Bidfident for telecom conduit contractors
Estimating software for telecom conduit
For conduit routes, Bidfident prices the trench, the conduit, tracer wire and pull tape by the linear foot, and handholes by the each. The mini excavator gets its own hours per foot, so it isn't charged for every hour the crew spends on the trench. Locates and restoration sub bids sit side by side, and traffic control follows the weeks the route takes.
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 excavator charged for every crew hour
On the trench line the crew shovels, beds and backfills for far longer than the machine digs, but the spreadsheet charges the machine the same hours. In Bidfident the mini excavator gets its own hours per foot, 0.012 against the crew's 0.037.
Restoration bids in three emails
Sod and asphalt bids come back in different emails and formats, and the wrong one ends up carried. In Bidfident the bids sit side by side, the lowest is flagged, and you carry the one you pick.
What does each stretch cost?
On a route of almost 2 miles the owner asks what the road crossings cost on their own, and the answer means adding up rows by hand. In Bidfident you tag each line with a segment or crossing and group the sheet by it, with a subtotal for each.
How Bidfident fits your work
A mini excavator for its own hours
Give the excavator its own hours per foot on the trench and handhole lines. Leave it blank and it runs for the crew's hours.
Trench, conduit, tape and tracer by the foot
Each line takes linear feet, hours per foot, a material price with its waste percentage, and equipment by the hour. Fill down and copy and paste like Excel.
Locates and restoration bids side by side
Enter each sub bid for locates or restoration, see the lowest flagged, and carry the lowest or the one you pick. Declined bids are ignored.
Subtotals for each stretch of route
Tag lines with a segment or a road crossing and group the sheet by it, then collapse the groups to see the whole route at once.
Totals by cost code
The cost report totals the trench, conduit and handholes by cost code under each division, with filters for area or cost type. Copy the whole report as CSV.
From the route's cost to the bid
Trench, conduit, handholes and sub bids make the direct cost, then contingency, fee, bond and insurance, to the bid total. Sales tax isn't added to the bid.
Worked example: conduit for a fiber route of almost 2 miles
A made-up job, priced in Bidfident: 24 lines of your own work, 4 subs and 5 general conditions items over a 6-week job. The 5 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 "Telecom and fiber" and "Conduit runs" and press Add example project.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Trench, 36" deep, and backfill, 5,580 LF
| $13,643.10 |
(2) 2" HDPE conduits, in trench, 5,580 LF
| $12,892.59 |
Tracer wire and warning tape, 5,580 LF
| $1,641.08 |
Pull tape in each conduit, 11,160 LF
| $1,305.72 |
Handholes, set and backfilled, 8 ea
| $5,760.00 |
19 more lines of your own work
| $48,931.77 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Utility locates
| $3,000.00 |
Restoration, sod and asphalt
| $15,800.00 |
Directional bore under State Route 9
| $11,120.00 |
Rock excavation, allowance
| $4,800.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Supervision, foreman
| $8,100.00 |
Traffic control
| $6,600.00 |
Crew truck and tool trailer
| $2,160.00 |
Right-of-way and crossing permits
| $2,080.00 |
Mobilize crew and equipment
| $2,560.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Own work
| $84,174.26 |
| Excluded lines, not counted | $10,973.89 |
| Subcontractors | $34,720.00 |
General conditions
| $21,500.00 |
Direct cost
| $140,394.26 |
Contingency
| $4,211.83 |
Fee
| $14,460.61 |
| Subtotal before the bond | $159,066.70 |
Bond
| $1,590.67 |
Insurance
| $795.33 |
Bid total
| $161,452.70 |
See it in Bidfident
Coming soon Ask your estimate anything. Claude first, ChatGPT to follow. See how it will work
Questions
Can I price trench and conduit separately?
Yes. Put each on its own line with its own quantity, hours per foot, material and equipment. Each line is totaled on its own.
Can the excavator run fewer hours than the crew?
Yes. Give the line's equipment its own hours per unit. Leave it blank and it runs for the crew's hours.
What if I have no restoration bid yet?
Carry a plug number for that trade until the bids come in. Once they do, the lowest is flagged and carried unless you pick another.
Can the trench, conduit and handholes each have their own cost code?
Yes. Every line takes a cost code. A US company starts with MasterFormat cost codes, or paste your own list from Excel or QuickBooks, and it shows a preview of what it read before anything changes.
Can I bring in my old conduit estimates from Excel?
Not yet. You can copy and paste lines into the sheet, but a whole estimate can't be imported.
Does it track the footage of conduit actually placed?
No. Bidfident is for pricing the bid. It doesn't track footage placed, hours or costs against actuals once the job starts.
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 conduit 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.