General contractor estimate template — and a generator that fills it in
Multi-trade jobs need allowances and a contingency, not a single lump sum. Here's the structure, plus a generator that drafts one.
Generate this estimate now
Describe the job in plain words. No email needed to see your first estimate — about fifteen seconds for a small job, a little longer for a big one.
What you get — see the format first
A complete estimate you can send to the customer, built from the rate you enter:
| Description | Qty | Unit | Unit price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor — itemized by task | hrs | hour | your rate | — |
| Materials — with your markup applied | qty | ea / sq ft | cost + markup | — |
| Permits, disposal, access | — | — | — | — |
Plus a plain-English scope summary, assumptions (what had to be guessed), exclusions (what you are not doing — the section that prevents most change-order arguments), and a validity period. Printable, or send the link.
Every figure comes from the rate and markup you supply. We never fill in a market price for you.
An estimating spreadsheet that opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets, or prints to PDF. Pre-filled with the line items a general contracting estimate should contain, plus a checklist of what general contracting estimating most often leaves out — so you price it before you send, not after.
- Blank — the line items, ready to price by hand.
- Auto-calculating — same sheet with the maths built in; type a quantity and a rate and it totals itself. Formulas work in Excel and Google Sheets.
- Printable — a clean one-page layout to fill in on site or save as PDF.
How general contracting jobs are bid
General contracting is bid as the sum of trade quotes plus your own supervision, coordination and overhead — and the last three are the ones most often left at zero. Schedule risk is real cost: a job held up waiting on an inspection or a subcontractor still consumes your attention. Allowances and contingency belong in the number explicitly, not absorbed quietly.
What a general contracting estimate should contain
- Scope by phase — demo, rough-in, inspections, finishes
- Permits and the inspections each phase requires
- Subcontractor line items by trade, with what each includes
- Allowances for owner-selected finishes, stated with the allowance amount
- Structural work and engineering if walls are moving
- Dumpster, site protection and daily cleanup
- Contingency, stated as a percentage and explained
- Schedule and payment milestones tied to phases
What gets left out of general contracting estimates
- Allowances left vague, so every selection becomes a change order argument
- Inspection wait time between phases, which is schedule, not labor
- What's behind the wall — old plumbing or wiring found during demo
- Contingency omitted entirely, so the first surprise comes out of profit
Your prices, not internet averages
Generic AI quotes national averages. BidWand builds a price book from every estimate you send and every rate you correct, so by the fifth bid it prices like you do — your labor rate, your markup, your exclusions.
Related guides
How much to charge
bathroom remodel · fence installation · a concrete driveway · tile installation · house cleaning
Estimate templates by trade
concrete · drywall · flooring · fencing · tree service · pressure washing · junk removal · siding
How to estimate
How to write a contractor estimate · Estimate vs quote vs bid — and which one you should send · What to include in a contractor estimate · How to price a job as a contractor · Should you charge for estimates? · How to follow up on an estimate · How to handle change orders · Estimate vs invoice: what's the difference? · How to raise your prices as a contractor