Construction Bid Calculator
Enter your project costs, overhead %, and markup to calculate the right price to bid — and ensure every job is profitable before you submit.
Project Costs
Your time + crew wages
All supplies and materials
Specialty work hired out
Tools, machinery, lifts
Building permits, inspection fees
Typically 8–15%
Typically 20–40%
Your Bid Price
How to Price a Construction Job
Pricing a construction job correctly is the most important skill a contractor can develop. Underprice and you work for free. Overprice and you don't win the job. The key is knowing your exact costs and applying a consistent margin — not guessing or copying competitors.
The Bid Formula
A proper construction bid accounts for four layers of cost:
- Direct costs: Labor, materials, subs, equipment, permits — everything that goes directly into the job.
- Overhead: A portion of your fixed business costs (insurance, vehicle, software, marketing) allocated to this job. Typically 8–15% of direct costs.
- Total cost: Direct + overhead. This is your break-even price.
- Markup: Your profit, added on top of total cost. A 25% markup on a $10,000 total cost yields a $12,500 bid and a 20% margin.
Common Bidding Mistakes
- Not including your own labor as a cost (inflates apparent margin)
- Forgetting overhead (you'll be profitable on paper but not in practice)
- Applying markup to only materials, not total cost
- Using budget material prices instead of actual supplier quotes
- Not buffering for material waste (add 5–10%)
How to Bid More Accurately Over Time
The most accurate bids come from real job cost data. When you've tracked 10 similar projects with job costing software, you know your actual average labor hours, real material costs, and true overhead per project type. That data makes every future bid sharper.
Bid Based on Real Cost Data
Hardhat Ledger tracks actual costs on every job, so you can bid your next one with confidence.
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