According to data from Sageworks, a financial information company, in the U.S. In such a booming industry, having efficient and effective ways to provide the costs of construction projects to potential customers is vital. This guide offers useful information about the differences between job estimates and quotes, why they are used, what should be included, and the pros and cons of using estimate software. At the end of the guide, we have provided free estimate templates to help get you started. These forms can be downloaded, edited to suit your business needs, and printed. What Are Job Estimates and Quotes? That job estimates and quotes are the same thing is a common misconception. The terms are often used interchangeably but, according to YourTradeBase, the two forms can be differentiated in a number of ways. Job Estimate • Gives an indication of expected costs based on limited job information • May also include job schedule, proposed delivery date, your terms and conditions, and payment schedule • Useful if you are unable to guarantee the cost of materials or are unsure about the scale of the job • Is NOT legally binding Job Quote • An exact quote for the job being offered, therefore cannot be changed once accepted by the customer. The final invoice and associated costs will match that of the initial quote provided to the customer • Includes more detailed information relating to the project requirements • Due to potential fluctuations in material costs, a completed job quote form is only valid for a finite period of time, after which the quote expires • Often preferred by customers, who will know what to expect in terms of cost, time, and materials • Is a legally binding contract between you and the customer. Why Should I Provide Written Estimates or Quotes? Providing a verbal estimate or quote is not necessarily wrong, and having something in writing is not a legal requirement. There are, however, several benefits to providing a written document: • Resolve misunderstandings or legal disputes – In the unfortunate circumstance that a dispute arises between you and the customer, a detailed quote provides proof to assist in the mediation process. Anything agreed to verbally is not only difficult to prove, but can also cause additional angst which would have been avoided if correspondence had been documented in writing. • Demonstrate a high level of professionalism – If you want to be taken seriously and to give yourself the best possible chance when bidding on construction projects, a written quote should be a given. Put yourself in a potential customer’s shoes. Would you choose a service provider who only gave an estimate over the phone or would you more likely select a company that provided a professional written document? It’s a no-brainer. • Use a standardized document – With a predetermined job estimate template, tailor costs, time, and materials based on specific client needs, and remove the hassle of starting from scratch for each new work request. This will save you valuable time, reduce administrative costs, and ensure consistency. • Maintain accurate records – When business is booming, losing track of customers and how each project is progressing is a risk. Keeping copies of documents may not be the most exciting part of running a business, but will pay dividends when asked for details about a particular project that was completed all those months ago. Can’t I Just Use Pricing Software? Technology has its place in running, or working in, an effective and efficient business. However, it may not be the best option for you and your business. BuildSoft, a construction software provider, explores the pros and cons of using: Estimating Software Advantages • Streamline business processes, boost efficiency, and save time and money with appropriate software. • Manual entry of tasks and incidents of human error are reduced. • You can be more accurate when calculating labor costs, volume of materials needed, and the overall price. Project budget. Plan your project budget and track actual expenditures over time with this spreadsheet template. Estimate costs for. Channel marketing budget Excel. Estimate Templates. Template / quoting template collected here could be used for cost estimate of jobs. All the template are in Microsoft Excel. • Comparing similar projects to create efficiencies by basing estimates and quotes on previous projects can save time and money. • Estimating software enables you to manage and schedule your labor more effectively by measuring the delivery time of materials. Estimating Software Disadvantages • Estimating software can be expensive and may be an investment that is just too costly for your business, particularly if you are a sole trader. • If you’re not tech-savvy, learning to use the software could take a significant amount of time. • The software you purchase may not include regular updates or upgrades. The ever-changing nature of the construction industry means that the software package may soon become outdated. The construction estimating spreadsheet includes formulas to track building cost estimates. Template is in Microsoft Excel. Construction estimate template. Aug 10, 2009 Construction Cost to complete using excel template. Estimate Templates. Template / quoting template collected here could be used for cost estimate of jobs. All the template are in Microsoft Excel. What Should a Job Estimate Include? Having outlined the differences between estimates and quotes, it’s time to show how this can be put this into practice. The main difference between a job estimate and a quote is the level of detail. Although not as detailed as a quote, a professional job estimate should include the following items: • Your company information – To create a professional-looking document, make sure to include your company’s