Bidfident for HVAC contractors
Estimating software for HVAC and sheet metal
HVAC estimates in Bidfident price ductwork in the unit you count it in, by the pound or the linear foot, with diffusers, grilles and rooftop units each. The scissor lift on the duct line runs for its own hours, not the crew's. TAB bids sit side by side, and the crane pick goes in as a lump sum beside a foreman who follows the job's weeks.
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?
Duct by weight here, by length there
Rectangular duct by the pound, flex by the foot, 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 pick 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 general conditions, by the week, month, lump sum or each, and lands in the bid.
Balancing bids that never get leveled
Three TAB firms bid, and the estimate carries whichever number came in last. In Bidfident the bids 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 duct crew
Give the scissor lift on the duct line its own hours per pound and it's charged for those hours alone, not every hour the sheet metal workers spend on the line.
Duct by the pound, units each
Galvanized duct by the pound, flex by the linear foot, diffusers and rooftop units each. Each line takes a quantity, hours per unit, a material price with a waste percentage for scrap, and equipment by the hour.
The crane pick and the foreman
Put the crane for the rooftop units in as a lump sum, and the part-time foreman by the week. Weekly and monthly items follow the job duration, so a longer job is priced longer.
TAB bids side by side
Enter each testing, adjusting and balancing bid, see the lowest flagged, and carry it or the one you pick. No TAB number yet? Carry a plug number until it comes in.
Sheet metal and pipefitting at their own rates
Set a rate for sheet metal workers and another for pipefitters or refrigeration techs, and each line takes its trade's rate. A line with no trade uses the fallback rate.
See the bid move as you change a price
The bid 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 bid right away.
Worked example: hVAC for a single-story medical clinic
A made-up job, priced in Bidfident: 31 lines of your own work, 3 subs and 6 general conditions items over a 9-week job. 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 US, then on the Projects screen, under Example project, pick "Specialty contractors" and "HVAC" and press Add example project.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Rooftop units, 10-ton, set and connected, 2 ea
| $31,968.00 |
Galvanized rectangular duct, 3,200 lb
| $23,200.00 |
Insulated flex duct, 6", 395 LF
| $2,707.73 |
Diffusers and grilles, 46 ea
| $5,773.00 |
27 more lines of your own work
| $76,176.34 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Testing, adjusting and balancing
| $5,500.00 |
Duct insulation
| $9,320.00 |
Building automation controls
| $14,400.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Supervision, part-time foreman
| $9,900.00 |
Crane pick for the rooftop units, one day
| $2,600.00 |
Project manager, part time
| $3,655.38 |
Small tools and consumables
| $1,260.00 |
Mechanical and gas permits
| $1,160.00 |
Dumpster, shared with the general contractor
| $720.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Own work
| $139,825.07 |
| Excluded lines, not counted | $16,568.00 |
| Subcontractors | $29,220.00 |
General conditions
| $19,295.38 |
Direct cost
| $188,340.45 |
Contingency
| $5,650.21 |
Fee
| $19,399.07 |
| Subtotal before the bond | $213,389.73 |
Bond
| $2,133.90 |
Insurance
| $1,066.95 |
Bid total
| $216,590.58 |
See it in Bidfident
Coming soon Ask your estimate anything. Claude first, ChatGPT to follow. See how it will work
Questions
Can I price duct by the pound?
Yes. Units are free text, so lb, LF, SF and EA all work. Bidfident doesn't convert between units, so if your duct rate is per pound, price the line in pounds.
Can one line cover a rooftop unit and the labor 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 as a one-off cost?
Yes. Add it to general conditions as a lump sum. It lands in the bid, but doesn't change when the job duration does.
Can I keep sheet metal and piping 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 equipment or run load calcs?
No. Bidfident prices the work you've already sized. Type the units and quantities in from the design.
Can I carry a TAB number before the bids come in?
Yes. Add testing, adjusting and balancing on the Subcontractors tab and carry a plug amount. When the bids 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 HVAC bid 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.