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.
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 Missing or outdated sub pricing means your total bid is wrong before you even send it.
Avg. loss: −$6,800/projectMaterials 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.
Avg. loss: −$4,900/projectForgetting 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.
Avg. loss: −$7,200/projectNo 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.
Time wasted: 6–10 hrs/weekMargin 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.
Avg. loss: −$9,100/projectEverything 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
- Real-time margin health indicator as you build
- See instantly if the project is profitable before you send
- Lock a minimum profit margin so you never underbid
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.
- Dedicated subcontractor cost line items, tracked separately per trade
- Pre-built cost categories for every phase of a project
- Reuse past estimates as templates 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 and phase. 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
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 multi-phase 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 firm-wide analytics to track profitability.
Up and Running in Minutes, Not Days
No setup headaches. No training sessions. Just accurate multi-trade estimates from day one.
Set Your Overhead Rate
Enter your real company overhead percentage once. Office, insurance, vehicles — it auto-applies to every estimate you ever create.
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.
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.
Send & Win the Job
Generate a branded PDF proposal in one click. Client approves digitally. You get notified instantly. Job won.
Questions About QuickEstimate for General Contractors
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.
Join 12,000+ contractors who use QuickEstimate to protect their margins and win more multi-trade projects.