Bidfident for custom home builders
Estimating software for custom homes
Custom homes make for long estimates. Bidfident prices the framing package, shingles, insulation and drywall by the square foot, from your own rates for carpenters, drywall installers and laborers, with interior trim as a lump sum. Mechanical and electrical sub bids sit side by side, supervision and temp power follow the build schedule, and a finished basement can stay on the sheet as an alternate.
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?
A house too long to see on one screen
Hundreds of rows, and the only way to see the whole house is to scroll. In Bidfident you group the sheet by division or by floor, then collapse it to see every subtotal at once.
Six months of general conditions to keep current
Supervision, temp power and the porta-john are priced for 26 weeks, then the build runs four weeks long. In Bidfident weekly and monthly items follow the job duration.
Last year's rates in this year's house
The new estimate is a copy of the last one, with last year's rates still in it. In Bidfident every estimate uses the company's one rate library, and a submitted bid keeps the rates it was priced with.
How Bidfident fits your work
The whole house, division by division
Group the sheet by CSI division, from framing and roofing to insulation, drywall and finish carpentry, each with its subtotal. Collapse it to see the whole house.
Every trade at its own rate
Carpenters, drywall installers and laborers, each at their rate from the company library. Change a rate once and every line using it updates.
Mechanical and electrical bids side by side
Enter each sub bid for plumbing and HVAC, and for electrical. The lowest is flagged and carried unless you pick another, and a declined bid is ignored.
General conditions for the length of the build
The super by the week, temp power and the porta-john by the month, linked to the job duration. Change the weeks and they follow.
Totals by cost code
The cost report totals the house by cost code, under each division with its subtotal. Click a row to jump to it, or copy the report as CSV.
From cost to bid, to the cent
Direct cost, then contingency and fee, with insurance on the subtotal after fee. Any sales tax is shown apart, for reference. The basement alternate is shown for reference only.
Worked example: a 2,400 SF custom home
A made-up job, priced in Bidfident: 26 lines of your own work, 4 subs and 6 general conditions items over a 26-week job. The 6 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 US, then on the Projects screen, under Example project, pick "Remodelers and home builders" and "Custom homes" and press Add example project.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Framing package, walls, floors and roof, 2,400 SF
| $92,208.00 |
Asphalt shingles with underlayment, 2,900 SF
| $12,093.00 |
Insulation and vapor barrier, 5,200 SF
| $8,814.00 |
Drywall, hung, taped and sanded, 8,600 SF
| $17,827.80 |
Interior doors and trim, 1 LS
| $21,520.00 |
Alternate 1: finished basement, 1,100 SF
| $32,076.00 |
21 more lines of your own work
| $113,138.05 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Plumbing and HVAC
| $35,100.00 |
Electrical
| $21,800.00 |
Foundation, footings, walls and slab
| $30,800.00 |
Owner selections: cabinets, countertops and flooring, allowance
| $54,400.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Superintendent, part-time
| $13,520.00 |
Temp power and portable toilet
| $2,340.00 |
Dumpster swaps
| $4,750.00 |
Building permit and inspections
| $5,500.00 |
Survey staking and foundation location
| $1,500.00 |
Final cleaning
| $1,150.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Own work
| $265,600.85 |
| Excluded lines, not counted | $32,076.00 |
| Subcontractors | $142,100.00 |
General conditions
| $28,760.00 |
Direct cost
| $436,460.85 |
Contingency
| $17,458.43 |
Fee
| $54,470.31 |
| Subtotal before the bond | $508,389.59 |
Bond
| $0.00 |
Insurance
| $2,541.95 |
Bid total
| $510,931.54 |
See it in Bidfident
Coming soon Ask your estimate anything. Claude first, ChatGPT to follow. See how it will work
Questions
Can I collapse the estimate to see the whole house?
Yes. Group the sheet by CSI division, area or location, then collapse the groups to see every subtotal on one screen.
Will last year's custom home bids change when I raise my carpenter and drywall rates?
No, not once a bid is submitted. A submitted bid keeps the labor and equipment rates it was priced with.
Can I go back to the house as it was before the plans were revised?
Yes. Bidfident keeps a version each time it saves, and about every 10 minutes while it autosaves. Compare any saved version of the house with now, and restore it with a click.
Can temp power be priced by the month?
Yes. General conditions can be by the week, month, lump sum or each, and weekly and monthly items can follow the job duration.
Can it figure sales tax on a custom home bid?
Yes. Sales tax starts at 0% for a US company, so no tax line shows. Type your rate in Company settings and the bid summary works it out, for reference; the bid total stays before tax.
Can I track actual costs against the estimate during the build?
No. Bidfident is for pricing the job, not job costing. You can copy the cost report as CSV for your own spreadsheet.
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 custom home 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.