Construction is one industry that hires contractors and subcontractors to get the work done. The industry is quite unstructured that not many organizations provide agreements related to work conditions and construction costs. If you are in the construction industry, you are liable to deal with a cost estimate almost every day and it is tiring to follow up with the contractor to get further information. This is where construction cost estimate templates come into the picture.
Whether you are engaged in supplying construction-related products or offering human resource services, you need an estimate template to document requirements and relevant costs so your client stays informed. In this post, you will come to know how and when to use free estimate templates along with ways to create one on your own.
Free Sample Construction cost estimate templates
A few free templates to give you an overview are right here.
1) Free Construction cost estimate
The construction job of a property includes several elements such as roofing, architectural, and structural and all of these will require individual quotes as suppliers need to be identified for the same. The template includes a predefined formula that can be edited based on the project being worked upon. Further, this is ideal for contractors looking to provide construction cost estimates.
2) Free Construction estimate Templates Word Free
This is another estimate template that may be used to estimate materials and labor to complete each major task. Every item is calculated in the template with predefined formula and labor costs are also linked. The productive approach to use this estimate template is to collate materials provided by one supplier and use it for comparison purposes. This free estimate template is common for all types of projects like our other templates such as Certificate of Appreciation Template
3) Commercial building construction estimate free
Residential and commercial projects are different from each other although the way the estimates are made is similar. This free template is specifically meant for a single-floor commercial building. The advantage of using this editable template has several categories such as roofing, structural, plumbing, architectural, and miscellaneous works. Along with this, the contractor can also use our free Contractor Invoice Templates to get paid using these blank editable checks.
4) Hourly work estimate
In construction projects or jobs, works are calculated on an hourly or daily basis. For instance, every employee is billed based on a specific number of hours dedicated to the project. The best part about this template includes company information, client information, terms and conditions, works carried out, time/hours spent, and rate per hour time per employee. Further, it is an editable free template that may be used for external labor involved in a construction project/real-estate project job similar to a free bill of sale template.
5) Remodeling projects construction estimate template
Projects in real estate are not just limited to new buildings. There are also remodeling projects assigned to the contractor where a specific section is requested for remodeling or the house on the whole such as to give the property for rent with the help of these California rental agreement. When there is a free template handy, it is feasible for the supplier or the client to provide approximate estimates for every task. If you are using for official reasons, the ideal method is to include a logo of your company and then include tasks and net costs for every task.
Professional construction estimate templates Excel
When you choose a template, you need to ensure that it looks professional and abides by state law. The laws vary from one state to the other. You may take the help of the legal advisor associated with your company to use the template permanently.
Another point to keep in mind is that free editable templates provide more value than non-editable free formats because construction estimating forms are customized several times before legally declaring terms and conditions of the job.
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6) Contractor estimate Excel template
Contractor estimate templates include several sections. For example, different contractors will be engaged in phases like excavation, structural testing, soil test, planning, design, plumbing, and architectural changes. This is a spreadsheet with columns including estimated costs and actual costs to find out if there is variance. This approach enables project managers to track every task and update status, payment by the client, and overheads due to extra labor or extension of schedule.
7) Bid tabulation Construction estimate Free
In obtaining estimates, several public agencies invite total bids from contractors, and those assuring high quality and estimate within agreeable limits are offered the project. This template is highly useful for cases when estimates from various contractors and job engineers are collected for every section. Unit amount and bid for the total items are gathered and suppliers and contractors are chosen accordingly.
8) Free Project estimator
Similar to construction project templates mentioned earlier, the project estimator helps in estimating costs incurred in every task. This is useful when the contractor is chosen and the project is all set to begin. Every phase including excavation, design, and architecture will be divided into sub-phases so associated stakeholders may be asked to update the status and costs incurred. If there are multiple stakeholders for a task, the supervisor needs to collate all estimates and provide supporting pieces of evidence to the project manager. This is yet another productive tool that needs to be used by project managers in handling construction projects cost estimates.
9) Budgeting Construction Estimate Template
Similar to the templates mentioned above, this editable document allows the supervisor and project manager of the construction company to estimate and budget every task. For example, the legal fee is a column that involves a vendor or a subcontractor for which the estimated is added. After the actual estimate is listed, the project manager takes care of the variance and prepares a strategy to handle overheads. If you are just a beginner in using these estimate templates, then this template should be a wonderful source.
10) Editable construction budget spreadsheet template
The image below makes the estimate template self-explanatory. However, you can use it for multiple purposes – to invite bids, to calculate expenses towards a specific activity, and to update the needs of additional features for the project estimate or a particular task.
11) Simple Design and budget worksheet template
There are several sections in this worksheet including estimate/budgeting, classification of tasks based on costs, and design listing. Soft and hard costs are divided and expenses towards the same are listed in the worksheet. This is yet another interesting worksheet that every project manager should use for construction projects. The template will enable you to categorize the needs and plan completion of the project without unnecessary overheads.
Steps to create construction estimate templates
While there are several templates listed in this post, there are a few contractors and organizations that prefer creating them on their own to maintain uniqueness. If you feel the same way and work in this industry, you need to create a complete, professional estimate, and here are a few elements to add to the estimate.
- Every estimate template needs to have company details along with client details.
- The date of the quotation on the template needs to be added to the header region. It is a worthy idea to fix validity to the quote due to fluctuating market conditions.
- Describe the work estimate accepted/allocated.
- Itemize materials required along with their respective units and net cost.
- If there are any discounts applicable to the estimate, these can be provided at the end. However, it is up to the stakeholder’s discretion.
- Tax and logistics values are generally missed in estimates but these may add financial overheads at a later stage. Do not miss adding these variables.
- If there are limited terms and conditions on the template , they may be listed on the same page at the footer or moved to the next page.
While this is a basic estimate format, you may customize it by adding permits, labor, subcontractor fees, and other relevant items for the customer to quickly make a decision. There are also several templates listed above letting you accomplish changes and add ease to the project management.
Purpose Of Construction Estimate Template
Having known that an estimate template is available to maintain cost, you need to know when to use and the actual purpose served by it. There are times when a project gets completed and repairs arise at a later stage leaving the contractor at risk. The contractor has just two options – do the work as per the agreement or face the consequences. A formal cost estimating has the potential to note down the expectations and write the mutually agreed cost with other terms and conditions.
This cost template acts similar to legal relief. The best part about a construction estimate form is the ability to customize and use it for various home construction project related services such as carpentry, residence building, painting, electrical installation, renovation, plumbing, remodeling, and structural fixtures for cost estimate. As the parties sign at the footer portion of the template, the agreement is legally binding and both parties have to oblige by the terms and conditions mentioned.
Conclusion
The free construction estimate templates are not just used to create and collect cost estimates from contractors but also reflects on the budgets allocated for a specific project and ways by which overheads may be mitigated in the upcoming project. The same estimate template can be used with new columns added to it if a bidding process is involved in collecting estimates.
This is a handy tool that comes at no cost but adds adequate value to the business. It is a tool that also accelerates productivity and improves the financial health of the organization.
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