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    Built for General Contractors

    General Contractor Estimating Software
    Built for Multi-Trade Projects

    Stop losing track of subcontractor costs, undercounting overhead, and guessing margin across complex jobs. QuickEstimate rolls up materials, labor, subcontractor costs, and overhead into one accurate number — in minutes.

    Built for US general contractors  ·  No credit card required
    $0
    To start, free plan
    14 days
    Free trial, every feature
    3
    Package options per proposal
    1 click
    Online client approval
    The Real Problem

    Why General Contractors Lose Money on Every Estimate

    Running a multi-trade job means juggling far more moving parts than a single-trade bid. These are the hidden profit killers that show up on every project.

    Subcontractor Costs Fall Through the Cracks

    Framing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC — each sub quote lives in a different email or text thread. Missing or outdated sub pricing means your total bid is wrong before you even send it.

    e.g. −$6,800/project
    Materials Priced Too Low

    Multi-trade jobs pull materials across every category. Estimating from memory or old quotes means you absorb every price increase across the whole project.

    e.g. −$4,900/project
    Forgetting Overhead

    Office staff, insurance, vehicles, project management time — your running costs are real and often larger than a single-trade shop's. Most GC estimates still don't fully account for them.

    e.g. −$7,200/project
    No Consistent Proposal Process

    A stitched-together PDF or spreadsheet looks unprofessional on a large multi-trade bid. Clients reviewing several GC quotes side by side notice the difference immediately.

    Lost bids: up to 40%
    Estimates Take Too Long

    Rolling up multiple trades by hand can eat a full day per bid. Slow estimates mean you chase fewer projects and grow slower than GCs with a faster process.

    Costs you hours every week
    Margin Guesswork Across Trades

    Marking up each trade differently without a consistent target margin means the total project profit is a guess — until it's too late to fix.

    e.g. −$9,100/project
    How QuickEstimate Fixes It

    Everything a General Contractor Needs to Estimate Right

    Not a generic spreadsheet. A purpose-built estimating workflow designed to roll up materials, labor, and subcontractor costs across every trade on the job.

    Auto-Embedded Overhead on Every Multi-Trade Estimate

    Set your real overhead percentage once — office, insurance, vehicles, project management — and QuickEstimate automatically applies it to every project you quote, no matter how many trades are involved. Never forget overhead again.

    • Set overhead % once, applies to every estimate forever
    • Live margin and profit as you build
    • See instantly if the project is profitable before you send
    • Your target margin applied to every estimate automatically
    Full Kitchen Addition LIVE

    Check the trades in this project — the roll-up updates live.

    $14,200
    $8,600
    $7,100
    $22,400
    $1,800
    Overhead (18%) AUTO +$9,738
    Profit (22%) AUTO +$14,040
    Total Quote$77,878
    Margin22% Target met

    Roll Up Every Trade Into One Accurate Bid

    A structured workflow guides you through every multi-trade project — general labor, materials, subcontractor line items, overhead — so nothing gets missed across the whole job, and nothing slows you down.

    1
    Enter Scope & Project Details
    ~60 seconds
    2
    Add Materials, Labor & Sub Costs
    ~2 minutes
    3
    Overhead + Margin Auto-Applied
    Automatic
    4
    Generate Branded PDF Proposal
    ~30 seconds
    Total time: ~4 min 30 sec
    • Dedicated subcontractor cost line items, tracked separately per trade
    • Your own cost categories for every part of a project
    • Duplicate past estimates for similar builds
    • Built-in labor calculator with hourly rates per crew

    Professional Proposals That Win Multi-Trade Bids

    One-click PDF proposals with your company branding, structured clearly by trade. Clients can review, approve, and sign directly from the document — no back-and-forth email chains required.

