Bidfident for underground utility contractors
Estimating software for underground utilities
For water, sewer and storm work, Bidfident prices pipe by the metre, trenching and bedding by the cubic metre, and manholes each. Pipelayers, operators and labourers each carry their own rate, the excavator gets its own hours on every line, camera inspection comes in as a subtrade, and the trench box and superintendent follow the schedule week by 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?
One excavator, very different hours
Digging trench takes the excavator minutes per cubic metre, setting a manhole takes hours. A spreadsheet with one machine rate gets both wrong. In Bidfident each line gives the excavator its own hours per unit.
Pipelayers at a blended rate
Pipelayers, operators and labourers end up at one average rate, and the price drifts as the crew mix changes. In Bidfident each line takes its trade's rate from the library, and any line can carry its own rate, marked in purple.
Trench box rental stuck at the old schedule
The job grows from 7 weeks to 9, and the trench box and superintendent stay where they were. In Bidfident weekly items linked to the job duration follow it.
How Bidfident fits your work
Pipe by the metre, manholes each
Sewer and watermain by the metre, trench and bedding by the cubic metre, manholes each. Each line has crew hours per unit and a material price with a waste percentage.
Excavator hours line by line
The excavator can run 0.04 hours per cubic metre on trenching and 3 hours on each manhole. Each line charges it for its own hours, not the crew's.
Pipelayers, operators and labourers
Set a rate for each trade once in the library. Every line takes its trade's rate, so a pipe line and a bedding line are each priced right.
Trench box by the week
Rent the trench box and pay the superintendent by the week, linked to the job duration. Change the weeks and both follow.
Camera inspection and testing bids
Enter each bid for sewer camera inspection or testing, see the lowest flagged, and carry it or the one you pick. Carry a plug amount until bids arrive.
Group by street or phase
Tag lines with an area or location, like a street or a phase of the subdivision, and group the sheet with a subtotal for each.
Worked example: water and sewer services for a 24-lot subdivision phase
A made-up job, priced in Bidfident: 28 lines of your own work, 4 subtrades and 5 overhead items over a 7-week job. The 5 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 "Underground utilities" and press Add example project.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Trench excavation and backfill, 1,200 m3
| $17,136.00 |
PVC sanitary sewer, 200 mm, 360 m
| $23,889.60 |
PVC watermain, 150 mm, 340 m
| $19,339.20 |
Precast manholes, 1200 mm, 5 ea
| $27,225.00 |
Pipe bedding, clear stone, 270 m3
| $11,502.00 |
23 more lines of your own work
| $247,633.60 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Camera inspection of the sewer
| $4,950.00 |
Asphalt patching at tie-ins
| $7,800.00 |
Survey layout and as-built drawings
| $6,900.00 |
Rock and boulder removal, allowance
| $9,000.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Site superintendent
| $20,300.00 |
Trench box rental
| $5,950.00 |
Mobilize excavator, backhoe and trench box
| $7,500.00 |
Traffic control at the tie-ins
| $7,200.00 |
Site trailer
| $1,820.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Own work
| $346,725.40 |
| Excluded lines, not counted | $7,425.60 |
| Subtrades | $28,650.00 |
Overhead
| $42,770.00 |
Direct cost
| $418,145.40 |
Contingency
| $16,725.82 |
Fee
| $43,487.12 |
| Subtotal before bonding | $478,358.34 |
Bonding
| $4,783.58 |
Insurance
| $2,391.79 |
Bid total
| $485,533.71 |
GST, for reference
| $24,276.69 |
See it in Bidfident
Coming soon Ask your estimate anything. Claude first, ChatGPT to follow. See how it will work
Questions
Can I price pipe by the metre and manholes each?
Yes. Units are free text, so m, m³ and ea work side by side. Bidfident doesn't convert between units.
Can a manhole line use more excavator time than a trench line?
Yes. Every line gives the excavator its own hours per unit, so each one is charged for the time it needs.
Can pipelayers have a different rate from operators?
Yes. Set a rate for each trade in the library. Any single line can also carry its own rate.
Can the trench box follow the schedule?
Yes. Add it by the week and link it to the job duration, and it updates when the duration changes.
Can I split the job by street or phase?
Yes. Tag lines with an area or location and group the sheet by it, with subtotals. The cost report can filter by them too.
Can it track pipe laid against the estimate?
No. Bidfident is for pricing the job. It doesn't do job costing against actuals or time tracking.
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 underground 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.