Estimating guides
Estimating guides for contractors in the US
Step-by-step guides to pricing a job, in the words, money and units used in the US. Each one works through a made-up example from its Excel spreadsheet, so you can follow every sum.
How to estimate a drywall job
How I price a drywall job step by step: hours, board and studs with waste, ceilings, general conditions and profit.
How to estimate a roofing job
How I price a low-slope roofing job step by step: tear-off, insulation, membrane with waste, flashings and profit.
How to estimate a painting job
How I price a painting job step by step: areas, hours per unit, paint with waste, doors, spraying and profit.
How to estimate an electrical job
How I price an electrical job step by step: counts, conduit, hours each, materials, subcontractors and profit.
How to estimate a concrete job
How I price a concrete job step by step: forms, concrete by volume with waste, pump hours, finishing and profit.
Markup and margin: what is the difference?
Markup and margin sound alike and mean different things.
When your spreadsheet gets heavy
If you end up with lots of bids, changing rates or more than one person working on them, Bidfident does the same sums on a page and keeps every bid with its saved versions.
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.