, and it's carried unless you pick another.
Backfill that comes up short
Granular fill priced at the exact volume leaves nothing for spillage and over-dig. In Bidfident each material price carries its own waste percentage, so the extra stone is in the price on that line.
How Bidfident fits your work
Excavator hours apart from the crew's
Give the excavator, dozer or roller its own hours per unit on each line, and it's charged for those hours, not the operator's. Leave it blank and the machine runs for the crew's hours.
Dig, strip and backfill by the cubic metre
Each line takes a quantity in m³ or m², hours per unit for the crew, a material price with a waste percentage, and equipment by the hour. Copy and paste, fill down, and undo anything, just like Excel.
Trucking and disposal bids side by side
Enter each hauler's price for off-site disposal, see the lowest flagged, and carry it or the one you trust more. No quotes back yet? Carry a plug amount.
Operators and labourers at their own rates
Set a rate for each trade in the library: equipment operators on the digging lines, labourers on the backfill. A line with no trade uses the fallback rate.
Superintendent by the week, layout as a lump sum
Add the superintendent by the week and link it to the job duration. Survey and layout can sit beside it as a lump sum.
Earthwork totals by cost code
The cost report totals every code under its division, with subtotals. Where one code holds cubic and square metres, the quantity shows as mixed rather than adding them together.
Worked example: excavation for a two-storey commercial building
A made-up job, priced in Bidfident: 29 lines of your own work, 4 subtrades and 6 overhead items over a 8-week job. The 4 lines this page talks about are listed one by one, and the rest are added up in one row. It's the same job you can open as an example project in Bidfident, so every figure below matches it.
To open this job in Bidfident: sign in and set up your company in Canada, then on the Projects screen, under Example project, pick "Civil and site work" and "Excavation" and press Add example project.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Bulk excavation, common earth, 3,200 m3
| $21,696.00 |
Footing and trench excavation, 420 m3
| $8,542.80 |
Strip and stockpile topsoil, 2,800 m2
| $5,779.20 |
Granular backfill, compacted, 900 m3
| $33,912.00 |
25 more lines of your own work
| $142,939.16 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Trucking, off-site disposal
| $58,400.00 |
Geotechnical inspection and compaction testing
| $9,850.00 |
Utility locates and as-built survey
| $3,650.00 |
Contaminated soil disposal, allowance
| $7,500.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Site superintendent
| $23,200.00 |
Survey and layout
| $6,500.00 |
Mobilize and demobilize equipment
| $8,400.00 |
Site trailer and portable toilet
| $2,440.00 |
Trench box, rented
| $3,450.00 |
Small tools, plate compactors and rammers
| $1,920.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Own work
| $212,869.16 |
| Excluded lines, not counted | $7,430.40 |
| Subtrades | $79,400.00 |
Overhead
| $45,910.00 |
Direct cost
| $338,179.16 |
Contingency
| $10,145.37 |
Fee
| $34,832.45 |
| Subtotal before bonding | $383,156.98 |
Bonding
| $3,831.57 |
Insurance
| $1,915.78 |
Bid total
| $388,904.33 |
GST, for reference
| $19,445.22 |
See it in Bidfident
Coming soon Ask your estimate anything. Claude first, ChatGPT to follow. See how it will work
Questions
Can I charge the excavator for fewer hours than the operator?
Yes. Type the excavator's own hours per unit on the line. Leave it blank and it runs for the operator's hours.
Can I add a waste percentage to backfill?
Yes. Every line's material price has its own waste percentage, so 10% on granular fill is added on that line only.
Can I price in cubic yards instead of cubic metres?
Yes, units are free text, so cy and m³ both work. Bidfident doesn't convert between them, so price each line in the unit its rate is in.
What if the trucking quotes aren't in yet?
Carry a plug amount for trucking until the bids arrive, then enter them side by side and carry the one you want.
Does it work out cut volumes from a site plan?
No. Bidfident doesn't read drawings, plans or survey files. Type your volumes in, or paste them into the sheet.
Can I price rock apart from common earth?
Yes. Put rock on its own line with its own hours per cubic metre and its own equipment, like a hydraulic hammer by the hour. Each line is charged for its own machine time.
Does Bidfident work with Claude or ChatGPT?
Not yet, but it's coming. You'll be able to connect Bidfident to your own Claude or ChatGPT account and ask about your estimates in plain English. The answers will come from Bidfident's own figures, so they match the estimate. It will use the account you already have: Claude first, ChatGPT to follow.
Price your next excavation bid in Bidfident
Enter your email and Bidfident sends you a sign-in link. New companies start with a starter rate library. Who runs Bidfident, and what it keeps about you.