Bid Estimate vs Quote vs Proposal: What Each Document Is For
Four documents carry a construction price, and each does a different job. See who writes and reads each one, where each fails, and one job priced through all four.
Estimating fundamentals
The method behind a pre-bid number, step by step. See how measured quantities become labor, material, equipment and subcontract prices, where overhead, profit and contingency belong, and why markup and margin are different arithmetic. The guides use worked examples in units, hours, index numbers and percentages rather than local prices, so the method holds in any market and any year. They also separate the documents that carry a price, from the estimate to the quote and the proposal. One guide shows how an estimate template grows out of takeoff quantities. Written for owner-estimators, small general contractors and anyone who has to explain a number to an owner, a lender or a partner.
Every package includes
- Editable Excel or CSV with quantity, unit, unit cost and extended total
- Color-coded PDF markups of the sheets each quantity came off
- Written assumptions, inclusions and exclusions with pricing sources
Latest in Estimating fundamentals
Construction Estimate Template Built From Takeoff Quantities
Copy the columns, a two-line worked example, a markup-to-margin table and a quote view into a blank workbook. Every price line starts from a quantity.
How to Estimate Construction Costs: A Pre-Bid Number in 7 Steps
A pre-bid number is a stack of measured quantities, unit costs with named sources, general conditions, risk, overhead and profit. Seven steps with the arithmetic shown.
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