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A free contractor estimate template

One plain page your customer can read in a minute. Copy it, download it, or open it in Word.

2 min read

The short answer

A good contractor estimate template has five parts: who it's for, what you'll do, the line items with your prices, the terms, and the date the price expires. Below is one you can copy, plus a Word file and a spreadsheet to download.

On this page
  1. The contractor estimate template
  2. Download a free contractor estimate template
  3. For construction jobs
  4. Using it in Word
  5. How to fill it in fast

The contractor estimate template

Keep it to one page. The customer is reading it on a phone, standing in the kitchen you're about to work on. Plain words beat trade shorthand, and every price they'll pay should be on the page.

Estimate

From
[Your business name], [phone], [license number if your state needs one]
For
[Customer name], [job address]
Date
[Today's date]
Good until
[Date, usually 30 days out]
The job
[One or two lines on what you'll do, in plain words]
ItemQtyPrice
[Labor: what the crew does][hours][your price]
[Material or part][qty][your price]
[Permit or disposal, if any]1[your price]
Total[total]

Not included: [what you won't do, like drywall patching or haul-away].

Terms: [deposit, when the rest is due, how to pay]. Price good until [date].

To go ahead, reply yes or sign here: ____________

Download a free contractor estimate template

Same template, ready to fill in. The Word file opens in Word and Google Docs. The spreadsheet opens in Excel and Google Sheets and adds up the line items for you.

Word fileSpreadsheet

Save a copy with your name, phone and logo filled in once, so every new estimate starts from there.

For construction jobs

Bigger jobs need a few more lines, not a longer page. Break the work into phases the customer can picture, like demo, framing and finish, with a price for each. Say who pulls the permit and who pays for it.

  • Phases. Each one with what's in it and its price.
  • Allowances. A set amount for things the customer picks later, like tile or fixtures.
  • Changes. One line saying any change gets a written change order first.
  • Schedule. A start window and what can push it, like weather or inspections.

Using it in Word

Open the Word file and save it as a template, so the blank stays blank. Put your logo in the header. Turn the line items into a table if you like the lines to stay straight, and let Word's table formula add up the total.

When it's done, save it as a PDF before you send it. A PDF looks the same on every phone and can't be changed by accident.

How to fill it in fast

Most of the time goes into turning your site notes into clean lines. Fill in the job and the line items while the visit is fresh, then put your prices in at the end of the day. If you write a lot of estimates, have the notes turned into a draft for you, and price it yourself.

By hand7 steps
  1. Find your site notes
  2. Open last month's estimate
  3. Change the name and address
  4. Rewrite the job lines
  5. Add your prices
  6. Save it as a PDF
  7. Email it to the customer

For every visit, usually after dinner.

Set up onceWaiting on you

I turned your notes into an estimate. Add your prices and I'll get it ready to send.

Estimate for Mrs. Lee, 14 Oak Ave: replace the kitchen faucet and both shut-off valves, haul away the old faucet. Your price on each line, then it's ready to send.

Your notes, turned into a clean estimate. You price it and send it.

See the estimates job →
NextSite notes into a clean estimateSee how the estimates job drafts it from your notes, and you price it.

Questions.

Something else on your mind? Ask us on the fit call. No pitch, and we'll say if it isn't a fit.

Book a fit call

Some states require a written estimate for certain work. Check your state's rules.

This page has one. Invoicing tools and office apps also offer free ones.

Many do for standard jobs. Some charge for complex ones and take it off the final bill.

Make columns for item, quantity, unit price and line total, then add a sum at the bottom. Save it as a template.

Send the estimate tonight.

Book a fit call

A fit call about your week. We'll say if it isn't a fit.