logo, name and key contact details such as postal address, email, and phone number. • Customer details – Make it clear who you’re providing the estimate for by inserting available customer information including their name, address, email, and contact number. • Estimate/job number – Including “Job Estimate” or “Work Estimate” at the top of the document is important. Displaying the term “Estimate” in a prominent position ensures that you have clearly outlined that the estimate is exactly that and the pricing is therefore not legally binding. • Date – This is the date that you have provided the written estimate to the customer, not the date the project was scoped. Aim to give a written estimate within a few days of scoping the work; timeliness means that you come across as professional and the customer is less likely to seek additional estimates from other service providers. • Project description – This is where the bulk of the information should be. When scoping the work, aim to gather as much information as you can about what needs to be done to complete the job. Is the site easily accessible? Are there specialized tools or materials required? A detailed project description upfront will enable you to provide a more accurate estimate and may prevent potential misunderstandings and disputes later on. • Line items – Sometimes, it is better to provide a detailed breakdown of the overall cost, both for transparency and to demonstrate value to the customer. Common line items used include materials, labor, and number of hours to complete the job. • Tax details – Is tax applicable to the job? If so, include the tax rate and amount as a separate cost line item. • Total work estimate – This figure is the overall price for the work required and includes line item costs and any applicable tax. Be clear about which currency you are dealing in and bold the total to make it stand out. • Terms and conditions – This section usually goes at the end of the document and can be a standard statement used for all jobs. You may wish to include your payment terms such as when and how the customer should pay you once the work is satisfactorily completed. It is also a good idea to add a brief reminder that the document serves as an estimate only and that the given pricing is subject to change. Lastly, it’s a nice touch to thank customers for their business at the end of a written estimate. Not only does it humanize an otherwise formal document, but it also gives a subtle hint to the customer that the business transaction has already commenced and that you’re keen to provide the requested service. If creating a document that includes all of this information seems daunting, our free job estimate templates, found at the end of this article, are there to simplify the process. We also provide sample construction estimate templates, as well as templates for many other kinds of projects. What Should a Job Quote Form Include? A written job quote is very similar to a job estimate but has some important differences. In addition to the items listed above for work estimate templates, consider the following: • Quote/job number – Instead of using the term “Job Estimate” or “Work Estimate”, a written job quote will have the words “Job Quote” or “Work Quote” clearly displayed. If an estimate was previously provided to the customer, use the same job number for the quote. In doing so, both forms are linked and you can easily see how the job has progressed from the project initial estimate to a more detailed quote. • Expiry date – As mentioned, a job quote is valid for a period of time, and this should be clearly stated. The customer must accept the quote before the expiry date if they want you to complete the work at the given price. If they don’t accept within the required timeframe, another quote with revised costs and new quote validity date will need to be provided. • Terms and conditions – Unlike a job estimate, the statement at the end of a job quote will not include anything relating to potential pricing changes. Acceptance of a quote is a legally binding contract between you and the customer. To formalize acceptance of the quote, include a section in which the customer is required to sign and date the estimate form. Again, don’t forget to thank your customers, and be sure to check out our free job quote templates at the end of this article. Construction Job Estimates Construction estimates are similar to the general estimate template format, but may include more detailed information based on which estimating method you have chosen to use. Michael Stone, with Construction Programs & Results Inc., writes about two methods that are frequently used when documenting: Stick Estimating Method • List various aspects of the job • List number of hours each part will take • List materials to be used • List required subcontractors • List other items that may be needed e.g. Permits, rentals • Put a cost against each line item • Finally, have someone check your estimate Unit Cost Estimating Method • Compile line items for the job • Put a unit cost against each line item • Total the costs, and have someone check through your figures Both methods involve applying your markup to the total cost before providing a final price estimate to the customer. Stone argues that unit cost estimating is a much quicker method than the stick estimating method, and is just as accurate. If your business involves providing construction estimates, consider which method you may prefer to use. A contractor can use this bid template to submit a construction proposal. Includes a breakdown of all the material and labor costs associated with the job. Use Office Themes to customize the colors and fonts to help your bid stand out. View all ESTIMATING articles The Building Advisor Estimating and Budgeting Worksheet is available