How to price a job in Estimates

What this is

A big job is too much to price in one go. So you cut it into parts — site work, framing, roofing — and price each part on its own. In Estimates those parts are called divisions, and the list of them is your budget.

The budget is your own number, for your team only. It says what you expect to pay for labor, materials and subs. The customer never sees it. What they read is the proposal, and the proposal is built from this budget when you are ready.

Step by step

1. 1

   Open Estimates and press New estimate

   In the sidebar, under Operations, open Estimates. You land on a board. Each column is a stage: To estimate, Pricing, With customer, Won and Lost. Every estimate is a card, and the card moves along as the work moves along. Press New estimate, beside the search box, to start one.
   BoardNew estimate

   To estimate+

   Pricing

   With customer

   Won
2. 2

   Say who it is for, then split it into parts

   A small window opens with two steps. Step 1 asks who and what. Pick the customer — search for them, or type a new name to add them. Type the address. Type the work in a few words. Work is the one box you cannot skip: Continue stays off until you fill it in. Due to the customer is the day they are waiting for your price. Then press Continue. Step 2 asks how you will price the job. For a job with several trades, choose Split into parts. The button now reads Add the first part. Press it, and the estimate opens on its Budget tab.
   Step 1 of 2

   CustomerOdalys Brennan

   Address27 Larkspur Lane

   WorkNew three-bedroom house

   Due to the customerMar 28

   Continue

   Step 2 of 2

   Split into partsTeammates and subs price each trade, then it becomes one estimate.

   Add the first part
3. 3

   Find your way around the estimate

   The customer's name is at the top, with the work and the address under it. Below that is one line of five stages: Request, Budget, Proposal, Won, Sub bids. It shows how far this estimate has come. Then come four tabs: Budget, Proposal, Sub bids and Cost plan. You are on Budget. Right now the table is empty and says so.
   Odalys BrennanNew three-bedroom house · 27 Larkspur Lane

   RequestBudgetProposalWonSub bids

   BudgetProposalSub bidsCost plan

   No divisions yet. Add one for each part of the work.
4. 4

   Add a division for each part, then type your numbers

   Press Add a division under the table. Type a name, like Framing, and press Add. Do that once for each part of the job. Each division is a row with three numbers: Labor, Materials and Subs. Click a number to change it. Type whole dollars, then press Enter or click somewhere else, and it saves. Press Escape to back out. The Total at the end of the row is those three numbers with your overhead and contingency added on top.
   DivisionLaborMaterialsSubsTotalSite work$4,000$2,400—$7,392Foundation$6,000$9,000—$17,325Framing$18,000$22,000—$46,200

   RoofingAdd

   Add a division
5. 5

   Set your rates and the client's target

   The band above the table holds the numbers that apply to the whole job. Overhead is what it costs to run your business. Contingency is a cushion for surprises. Markup is what you add on top to make money. Click any of the three to change it. Client's target is the price the customer is hoping for — click it and type their number. If your price is over or under the target, the band says by how much, and Fit to target changes your markup so the price lands on it. On the right, Cost is what you expect to pay, and Price is what the budget comes to.
   Overhead10%Contingency5%Markup20%

   Client’s target$145,000$4.7k overFit to target

   Cost$124,740Price$149,688
6. 6

   Open a division for the details

   Click a division’s row and it opens. Notes and assumptions, with the lock, is private — write where your numbers came from. Scope on the proposal, with the eye, is what the client reads. Priced by hands the division to a teammate. Bid out as takes a trade name, like Roofing, when a sub will do that part, so you can send it out for bids later (how sub bids work). Leave it empty and it stays in-house. Due gives this one division its own date. When the numbers are right, press It’s in to mark it priced. Remove division takes it out of the budget, and it asks you first.
   RoofingBid out · Roofing$16,170

   Notes and assumptions28 squares, tear-off included. Same rate as the Alder Court job.

   Scope on the proposalArchitectural shingles, new underlayment and flashing.

   Priced byDario Quill

   Bid out asRoofing

   DueMar 20

   It’s inRemove division
7. 7

   See who you are waiting on

   Beside the table is a list called Waiting on. It names each person who still owes a number, and which divisions are theirs. A division nobody has yet sits under Nobody yet. The bell next to a teammate sends them a nudge. Under that list are the team's notes and the activity on this estimate. And near the top of the page, the line that starts with Yours: tells you what is on your own plate. Click an item there to go straight to it.
   Yours:Price Framing

   3 of 7 in

   InWorking on itNot started

   Waiting on

   YouFraming

   DarioRoofing · Plumbing

   Nobody yetHVAC
8. 8

   Move on to the proposal

   When every division is in, Waiting on says Nobody. Your budget is done. If you run the estimate, your Yours: line now points you to the Proposal tab, where the budget is turned into what the customer reads. That part has its own guide: how to send a proposal.
   Yours:Send Rev 1 to Odalys Brennan

   BudgetProposalSub bidsCost plan

   7 of 7 in

   Waiting onNobody. Every division is in.