Bidfident for HVAC and ductwork subcontractors
Estimating software for HVAC and ductwork
HVAC estimates in Bidfident price ductwork in the unit you measure it in, by the kilogram or the metre, with diffusers, grilles and rooftop units by number. The scissor lift on the ductwork line runs for its own hours, not the fitters'. Commissioning quotes sit side by side, and the crane hire goes in as a lump sum beside a supervisor who follows the programme.
- Electrical
- Plumbing and mechanical
- HVAC and ductwork
- Dry lining
- Roofing
- Painting and decorating
- Flooring
- Brickwork and blockwork
- Concrete
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?
Ductwork by weight here, by length there
Rectangular ductwork by the kilogram, flexible duct by the metre, and a conversion buried in a cell nobody checks. In Bidfident each line keeps its own unit, so you price every line in the unit its rate is in.
The crane day gets forgotten
The rooftop units need a crane for a day, and in a spreadsheet it lives in a note, not the total. In Bidfident it goes in your preliminaries, by the week, month, lump sum or each, and lands in the tender.
Commissioning quotes that never get compared
Three commissioning firms quote, and the estimate carries whichever figure came in last. In Bidfident the quotes sit side by side, the lowest is flagged, and you carry the one you pick.
How Bidfident fits your work
A lift that runs less than the ductwork gang
Give the scissor lift on the ductwork line its own hours per kilogram and it's charged for those hours alone, not every hour the fitters spend on the line.
Ductwork by the kilogram, units by number
Galvanised ductwork by the kilogram, flexible duct by the metre, diffusers and rooftop units by number. Each line takes a quantity, hours per unit, a material price with a waste percentage for offcuts, and plant by the hour.
The crane hire and supervision
Put the crane hire for the rooftop units in as a lump sum, and the part-time supervisor by the week. Weekly and monthly items follow the programme, so a longer job is priced longer.
Commissioning quotes side by side
Enter each testing and commissioning quote, see the lowest flagged, and carry it or the one you pick. Controls not quoted yet? Carry an allowance until they are.
Ductwork and pipefitting at their own rates
Set a rate for ductwork fitters and another for pipefitters or refrigeration engineers, and each line takes its trade's rate. A line with no trade uses the fallback rate.
See the tender move as you change a price
The tender total stays in view at the top, and after each change it briefly shows how much it moved. Change the price of a rooftop unit and you see what it did to the tender straight away.
Worked example: ventilation and air conditioning for a single-storey health centre
A made-up job, priced in Bidfident: 31 lines of your own work, 3 subcontract packages and 6 preliminaries items over a 9-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 "Specialist subcontractors" and "HVAC and ductwork" and press Add example project.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Rooftop packaged units, 35 kW, set and connected, 2 nr
| £30,056.00 |
Galvanised rectangular ductwork, 1,450 kg
| £15,399.00 |
Insulated flexible duct, 150 mm, 120 m
| £1,611.00 |
Diffusers and grilles, 46 nr
| £3,668.50 |
27 more lines of your own work
| £46,806.20 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Testing, commissioning and air balancing
| £4,200.00 |
Ductwork insulation
| £6,408.00 |
BMS controls
| £9,900.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Supervision, part-time supervisor
| £6,750.00 |
Crane hire for the rooftop units, one day
| £1,650.00 |
Contracts manager, part time
| £2,513.08 |
Small tools and consumables
| £866.70 |
Building Control and gas notification fees
| £798.00 |
Skip, shared with the main contractor
| £496.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Own work
| £97,540.70 |
| Excluded lines, not counted | £11,176.00 |
| Subcontractors | £20,508.00 |
Preliminaries
| £13,073.78 |
Direct cost
| £131,122.48 |
Contingency
| £3,933.67 |
Overheads and profit
| £13,505.62 |
| Subtotal before the bond | £148,561.77 |
Bond
| £1,485.62 |
Insurance
| £742.81 |
Tender total
| £150,790.20 |
VAT, for reference
| £30,158.04 |
See it in Bidfident
Coming soon Ask your estimate anything. Claude first, ChatGPT to follow. See how it will work
Questions
Can I price ductwork by the kilogram?
Yes. Units are free text, so kg, m, m² and nr all work. Bidfident doesn't convert between units, so if your ductwork rate is per kilogram, price the line in kilograms.
Can one line cover a rooftop unit and the labour to set it?
Yes. Each line has a material price and hours per unit, so a rooftop unit set and connected is one line: the unit's price plus the hours to set it.
Can I add the crane hire as a one-off cost?
Yes. Add it to your preliminaries as a lump sum. It lands in the tender, but doesn't change when the programme does.
Can I keep ductwork and pipework rates apart?
Yes. Set a rate per trade in the library and give each line the trade that does the work. Any one line can also carry its own rate, marked in purple.
Does it size the units or work out heat loads?
No. Bidfident prices the work you've already sized. Type the units and quantities in from the design.
Can I carry an allowance for controls before the quotes come in?
Yes. Add controls as a package on the Subcontractors tab and carry an allowance. When the quotes arrive, enter them side by side, and the lowest is flagged.
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 ductwork 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.