Construction Bidding Software: Price, Send & Win Bids

1

The Basics

What Construction Bidding Software Does (and What QuickEstimate Doesn't)

Bidding software helps you put a price on a job, send it to the client and follow it until they say yes or no. Winning more bids is only half the job; each bid also has to cover your costs and leave a profit.

QuickEstimate is contractor bidding software for the part of the job you control: pricing the work, sending a professional bid and tracking what happens to it. Overhead and profit are added for you on every bid, so a competitive price never quietly becomes a losing one.

What it doesn't do

QuickEstimate isn't a bid board: it doesn't find projects to bid on, send invitations to bid to subcontractors, or do takeoffs from plans. You enter your own quantities and costs (the free concrete, drywall, paint and roofing calculators help with those). If you need scheduling, purchase orders and job costing too, a full construction-management platform may suit you better; see QuickEstimate vs JobTread and vs Buildertrend.

2

Pricing

Price Every Bid So It Pays for Itself

Most lost money on a bid isn't lost on the job site. It's lost when the price is set: overhead left out, or a markup mistaken for a margin.

QuickEstimate adds your overhead % to materials and labor, then sets the price so your profit is a true margin of that cost. Subcontractor quotes and permits are added after that, at cost or with their own markup. Here is the kitchen remodel from the bid list above:

Building the price

Materials $20,400 + carpentry labor $5,200 = $25,600
Overhead 18% of materials + labor: +$4,608 → $30,208
22% profit margin: $30,208 ÷ 0.78 = $38,728 (profit $8,520)
Plumbing and electrical subs at cost: +$4,200
Bid price: $42,928

The common mistake

Adding "22%" as a markup to $30,208 gives $36,854 before subs
That's $1,874 less than the margin price
The profit is only 18% of the price, not 22%
Repeat it on every bid and it adds up fast
See the difference on the markup calculator

Set your overhead and target margin once in Business Settings. The live margin indicator shows whether a bid is on target before you send it. Not sure of your overhead rate? Work it out with the overhead calculator.

3

Sending

Send Bids Your Client Can Approve on the Spot

A bid that is easy to say yes to gets answered sooner.

A clean proposal by email or link, with a PDF to download

Clients open it in the browser, with no account or password

They approve and sign on screen, or reject it

Once accepted, the price is locked

Good, better and best packages, each with its own approve button*

Your logo and brand colour on the proposal*

*Multiple packages and custom branding are on paid plans. See pricing, and construction proposal software for more on proposals.

4

Tracking

Track Every Bid From Sent to Signed

No more wondering whether the client has even looked at your price.

Status on every bid: Sent, Viewed, Accepted, Rejected, Expired

A valid-until date (30 days by default), with days left shown

Automatic reminder emails to clients who haven't replied

Extend or renew a bid instead of starting over

A history of every event: sent, opened, accepted, renewed

A lifecycle report, including why bids were lost

Read more in the help centre: tracking bid status, follow-up reminders and validity and expiry.

5

Speed

Bid Faster on the Work You Do Every Week

Saved price lists for materials, labor and equipment

Import your price list from a spreadsheet; re-uploads update prices

Duplicate a past bid, change the client and quantities, send

Overhead and margin already set, so nothing to recalculate

6

Compare

Spreadsheet Bids vs QuickEstimate

Spreadsheet + email

Overhead only if you remember to add it
Markup and margin easy to mix up
No idea if the client opened the bid
Follow-ups depend on your memory
Signed copy comes back by scan or photo

QuickEstimate

Overhead and margin on every bid
Live margin check before you send
Viewed status the moment it's opened
Automatic reminder emails
Signed online, price locked

Still on spreadsheets? Read Excel vs estimation software, or start from the free estimate template.

7

FAQs

Construction Bidding Software: Frequently Asked Questions

It helps contractors price a job, send the bid to the client and follow it until it is accepted or rejected. Good bidding software also adds your overhead and profit for you, so a competitive price still covers the cost of running your business.

No. QuickEstimate is not a bid board or lead service. It helps you price, send and track the bids you are already preparing.

Not from plan files. You enter your quantities and costs. The free concrete, drywall, paint and roofing calculators help you work out quantities, and saved price lists fill in your costs.

Turn on automatic reminders and QuickEstimate emails clients who have not replied with a link back to the bid. You can also see when a bid was opened and extend its valid-until date.

There is a Free plan with 5 sent proposals a month and 1 seat, and every new account can try all features free for 14 days with no credit card. Paid plans start at $29 a month.

Send Your Next Bid With QuickEstimate

Price it with your overhead and margin, send it in minutes, and see the moment your client opens it. Start on the Free plan, no card needed.

Start Free See Pricing →