Managing Materials, Labour & Equipment

Materials are the physical goods you supply or purchase for a job. Managing them well means knowing exactly what's been included, at what price, and in what quantity — so there are no surprises when the invoice arrives from your supplier.

• Add each material as a separate line item with a clear name, unit of measure, quantity, and unit cost
• Use consistent naming conventions — "Plasterboard 12.5mm 2400×1200" is more useful than "Board" when reviewing later
• Save frequently used materials to your Materials Library so you can add them to any future estimate in one click
• Update saved material prices when supplier costs change — your library should always reflect current pricing
• Group materials by phase or trade using section headings to keep large estimates readable
• Add a wastage allowance of 5–10% on cut materials like tiles, timber, and sheet goods
• Mark materials as Client-Supplied if the client is providing them — this removes the cost but keeps the item visible in the scope

Your materials library is one of the most time-saving features in QuickEstimate. Invest 20 minutes building it out with your most-used items and you'll save hours across every estimate you build from that point on.

Labour is often the hardest cost to estimate accurately — and the easiest to undercharge. Setting up your rates properly in QuickEstimate means you apply the right rate every time, without having to recalculate from memory.

• Go to Settings → Labour Rates to create and save your default rates by trade or role
• Create separate rates for different scenarios: standard day rate, overtime rate, weekend rate, and apprentice rate
• Store subcontractor rates alongside your own — clearly labelled so you know which is which
• When adding a labour line item, select a saved rate from your library rather than typing a figure each time
• Enter time in days or hours — QuickEstimate calculates the cost automatically based on the rate you've saved
• Include a separate labour line for site prep, protection, and clean-up — this time is real and should be charged
• If a job requires a site supervisor or project manager, add their time as a distinct labour line

Review your saved labour rates at least once a year — or whenever you change what you charge. An outdated rate in your library will quietly undercharge you on every estimate it appears in.

Equipment costs — hired plant, specialist tools, access equipment — are among the most commonly missed items in a quote. They're easy to overlook when building an estimate quickly, and painful to absorb when the hire invoice arrives.

• Add each piece of hired equipment as its own line item with the hire duration and daily or weekly rate
• Include delivery and collection charges for hired plant — these are often billed separately by the hire company
• Add scaffold erection, hire, and strike as separate line items if scaffolding is required
• Include access platform hire, cherry picker rental, or any specialist machinery specific to the job
• Save equipment items you hire regularly to your Equipment Library with current hire rates
• If you own equipment and charge for its use, create an internal hire rate and apply it consistently across jobs
• Add fuel costs for large plant or generators used on site if these aren't included in the hire rate

Before finalising any estimate, run through the job mentally from start to finish and ask: what equipment will be on site each day? If you can picture it but haven't quoted it, add it now.

A well-organised estimate is easier to check, easier for the client to understand, and less likely to contain errors. QuickEstimate gives you full control over how your line items are grouped and presented.

• Use Section Headings to group line items by trade, phase, or area of the building
• Keep materials, labour, and equipment in their own categories — don't mix them into a single list
• Drag and drop line items to reorder them within a section if needed
• Add internal notes to individual line items — these are visible to you but hidden from the client proposal
• Use the Summary View toggle to check how the estimate looks when condensed for the client
• Archive line items you're unsure about rather than deleting them — you can reinstate them if needed

A clearly organised estimate also makes it easier to produce a revised version if the client requests changes to scope — you can adjust a specific phase without disturbing the rest of the document.

Your saved materials, labour rates, and equipment items are only as useful as they are accurate. An out-of-date library leads to underpriced estimates — and you won't notice until it's too late.

• Set a reminder to review material prices every quarter — supplier costs shift, especially for timber, steel, and aggregates
• Update labour rates whenever you change what you charge, and flag the date of the last update
• Review equipment hire rates annually — most hire companies adjust pricing at the start of the year
• Archive items you no longer use rather than leaving them in the active library — it keeps the list clean and reduces errors
• When a supplier increases prices, update the library immediately rather than correcting individual estimates one by one
• Use the Bulk Update tool to apply a percentage increase across a category when costs rise uniformly

A well-maintained cost library is one of the most valuable assets in your QuickEstimate account. The time you invest in keeping it accurate pays back on every single estimate you produce from it.