Free construction bid template

A construction bid prices a defined scope, usually from drawings and specs someone else wrote. The person comparing bids wants to see that you priced the same thing as everyone else, so the most useful parts of a bid are often the scope lines, the addenda you saw and the exclusions.

• The project name and address, and who the bid is to.
• The bid package or trade, by spec division if the project uses them.
• The plans and addenda you priced.
• Line items, or a lump sum with the lines behind it.
• Overhead and profit, shown or folded in.
• Inclusions, exclusions and assumptions.
• How long the bid is good for and the duration of the work.

The template adds overhead and profit as a percentage on top of the subtotal. Use your own number from your books: overhead is what it costs to run the business for the year divided by the work you expect, and profit is on top of that. Our markup calculator and profit margin calculator show the difference between markup and margin, which trips up a lot of bids.

A low number with long exclusions may be the most expensive bid on the table once the gaps are filled. List what you did not price in plain words: permits, testing, temporary power, patching after other trades, after-hours work. If a scope gap is likely, price it as an alternate.

• Subcontractor Agreement: Scope, price, dates, retainage, insurance and payment.
• Schedule of Values: Percent complete, balance and retainage worked out per line.
• Submittal: Spec section, items, attachments, answer-by date and review action.
• Material Take-off: Measured quantity, waste, order quantity and cost.
• WIP Schedule: Percent complete, earned revenue and over or under billing.
• Timesheet: Hours worked out per day, the week's total and hours over 40.
• Expense Tracker: Every expense with its job and category, totalled.
• Job Sheet: Times, tasks and parts, what was found and signatures.
• Every template, including estimates, invoices and proposals for 35 trades.