A Construction Estimate template is prepared by the construction company or contractor and details the budget along with requirements of the work to be done. In this article, you will learn how and when to use construction estimate templates with our top-of-the-line free templates.
Varied industries employ the use of these estimation templates and in this article, we will take a look at Construction Estimate templates.
9+ Free Construction Estimate Templates
All of these templates can be edited and some of them have automated features like pricing calculations, tax calculations, drop-down menus, and filters to make your job easier!
1. General use Construction Estimate Template
We start off with a basic construction estimate template prepared with Microsoft Excel. In this document, you will find one sheet that contains the general format for a construction estimate document. You can insert your company logo, company name, and fine-tune other details like in a work order template.
Since the document is editable, you can include your own sections like material, labor, services, etc. The rightmost column has formulas with which the TOTAL price gets calculated automatically. While making changes to the sheet, please ensure that you don’t end up changing the formulas.
2. Design and Construction Estimate Template
This construction estimate template helps you segregate your cost estimates based on two factors – hard costs and soft costs. Hard costs are those associated with your equipment, physical aspects of the job, etc. For example, the wood, cement, nails, paint, upholstery, etc that is used in a job comes under the Hard Costs.
Soft costs are those which are not directly related to the physical construction but are included in the project cost. These include taxes, legal fees, consulting fees, interests, insurance costs, etc. Using this template, you can manage both these types of costs in different sections and then calculate the total estimate for the project similar to roofing estimate templates.
3. Landscape Business Estimate Template
One of the most common types of work that gets done in residential areas is Landscape work and that definitely needs its own template. Once you download this file, you will see that it has been designed especially for landscape work as the sections contain data points for that line of work.
The sections are not very comprehensive but since the file is editable just like an apartment rent roll, you can enter as many sections as you like. In landscaping projects, you will mainly track the labor cost along with the materials being used. So, having two different sections for these items should suffice if it is a simple project.
4. Construction Estimate Template with Sections
All construction-related tasks have been broken down into smaller elements and then put into row items in this template. There couldn’t be a more comprehensive document out there so it comes highly recommended to be used for big projects. If you know how to work on Excel like using a truck log, then you can make any amount of edits to the file as well.
5. Three-Point Construction Estimate Template
After reading the name, did your interest get piqued? Actually, this is a very interesting and helpful construction estimate. Usually, when we do estimates we put down one costing. Sometimes the final numbers are close to the estimate like in a dmv sale doc but at times they are nowhere close to them! And that is when problems occur with your budgeting.
If you’d like to be prepared for all scenarios use the 3-point estimate system where you calculate the best case, most likely, and worst-case pricing for the project. By doing this, you are telling your clients that their project costs will be within a certain range. And then they can prepare their finances accordingly! No surprises later on!
The 3 price points are not just random numbers. You will have to research these price points by getting in touch with various vendors in the market and then deciding the maximum, average, and minimum price points for each line item.
6. Automated Construction Estimate Template
Designed by Microsoft themselves, this construction estimate template is an elegantly made document that comes with drop-down menus and is best used on the computer. On the left side, you will see placeholders for client information, project details, payment terms, and the owner of the document.
In the other section, you can put in details about the labor/material used in the construction job, their quantities, pricing, etc. The rightmost columns contain automatic price calculations based on the number of units and per-unit cost of the items. At the bottom of the sheet, the final estimates with along tax calculation have been provided.
7. Home Construction Estimate Template
Even though home repairs are not as complicated as large-scale construction projects, you will still need to do cost estimations. For residential jobs, you can use this free construction estimate template that is very easy to use and completely editable like profit statements (download these pdf).
After downloading the file, you can change the company logo, and include the names of your organization, your client, and their contact details. In the main section, break down your construction estimates by itemized sections like masonry, painting, electrical, plumbing, roofing, etc to get section-wise pricing.
8. Construction Estimate Template for Contractors
Contractors have their hands full during their projects and with multiple projects going on, it is easy for them to get confused. Providing estimates is one part of the job but an essential element is tracking the progress of the project as well. Usually, people would maintain two sets of documents for estimation and progress tracking.
However, with this template, you will need just ONE file for both tasks. In one section of the sheet, the contractor can do their estimation, and in the other section track the progress of each task. Drop-down menus have been provided so you will need to do very little manual entry in this template.
9. Construction Estimate Template for Contractors
The final template that we have for you is the bid tabulation document. Bid tracking is usually used by clients giving out construction projects. Quotations are taken from multiple vendors and these can be entered into this bid tabulation sheet. The in-house engineering team also provides their own estimations.
Once all the information is in place the client then compares the bids against each piece of work. Usually, for large projects, the tasks are broken down and given to different companies based on their pricing and skill levels. For such instances, the bid tabulation template comes in handy.
If you work for the finance or purchasing department of your company or are constantly involved with inviting bids for your projects then you must try out this tool once!
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions of your own about these templates or construction estimates? Here are some common ones that we answered.
1. When do I give out the construction estimate document?
At the beginning of the project, when you are quoting prices and capturing the project requirements, that is when you prepare this document.
2. What needs to be included here?
Some of the most commonly used information sections include
- Your company logo, name, and contact details
- Client’s name, address, and other details
- Scope of construction project
- Materials/labor to be used
- Design elements
- Pricing of each item
- Tax and logistics
- Project estimate
3. Is this document legally valid?
Yes, it is. This cost template acts similar to a legal document. Both parties need to carry out the terms of the contract otherwise legal action can be taken against either one of them.
4. Is an estimate template the same as a purchase order?
Not really. A purchase order is issued by an organization when their purchasing/finance department is placing an order for a product/service with another organization. At that time, there is very little scope of the pricing being changed. An estimation document is a tentative indication of the pricing and scope of work that is open to changes.
Conclusion
So if you are someone who works on construction projects then you will understand the importance of using a construction estimate template. In any construction job, whether it is a home construction project or a complicated construction job, it is essential to document and calculate your estimates.
Having a pre-designed construction estimate template will save you time in designing your own and provide you with professionally designed documents for your organization. Even though there are numerous estimation softwares available in the market, the majority of them are quite pricy. Rather than spending money buying and then learning these softwares, it is easier and economical to use these free estimation templates.