CONTRACTOR ESTIMATE TEMPLATE
Free contractor estimate template
A general contractor's estimate: your own crew's work, each licensed sub on its own line, allowances for what the homeowner picks, overhead and profit stated, exclusions spelled out and a deposit to begin. Free in Word and PDF, with every line explained.
Word and PDF · Free · No email, no sign-up
The short answer
A contractor's estimate separates three kinds of money: the work your own crew does, the subcontractors you bring in (electrical, plumbing, HVAC — one line each), and the allowances for the things the homeowner will choose — flooring, fixtures, tile — with a stated amount and the rule that the difference is added or credited.
Then two lines homeowners rarely see but should: general conditions (supervision, permits, dumpster, daily cleanup) and your overhead and profit. Stating them is what lets you hold your price when a cheaper estimate turns up with neither.
Around it go your license and insurance details, the project in one line, the dates the price holds and the work starts, the deposit and payment schedule, and the exclusions.
FREE TEMPLATE · WORD AND PDF
The contractor estimate template, filled in
Below is the template filled in for Northstar General Contracting, a fictional contractor business, so you can see every line in use. The downloads are the same estimate with [bracketed] lines to replace — free, no email address, no sign-up.
![Free Contractor Estimate Template — the blank fill-in estimate as it downloads, with [bracketed] lines to replace](/estimate-templates/contractor-estimate-template-preview.png)
Example · fictional business
Northstar General Contracting Boise, ID (208) 555-0176 · bids@northstargc.example Idaho contractor registration # 000000 (example) | ESTIMATE |
Prepared for Marcus and Jenna Oyelaran 3340 N Mountain View Dr Boise, ID | Project Convert attached single garage (240 sq ft) to a home office Same address · about 4 weeks Start 2 weeks after permit approval |
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans and building permit Drawings for permit, City of Boise fees, inspections | 1 | $1,100.00 | $1,100.00 |
| Demolition Remove garage door, prep slab, dumpster | 1 | $900.00 | $900.00 |
| Framing and insulation — our crew Infill wall, window and door framing, R-21 walls, ceiling insulation | 1 | $3,400.00 | $3,400.00 |
| Electrical — licensed subcontractor New circuit, 8 outlets, lighting, data drop | 1 | $2,600.00 | $2,600.00 |
| Heating and cooling — licensed subcontractor Ductless mini-split, 12,000 BTU, installed | 1 | $3,900.00 | $3,900.00 |
| Drywall, paint and trim — our crew Hang, tape, texture to match, two coats, baseboard | 1 | $2,950.00 | $2,950.00 |
| Flooring allowance Engineered wood or LVP, your choice; difference added or credited | 240 | $7.00 | $1,680.00 |
| Exterior door and window Fiberglass entry door, one 4 × 4 ft window, installed | 1 | $1,850.00 | $1,850.00 |
| General conditions Supervision, daily cleanup, protection of the house | 1 | $1,500.00 | $1,500.00 |
| Overhead and profit, 15% | 1 | $2,980.00 | $2,980.00 |
| Subtotal | $22,860.00 | ||
| Sales tax, 6% on materials (example) | $211.80 | ||
| Estimated total | $23,071.80 | ||
Deposit to begin
$2,300.00 books the job; the balance is due when the work is finished.
What's included
Everything above, through final inspection and cleanup. Excluded: furniture, window coverings, exterior painting beyond the new door and window, and any repair to the slab or the house wiring found during demolition — we'll show you and price it before we continue.
How to pay
Deposit by card, check or bank transfer to book the start date; $9,000 when framing and rough-ins pass inspection; the balance when the job is finished. Allowances: the difference between the allowance and what you choose is added or credited on the final invoice.
Every figure on the example is an example, not a price guide — use your own rates. The Word file is a standard .docx you can edit in Word or any app that opens Word documents; the PDF prints as-is if you'd rather fill it in by hand.
Quotes and a website, one place
Start your contractor website — quoting is built in
Add your business name and your town, and Zarla builds your contractor website from this one line. The same dashboard sends quotes like this one as a link your customer accepts online, and drafts the invoice when they do.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.
LINE BY LINE
What goes on a contractor estimate
Every line on the template, in order, and what to write on it.
| The line | What to put there |
|---|---|
| Business name, license and insurance | Your trading name and contact details, your contractor license number, and that you are insured — the three things a homeowner's checklist asks for. |
| Estimate number, date and valid-until date | A number that never repeats, the date, and the date the price holds until — 30 days is common, and shorter when material prices are moving. |
| Prepared for and site address | The homeowner and the property. If a designer or a property manager is involved, name who approves and who pays. |
| The project in one line, with the size | “Convert attached garage (240 sq ft) to a home office” — the one line the homeowner reads to everyone they ask for advice. |
| Your own crew's work | Each phase your people do on its own line — demolition, framing, drywall, trim — so the homeowner sees what you build versus what you manage. |
| Subcontractors | Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and any other licensed trade on their own lines, named as subcontractors. That's where a homeowner learns why your number is higher than the handyman's. |
| Allowances | Flooring, tile, fixtures, lighting — anything the homeowner picks — with a stated allowance and the rule that the difference is added or credited. |
| General conditions, overhead and profit | Supervision, permits, dumpster, cleanup and protection on one line; your overhead and profit on another. Stated, they're defensible; hidden, they're what a cheaper estimate appears not to have. |
| Tax, total, deposit and schedule, exclusions and how to pay | Sales tax where your state charges it, the estimated total, the deposit and progress payments tied to inspections, the exclusions, and how to pay. |
STEP BY STEP
How to write a contractor estimate
From the walkthrough and your subs' numbers to a document the homeowner can approve.
