Bidfident for groundworks contractors
Estimating software for excavation and muck away
Pricing a dig in Bidfident starts with the cubic metre. Bulk excavation, foundation and trench digging, topsoil strip and compacted Type 1 backfill each go on their own line, with plant operator and groundworker hours, stone with a waste percentage, and the 360, dozer or roller charged for the hours it works. Carry muck away as a subcontract package, and the site manager 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 360 charged for the whole day
A spreadsheet often charges the excavator for every hour the gang is on site, even while it waits for wagons. Over 3,000 cubic metres that soon adds up. In Bidfident each line's plant has its own hours per unit, so the bulk dig and the foundations each carry the machine time they really need.
Muck away quotes that never line up
Three hauliers quote for tipping by phone, email and text, and the best rate gets lost. In Bidfident their quotes sit side by side on the Subcontractors tab, the lowest is flagged, and it's carried unless you choose another.
Backfill that comes up short
Type 1 priced at the exact volume leaves nothing for spillage and over-dig. In Bidfident each materials 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 gang'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 works the gang's hours.
Dig, strip and backfill by the cubic metre
Each line takes a quantity in m³ or m², labour hours per unit, a materials price with a waste percentage, and plant by the hour. Copy and paste, fill down, and undo anything, just like Excel.
Muck away quotes side by side
Enter each haulier's price for off-site disposal, see the lowest flagged, and carry it or the one you trust more. No quotes back yet? Carry an allowance.
Plant operators and groundworkers at their own rates
Set a rate for each trade in the library: plant operators on the digging lines, groundworkers on the backfill. A line with no trade uses the fallback rate.
Site manager by the week, setting out as a lump sum
Add the site manager by the week and link it to the job duration. Setting out and survey can sit beside it as a lump sum.
Earthworks 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 subcontract packages and 6 preliminaries items over a 8-week programme. 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 the UK, then on the Projects screen, under Example project, pick "Civils and groundworks" and "Excavation" and press Add example project.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Bulk excavation, reduced level dig, 3,200 m3
| £8,640.00 |
Foundation and trench excavation, 420 m3
| £3,402.00 |
Strip and stockpile topsoil, 2,800 m2
| £2,464.00 |
Type 1 backfill, compacted in layers, 900 m3
| £47,466.00 |
25 more lines of your own work
| £75,717.34 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Muck away, off-site disposal
| £38,500.00 |
Plate bearing and compaction testing
| £4,900.00 |
Utility survey and as-built survey
| £2,150.00 |
Disposal of contaminated material, allowance
| £4,000.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Site manager
| £12,800.00 |
Setting out and survey
| £3,500.00 |
Mobilise and demobilise plant
| £4,200.00 |
Site cabin and welfare unit, serviced
| £2,120.00 |
Trench box, hired
| £1,560.00 |
Small tools, wacker plates and trench rammers
| £960.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Own work
| £137,689.34 |
| Excluded lines, not counted | £3,168.00 |
| Subcontractors | £49,550.00 |
Preliminaries
| £25,140.00 |
Direct cost
| £212,379.34 |
Contingency
| £6,371.38 |
Overheads and profit
| £21,875.07 |
| Subtotal before the bond | £240,625.79 |
Bond
| £2,406.26 |
Insurance
| £1,203.13 |
Tender total
| £244,235.18 |
VAT, for reference
| £48,847.04 |
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 works the operator's hours.
Can I add a waste percentage to Type 1?
Yes. Every line's materials price has its own waste percentage, so 10% on the backfill is added on that line only.
Can I price muck away by the load or the tonne?
Yes, units are free text, so loads, t and m³ all work. Bidfident doesn't convert between them, so price each line in the unit its rate is in.
What if the muck away quotes aren't in yet?
Carry an allowance for it until the quotes arrive, then enter them side by side and carry the one you want.
Does it work out dig volumes from a site plan?
No. Bidfident doesn't read drawings, plans or survey files. Type your volumes in from your bill of quantities, or paste them into the sheet.
Can I price rock apart from the soft dig?
Yes. Put rock on its own line with its own hours per cubic metre and its own plant, like a hydraulic breaker 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 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.