Bidfident for earthworks contractors
Estimating software for earthworks
Bidfident is built for estimators who price earthworks by the square metre and the cubic metre. Topsoil strip, cut and fill, trimming to formation, proof rolling and respreading each go on their own line, the dozer, motor grader and roller get their own hours apart from the operator's, setting out comes in as a subcontract package, and silt fencing sits in the prelims.
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Sound familiar?
Dozer and grader time lumped in with the gang
Bulk earthworks and trimming use different machines for very different hours, but a spreadsheet row often has one blended rate. In Bidfident each line names its own plant with its own hours per unit, apart from the operator's.
Big areas, tiny rates
On a 14,500 square metre playing field, a slip in hours per square metre moves the price by thousands. Bidfident keeps the running total in view and briefly shows how much it moved after each change, so a slip shows at once.
The same area on five lines
Strip, trim, proof roll and respread all use the field's area, and when it changes some rows get missed. In Bidfident the sheet fills down like Excel, and every change is one undo step if you go too far.
How Bidfident fits your work
Dozer, grader and roller for their own hours
A cut and fill line can carry the dozer at its own hours per cubic metre, and trimming the motor grader at its own hours per square metre. Each machine is charged for the time it works.
Every pass on its own line
Strip, cut and fill, trim to formation, proof roll and respread each get a line with a quantity, a unit, labour hours per unit and plant. Totals update as you type.
Outputs kept in the library
Save tasks with their hours per unit, like trimming per square metre, in the company library. Every estimate picks up the same outputs.
Setting out as a subcontract package
Enter each engineer's price for setting out and level checks side by side, see the lowest flagged, and carry it or another you choose.
Group by pitch, car park or access road
Tag lines with an area, like the main pitch, the car park or the access road, and group the sheet with a subtotal for each.
Silt fencing and supervision in the prelims
Silt fencing as a lump sum, the site manager by the week. Linked weekly items follow the programme, even part weeks like 4.5.
Worked example: earthworks and levels for a school playing field
A made-up job, priced in Bidfident: 27 lines of your own work, 3 subcontract packages and 5 preliminaries items over a 5-week programme. 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 the UK, then on the Projects screen, under Example project, pick "Civils and groundworks" and "Earthworks" and press Add example project.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Strip and stockpile topsoil, 14,500 m2
| £8,192.50 |
Cut and fill on site, 6,200 m3
| £12,834.00 |
Trim to formation, plus or minus 25 mm, 14,500 m2
| £6,960.00 |
Formation compaction and proof roll, 14,500 m2
| £2,711.50 |
Respread topsoil, 150 mm, 14,500 m2
| £7,757.50 |
22 more lines of your own work
| £60,977.55 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Setting out and level checks
| £4,200.00 |
Compaction and plate bearing testing
| £3,150.00 |
Imported topsoil if the site stock runs short, allowance
| £6,500.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Site manager
| £8,000.00 |
Silt fencing and pollution control
| £2,600.00 |
Mobilise and demobilise plant
| £3,800.00 |
Site cabin and welfare unit, serviced
| £1,325.00 |
Road sweeper and dust suppression
| £4,200.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Own work
| £99,433.05 |
| Excluded lines, not counted | £45,298.00 |
| Subcontractors | £13,850.00 |
Preliminaries
| £19,925.00 |
Direct cost
| £133,208.05 |
Contingency
| £3,996.24 |
Overheads and profit
| £13,720.43 |
| Subtotal before the bond | £150,924.72 |
Bond
| £1,509.25 |
Insurance
| £754.62 |
Tender total
| £153,188.59 |
VAT, for reference
| £30,637.72 |
See it in Bidfident
Coming soon Ask your estimate anything. Claude first, ChatGPT to follow. See how it will work
Questions
Can the dozer and grader work fewer hours than the operator?
Yes. Each line's plant can have its own hours per unit. Leave it blank and the machine works the gang's hours.
Can I keep my outputs per square metre?
Yes. Save them as tasks with hours per unit in the rate library, and pick them from the line picker by typing a description.
Does it work out cut and fill from a survey?
No. Bidfident doesn't read survey files, drawings or maps. Enter the volumes your survey or earthworks software gives you.
Can I price in hectares?
Units are free text, so any unit works. Bidfident doesn't convert between units, so price each line in the unit its rate is in.
Can silt fencing go in as a lump sum?
Yes. Add it as a preliminaries item by lump sum on the Overhead tab, beside weekly items like the site manager.
What if wet weather adds a week to the earthworks?
Change the job duration and the site manager, and every other weekly or monthly preliminaries item linked to it, updates. Part weeks are allowed.
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 earthworks tender 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.