Get your subs' prices first
Send the electrical, plumbing and HVAC scope to your subs and wait for their numbers — an estimate built on guessed sub prices is the one that loses money.
Describe the project in one line
What you'll build or convert and how big, where, how many weeks, and when you can start relative to the permit.
List your crew's phases, then each sub
Your own work phase by phase, then one line per subcontractor, labeled as such. The homeowner should be able to see who does what.
Set allowances for everything they choose
Flooring, tile, fixtures, lighting: a stated amount per line and the rule that the difference is added or credited when they decide.
Add general conditions, overhead and profit
Supervision, permits, dumpster and cleanup as general conditions; your overhead and profit as its own percentage line. Then tax, the total, the deposit and the progress schedule.
Write the exclusions and how to pay
Hidden damage, owner-supplied items, work outside the footprint — listed as not included. Then the deposit, the payment schedule and how to pay, and send it the same week.
How contractor estimates win the job
Name your subs as subs. A homeowner comparing you to a one-man outfit needs to see that your price includes a licensed electrician and a licensed plumber, with permits pulled. Labeling the lines “licensed subcontractor” does that without a speech.
Show overhead and profit instead of hiding it. Fifteen to twenty percent stated on its own line is a normal number that most homeowners accept; the same money spread invisibly across the phases makes every phase look expensive and gives you nothing to defend.
Use allowances to keep the estimate honest. You don't know which floor they'll pick. An allowance line with the difference-added-or-credited rule prices the job today and lets them upgrade later without the estimate having been wrong.
Tax. In the US, how sales tax applies to a contractor's work depends on your state — materials only, the whole job, or different rules for repair and new construction — so keep materials and labor on separate lines and check your state's revenue department or your accountant. Outside the US the rule is the other way around: in Australia and New Zealand a GST-registered business gives a consumer a price that includes GST, and in the UK and EU a VAT-registered business shows the VAT and quotes consumers a price with it included. Confirm the details with your accountant.
Send it from Zarla and get it accepted online
A Word estimate is a fine way to start. The slow part is everything after you send it: waiting for a reply, wondering whether they opened it, and retyping every line into the invoice when they say yes.
If you build your contractor website with Zarla, quotes are in the same dashboard. Build the quote from your own price book — one price, or up to three options side by side with the one you'd pick marked Recommended, and any line as a checkbox extra. Send it as one link, by email. Your customer picks an option, ticks any extras, types their name to accept, and gets a copy; Zarla drafts the invoice for exactly what they chose, with any deposit you asked for, and the job moves to Won. The quote template is already in your brand: your website's logo, colors and fonts, set once for every quote and invoice. On a paid plan, with your Stripe account connected, that invoice carries a pay-now button, so the deposit comes in as soon as you send it.
Want to see the website first? Browse contractor website templates or see how Zarla builds contractor websites. Still setting up? Read how to start a contractor business and write your contractor business plan.
The whole paper trail of a job, step by step: how to write a quote, then the contractor invoice template, then how to write a receipt — with a free receipt template. For any other trade, start from the free estimate template.
Contractor estimates: common questions
Your business, license and insurance details; the homeowner and the site address; an estimate number, the date and a valid-until date; the project in one line with its size; your own crew's phases, each subcontractor and each allowance on their own lines; general conditions and your overhead and profit; subtotal, tax where it applies, the estimated total, the deposit and the progress schedule; and the exclusions and how to pay.
An estimate is your best calculation of what the job will cost, given what you can see today; the final price can move if the work turns out different. A quote (or a fixed price) is the price you will charge for the work described. A bid is a quote submitted against someone else's specification, usually in construction. Say which one your document is in its title.
Showing it works better than hiding it for residential work: a stated 15–20% line is a number most homeowners accept as the cost of a licensed, insured business that manages the subs and pulls the permits, while the same money hidden in the phases makes every phase look expensive. Commercial bids against a specification are usually a single number, with overhead and profit inside it.
A stated amount for something the homeowner will choose later — flooring, tile, fixtures, lighting — so the estimate can be priced today. When they choose, the difference between the allowance and the real cost is added to or credited on the final invoice. Say the rule on the estimate.
Enough to cover material orders and the weeks blocked out — 10% to a third of the price is the usual range. Some US states cap the deposit a contractor may take before work starts; check your state's licensing board.
Yes. The contractor estimate template on this page downloads free as a Word document and a PDF — no email address, no sign-up. Edit it in Word or any app that opens Word documents, or print the PDF and fill it in by hand.
Not from a Word file — the customer replies by email or phone, and you type the job into an invoice later. To get a yes in one tap, send it from quoting software. If your contractor website is on Zarla, the quote tool is in the same dashboard: your customer opens one link, picks an option, ticks any extras and types their name to accept, and Zarla drafts the invoice for what they chose — which, on a paid plan with Stripe connected, carries a pay-now button. Jobber, Housecall Pro, Wix and Squarespace send quotes customers accept online too.
Send estimates from your own contractor website
Add your town and your business name, and Zarla builds the site from that one line — with quoting in the same dashboard.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.