Building estimate

A building estimate is the detailed build-up of expected costs a builder prepares before quoting: materials, labour, subcontractors, overhead and margin, totalled to work out what the job should cost. It is the internal working that a fixed-price quote or tender is derived from, and it is distinct from the quote the client actually sees.

Estimate vs quote. The estimate is the builder’s cost calculation, line by line. It is private and shows the true expected cost plus margin. The quote (or tender) is the offer presented to the client, often a single price or short summary. The client does not see the estimator’s line items.

What goes into an estimate:

• Materials: quantities taken off the drawings, priced at supplier rates.
• Labour: hours per task at the relevant rate, including on-costs.
• Subcontractors: priced trade quotes, or allowances where not yet quoted.
• Preliminaries and overhead: site setup, supervision, insurances, a share of running the business.
• Margin: the builder’s profit on top.

Where items are not yet chosen or scoped, the estimate uses allowances, prime cost and provisional sums so the figure can adjust later. Estimating software speeds the take-off and carries the numbers into job costing once the job is won, so actual costs can be checked back against the estimate.

A good estimate is the foundation of a profitable job. Underestimate labour or miss a trade, and the gap comes out of margin once the price is fixed. That is why builders separate the estimate (get the cost right) from the quote (decide what to charge and how to present it).

Also known as: Cost estimate, build-up, estimate.

Category: Process / Business.

Related

• Tender (construction)
• Fixed-price contract
• Allowances vs PC vs PS

See also

• Job costing reports
• Quote to invoice flow

References

• Allowances vs PC vs PS (Chalkline) (verified 2026-06-10)
• Job costing reports (Chalkline) (verified 2026-06-10)

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Last updated: 2026-06-10. Verified: 2026-06-10. Quarterly review for currency.