Contractor Estimate Template

Our general contractor estimate template makes it easy to send out customizable, professional-looking estimates for renovations or repairs. It’s perfect for business owners who are just getting started or exploring software instead of pen and paper.

The template is part of a larger free toolkit where you can store client information, convert their estimates to invoices, and get paid for your work.

If you’re just looking for a quick-start template that you can reuse as often as you like, download the free contractor estimate template PDF and start sending out estimates right away.

Your contractor estimate should include the following information:

• Your business’s name, logo, phone number, email, and mailing address
• Your client’s name and contact details
• Estimate number for record-keeping purposes
• A breakdown of the type of work you’ll be providing (like plumbing, carpentry, or electrical), along with a detailed description
• The approximate cost estimate of completing the work, factoring in labor costs, material costs and quantities, overhead, any special discounts or rates, and sales tax
• Optional line items for added services or tasks that would enhance the work
• A detailed mention of anything that specifically won’t be included in the work
• How long the estimate is valid for
• Estimate terms and conditions (e.g., deposit amount, invoice payment terms)

A contractor estimate template is a blank copy of your estimate form, which you can fill out to create a detailed estimate after a consultation. You can find templates as fill-in PDFs, Microsoft Word or Google Docs, Excel or Google Sheets spreadsheets, free quoting tools, or even contractor software like Jobber. These templates are essential to keeping your business efficient and consistent.

Here’s what a contractor quote template can do for you:

• Help you stay organized and include all necessary information
• Reduce room for error by including mandatory form fields
• Make you look more professional than handwritten estimates
• Cut down on repetitive data entry and save you time
• Help you track rates, prices, hard costs, expenses, and accounts receivable
• Set client expectations and protect your business with terms and conditions
• Make filing easier with digital copies of all estimates

With estimate sheets for contractors, it’s easy to add in the specific details for that job, get the estimate approved, complete the work, invoice the client, and get paid faster—all with just a few clicks.

No matter the industry, every estimate needs the same elements. Line items, estimate totals, and terms and conditions are just a few examples.

The main difference is your services, which are specific to your industry. Start by deciding what services you’d like to offer, create a list of standard line items for bids and estimates, and set prices for each service.

This helps you assemble an estimate and send it off to your client, faster.

Quotes and estimates seem similar, but there’s one big difference: budget flexibility.

An estimate is a rough but educated guess at how much time, work, and materials will be involved in completing a job. This gives you some wiggle room in case any unexpected details pop up during the work.

A quote, on the other hand, tells a client exactly how much they’ll be paying for the job. This can mean higher profits if you come in under budget—but it also means you have to think of everything that could complicate the job and cut into your profits.

(And yes, you can use this free estimate template as a quote template!)

When you’re creating an estimate, it should describe the work and the approximate costs.

A proposal includes much more information, which depends on what the client wants to know. They could ask for anything from a detailed project timeline to a complete history of your contractor business. Proposals are usually required for commercial clients rather than residential ones.

You can use our free contractor estimate template to create your proposal.

There’s a big difference between estimates and invoices.

An estimate describes what the finished work will look like and how much it’ll cost to complete. This is the first step in any project. An estimate sets the expectations for the client, and you don’t move forward until they sign off on it. Our contractor estimate forms can help with that.

An invoice is the final bill you send to the client for the completed work. This is the last step of the project. The amount on the invoice might be different from the amount on the estimate, depending on how much the work might have changed during the project.

This is also the point where you can talk to the client about consumer financing.

That depends on how you’re doing it! If you’re using pen and paper, it could take a while to write down your contact details, add the customer’s information, write in all your line items from memory, and tally up the costs in your head. That’s part of why some contractor businesses decide to charge for quotes.

With estimate forms for contractors, some of that information is already in place and the calculations are done automatically, including taxes and discounts. It should only take a few minutes to fill in the details that are specific to the project, then send off the estimate to the client for approval.

Estimating and quote management software like Jobber makes it easy to create an estimate using your desktop or mobile app.

Here’s what you can do with estimating software:

• Set up client files for storing estimates, job details, and invoices
• Let new leads request work through your website or Local Services Ads
• Create estimates with add-ons, packages, and images
• Convert estimates into jobs and invoices
• Give clients the option to approve estimates and pay deposits online
• Communicate with clients using email and SMS
• Schedule teams, route work, and track time and expenses
• Get paid faster using automated quote follow-ups and credit card processing

Learn more about how Jobber can help you create estimates and win work faster.