Contractor Bid and Estimate Calculator Spreadsheet

About this template

This contractor bid workbook prices a job from one rate card, so when a carpenter's day rate goes from 285 to 300 you change one cell and every bid line that uses him moves. It is for builders and trades who want an estimating tool that remembers their rates and their results, not just a blank quote form.

Please read: This is a tracker tool only, not financial, tax, legal, medical or any other professional advice or advisory service. It records and calculates what you enter; you are solely responsible for checking all figures, rates, dates and results and for every decision you make. By purchasing, downloading or using it, you accept these terms (your statutory consumer rights are not affected).

A rate card the bid reads

The rate card holds twenty-five lines covering labor, subcontract, materials and plant. The take-off prices itself from it: you enter the quantities and the rates are looked up. When a supplier puts his prices up, repricing a job takes one cell, not an afternoon.

• A bid with room for 48 lines across nine sections, with rates looked up
• A line whose rate comes back as zero turns red and is counted on the summary strip, because a missing rate is how a bid goes out too low
• Cost and price by section, with each section's share of the bid

Markup you can see on every line

Overhead, markup and contingency are applied to each line and shown on each line, rather than added as a hidden percentage at the bottom. Each line's share of the construction bid is visible too: in the demo job, site management is 6% of the total, and you see that before the client does. It works as a markup calculator and an estimate template in one.

The Bids Log

The Bids Log works as a bid tracker for every quote you send: sent, won, lost or pending, with a win rate and the value still out. A win rate that is too high usually means the markup is too low. One that is too low suggests you are pricing work you should not be bidding for. Neither shows up anywhere else.

Thirteen connected tabs

Everything prices off one rate card, so nothing is typed twice. Alongside the materials, bid and bids log tabs, the workbook carries a shop engine underneath with products, pricing, inventory, orders, customers, sales and a dashboard. A Start Here tab walks you through setup in a few minutes, and charts redraw from your own numbers, not static pictures.

Works with

• Microsoft Excel 2016 or later, on Windows or Mac
• Google Sheets with a free Google account. The Google Sheets version is a real workbook, not a PDF with a link in it.
• No dynamic arrays, no macros and no add-ins, so it behaves the same on Excel 2016, 2019, 2021 and Microsoft 365 and in LibreOffice. No Microsoft 365 subscription is required.
• No subscription and no bank connection

What you download

• Two Excel files: one with a worked 190,000 bid and fifteen logged quotes, and a blank one for your own jobs
• The instruction guide, which has one-click links to the Google Sheets versions (filled and blank)
• The terms of use as a PDF

Your files are ready to download as soon as payment clears. Questions before or after you buy? Use our contact page and we will help.

Frequently asked questions

Does it work in Excel or Google Sheets?

Both. The Excel files run on Excel 2016 or later on Windows or Mac, and the instruction guide has one-click links to the Google Sheets versions for a free Google account.

How do I update my prices?

Change the rate once on the rate card. Every bid line that uses that rate is repriced automatically.

Where does the markup go?

Overhead, markup and contingency are applied to each line and shown on each line, so you can see exactly how the price is built.

Can I track which bids I win?

Yes. The Bids Log records each quote as sent, won, lost or pending and calculates your win rate and the value still out.

How big a bid can it handle?

The bid has room for 48 lines across nine sections, priced from a rate card of twenty-five lines.