free as a Word document (.doc) and a Excel spreadsheet (.xls). The construction estimating spreadsheet includes formulas to track building cost estimates, actual costs, variances, payments, and balances due. Most builders prefer spreadsheets over more complicated estimating software. You can use the BuildingAdvisor spreadsheet template to estimate and track costs for both building and remodeling projects. Checklist for budgeting: Make sure all important items on the list are accounted for in your preliminary budget Checklist for estimating: Make sure all items get into your detailed estimate Tool for tracking estimated vs. Actual costs (called “job costing”). Tool for tracking payments and amount due to vendors and subcontractorsDownload Construction Proposal Template, either the freeware edition or the Uniform Invoice Software edition, or Both. If you choose the Uniform Invoice Software edition of Construction Proposal Template, download and install Uniform Invoice Software. Open either 'construction-proposal-contract-template.xls' or 'construction-proposal-contract-template-software.xls' with Microsoft Excel. Enter your business information to make Construction Proposal Template / Construction Estimate Form your own invoice template. Create invoices using Construction Proposal Template. Construction Proposal Template (Uniform Invoice Software edition) Construction Proposal Template (Freeware Edition) Construction Proposal Template In Detail Construction Proposal Template allows you to create a customized proposal or contract for your construction or building project. The template has 1 column on the body part and calculations must be done manually. The construction proposal template offers an intuitive blank form for you to fill in the details of your contract or proposal. It can be used by a subcontractor or a supplier. The form does not calculate totals, giving you the ability of filling in figures manually. The sample building proposal template was original released as an example of customizing the default sales invoice template shipping with Uniform Invoice Software. It looks very different from the original template, yet Uniform Invoice Software can handle this form without problem. The construction proposal template is in Microsoft Excel format. It can be used as a construction bid proposal template. Microsoft word construction proposal template, on the other hand, while as easy as the Excel format on formatting a contract or proposal, lacks the ability to further processes numbers and figures as Excel. Offers this as a construction proposal template free download. As always, the contractor proposal template also has a Uniform Invoice Software version, which you can download for free from the download page too. The free construction estimate template or construction contract template has many static text labels on it, which you must replace with your own text before you can create your first construction proposal, contract or estimate. To do this, you first have to unprotect the Invoice worksheet. The protection of the Invoice worksheet in Construction Proposal Template prevents accidental modifications to layouts and formulas. If you have Uniform Invoice Software installed, it could even display a warning message when you close a template without protecting the invoice worksheet. However for the purpose of this sample, we should firstly unprotect the Invoice worksheet in Construction Proposal Template. Once the construction proposal form is unprotected, you start to type in your text to replace the default labels. Once finished, you have a simple yet effective tool for creating your professional and beautiful construction proposal / contract / estimate that is specific to you and your business. Construction Proposal Template can be found on the following tracking results: If you would like to use Construction Proposal Template as the default invoice template run with Uniform Invoice Software, a ready-to-use invoice software program is now available on Excel Invoice Software. Please see Construction Proposal Template for Excel Invoice Software to download it. Download construction estimate form Choose the format you like and download Construction Estimate Form for free. Upgrade construction estimate form Make Construction Estimate Form a powerful invocing program. Construction Estimate Form PDF View Construction Proposal Template in PDF format. Construction Proposal Template Format Specification Construction Estimate Form format and layout specification. Commercial Invoicing Templates is an easy way for an individual or a corporation to create commercial invoices. The free commercial invoice form produces professional invoices as good as expensive accounting systems. This free blank Rental Invoicing Templates offers an easy way for you to create rental invoices or rental receipts. The rent invoice form is in Microsoft Excel format and is printable on standard A4 paper. Proforma Invoice Template (4th Sample, Landscape Page Orientation) This free sample proforma invoice templates differs from the previous proforma invoice forms in that the layout is customized to be printable on standard A4 paper with landscape page orientation. Consulting Invoice Template (4th Sample - Taxable Column) This forth sample of customizing the free consulting invoice template demonstrates how to move the column of Taxable checkboxes into the printable consulting invoice form. Consulting Invoice Template (3rd Sample - One Tax) The previous 2 sample consulting invoice templates have two taxes defined on the bottom of the form. This new sample demonstrating how to use one tax. Consulting Invoice Template (2nd Sample of Customization) Every business is different, so your consulting invoices should be.
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