    • Branded proposals with your logo, colors, and contact info
    • Client e-approval and digital signature tracking
    • Know the second a client views or approves your quote
    • Looks more professional than any competitor using spreadsheets
    ABC General Contracting
    Proposal #GC-3042 · May 2025
    Whole-Home Renovation — Phase 1
    General Labor & Materials$38,200
    Subcontractor Costs$21,400
    Permits & Fees$2,600
    Overhead (18%)$11,196
    Profit Margin$14,004
    Total$87,400
    Client Approved — 14 May 2025, 3:42 PM
    Who It's Built For

    QuickEstimate Works for Every Type of General Contracting Business

    Whether you're a solo GC or running a multi-crew operation across several active jobs, the same engine protects your margin.

    Solo General Contractors

    Quote full remodels and additions without a back-office estimator. Win more work with proposals that look as professional as the big firms.

    GCs Managing Multiple Subs

    Track every subcontractor's cost by trade in one estimate, roll it into a single accurate total, and stop losing sub quotes in email threads.

    Design-Build & Remodeling Firms

    Manage complex estimates with material breakdowns, sub costs, and real-time margin tracking across every active bid.

    Custom Home Builders

    Standardize estimates across new-construction phases — foundation to finish — with consistent overhead and margin applied every time.

    Commercial Build-Out Contractors

    Estimate tenant improvement and commercial build-out projects with structured cost categories built for multi-trade coordination.

    Multi-Crew GC Firms

    Give every estimator the same overhead rates and margin targets. One dashboard, standardized bids, and reports to track profitability.

    Getting Started

    Up and Running in Minutes, Not Days

    No setup headaches. No training sessions. Just accurate multi-trade estimates from day one.

    01
    Set Your Overhead Rate

    Enter your real company overhead percentage once. Office, insurance, vehicles — it auto-applies to every estimate you ever create.

    02
    Build Your Estimate

    Add materials, labor, and subcontractor costs by trade using guided categories. Watch costs and margin calculate in real time as the project comes together.

    03
    Check Your Margin

    See your live profit margin indicator across the whole project. Adjust any line item until it hits your target margin — before you send a single number.

    04
    Send & Win the Job

    Generate a branded PDF proposal in one click. Client approves digitally. You get notified instantly. Job won.

    Common Questions

    Questions About QuickEstimate for General Contractors

    Yes. QuickEstimate includes dedicated subcontractor cost line items, so you can enter each sub's quoted price by trade and see it broken out clearly alongside your own labor and materials — all rolled into one accurate total for the project.
    Yes. QuickEstimate works for single-trade specialists and is also built for general contractors coordinating multiple trades on one job — structured cost categories let you organize a project by phase or by trade, however your business works.
    You enter your overhead percentage once (covering things like office costs, insurance, vehicles, and project management time). QuickEstimate automatically adds that to every estimate you build — no manual calculation required. You can update it any time and all future estimates reflect the new rate.
    Absolutely. QuickEstimate generates a polished, branded PDF proposal with your logo and business details, structured clearly across every trade on the project. Clients can review it, and the e-approval feature lets them sign off digitally — with notification sent to you the moment they approve.
    Yes — QuickEstimate offers a full-featured 14-day free trial, no credit card required. You get access to all features including overhead calculation, margin tracking, PDF proposals, and client approval tracking. You can build real multi-trade estimates from day one.
    Spreadsheets don't automatically calculate overhead or enforce profit margins — you have to do that manually every time, and it's easy to lose track across a multi-trade job. QuickEstimate builds those protections in structurally. Plus it generates a professional branded proposal, tracks client approvals, and gives you a history of every estimate you've ever sent.

    Managing subcontractors? See our electrical estimating software, HVAC estimating software, plumbing estimating software, or roofing estimating software, or try our free employee cost calculator to find your true labor rate — all part of QuickEstimate's complete contractor estimating software. Pricing the job? Check your numbers with our free markup calculator, or start from our Free Estimate Template.

    Stop Leaving Money on the Table.
    Start Estimating Like a Pro.

    Protect your margins and win more multi-trade projects with estimates your clients can approve online.