Bidfident for surfacing contractors
Estimating software for surfacing
If you surface car parks and estate roads, Bidfident lets you price Type 1 sub-base by the square metre, asphalt by the tonne and kerbs by the metre, each with a waste percentage on the materials. The paver and grader are charged for the hours they work, line marking comes in as a subcontract package, and traffic management follows the programme week by week.
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Sound familiar?
Tonnes, square metres and metres in one column
A surfacing spreadsheet mixes sub-base by area, asphalt by weight and kerbs by length, and a total can end up adding them together. In Bidfident each line keeps its own unit, and the cost report shows a code's quantity as mixed instead of adding tonnes to metres.
The paver charged for the whole shift
The paver is the dearest machine on the job, but it doesn't lay every hour the gang is on site. In Bidfident each asphalt line gives the paver its own hours per tonne, apart from the gang's.
Traffic management that stays put
The job slips a week and the traffic management line in the spreadsheet stays at four weeks. In Bidfident weekly items like traffic management follow the job duration.
How Bidfident fits your work
Asphalt by the tonne, sub-base by the square metre
Each line has its own unit, quantity, labour hours per unit, and materials price with a waste percentage, like 3% on the binder and surface courses. Copy, paste and fill down as you would in Excel.
Paver and grader for the hours they work
Give the paver its own hours per tonne and the grader its own hours per square metre of sub-base. Each is charged for its own hours, not the gang's.
Surfacing gang and kerb layers at their own rates
The surfacing operatives, kerb layers and groundworkers on the sub-base each take their trade's rate from the library.
Traffic management by the week
Add traffic management and the site manager by the week, linked to the job duration. Change the weeks and both follow.
Line marking quotes side by side
Enter each line marking contractor's price for lines and bay markings, see the lowest flagged, and carry it or the one you choose.
A thicker surface course as an alternate
Price an option, like an extra course or speed humps, and switch it off. It stays on the sheet, struck through, with what it comes to shown beside the totals.
Worked example: surfacing for a 120-space car park
A made-up job, priced in Bidfident: 24 lines of your own work, 4 subcontract packages and 5 preliminaries items over a 4-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 "Surfacing" and press Add example project.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Type 1 sub-base, 300 mm, compacted, 3,900 m2
| £58,636.50 |
Asphalt binder course, AC 20, 50 mm, 460 t
| £43,212.40 |
Asphalt surface course, AC 10, 40 mm, 370 t
| £38,143.30 |
Concrete kerb, extruded, 125 mm upstand, 520 m
| £9,282.00 |
20 more lines of your own work
| £74,771.99 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Line marking and bay markings
| £2,350.00 |
Asphalt core and compaction testing
| £3,100.00 |
Car park signage and posts
| £2,090.00 |
Soft spot repairs to formation, allowance
| £3,300.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Site manager
| £6,400.00 |
Traffic management
| £3,600.00 |
Mobilise paver and rollers, low loader
| £5,000.00 |
Setting out
| £2,100.00 |
Welfare unit, serviced
| £580.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Own work
| £224,046.19 |
| Excluded lines, not counted | £10,992.28 |
| Subcontractors | £10,840.00 |
Preliminaries
| £17,680.00 |
Direct cost
| £252,566.19 |
Contingency
| £7,576.99 |
Overheads and profit
| £26,014.32 |
| Subtotal before the bond | £286,157.50 |
Bond
| £2,861.58 |
Insurance
| £1,430.79 |
Tender total
| £290,449.87 |
VAT, for reference
| £58,089.97 |
See it in Bidfident
Coming soon Ask your estimate anything. Claude first, ChatGPT to follow. See how it will work
Questions
Can I price asphalt by the tonne and sub-base by the square metre?
Yes. Each line has its own unit, so t, m², m and nr all work on one sheet.
Does it work out tonnes from area and thickness?
No. Bidfident doesn't convert between units. Enter the tonnes you've worked out, and price the line in tonnes.
Can I add waste to asphalt and kerbs?
Yes. Every line's materials price has its own waste percentage.
Can I show speed humps or an extra course as an option?
Yes. Switch the line off. It stays on the sheet, struck through, and what it comes to is shown beside the totals, for reference only.
Can traffic management follow the programme?
Yes. Add it by the week and link it to the job duration. Change the duration and it updates.
Can the paver be charged for fewer hours than the surfacing gang?
Yes. Give the paver its own hours per tonne on each asphalt line. Leave it blank and it works the gang's hours.
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 surfacing 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.