A job estimate template is a document that is used to indicate the services you will provide for a client and how much they are going to cost. This also includes the timeline for the job. An estimate document helps the client to budget properly for a project. It also helps the service provider or business owner to plan adequately for a project.
Here’s a sample Estimate template that can be easily customized and adapted to meet your requirements. It’s free to download and use.
What Should be Included in a Cost Estimate Template?
A job estimate template should contain the following:
- Basic information: date, estimate number (for future reference), company details
- The scope of the project - what it involves
- The exclusion - what the project doesn’t include (e.g a project manager)
- A list of the services you will provide in each project phase
- The total labor cost for all the services you will provide
- The total budget for all materials needed to complete the project
- In some instances, quotes from other suppliers can also be included
- The timeline for the project, including starting and completion times,
- The terms and conditions of the business.
Depending on what you are working on, you might also need to include some licenses and fees in your estimate. For instance, when you are renovating a building, the local city council might need to go over your plans and inspect the materials that you will be using before you begin the job.
Apart from that, don’t forget to indicate how long the estimate will be valid. Remember, the prices of materials are constantly changing and the project cost you estimate at the beginning could be wildly different from the actual costs several months later.
Before a job estimate is made, you should talk to the client first about what needs to be done. Please also note that estimates might change as the project progresses. For instance, a client might make modifications to the project or increase demands midway. This will also affect the cost and timeline of the project.
The importance of an estimate template
A cost estimate template helps businesses manage their clients’ expectations. It’s important to draft a job estimate at the beginning of every project, even when you are working with old clients. This ensures that the client knows exactly what to expect.
If necessary, you might also need to have the client sign the estimate and indicate the date when it was provided to them.
The estimate template is supposed to be written clearly, and it should cover all the details necessary for the project to be completed successfully.
You should try to strike a balance between the information that’s necessary and information that might end up confusing the client. For example, detailed project schedules may not be vital, but things such as hourly rates and explanations of the project budgets are probably of high interest for the client.
For instance, if you run a painting company and a business client requests a paint job. You should send them an estimate indicating the total cost of the job, the materials that will be needed, and the time it will take to complete the job. You should also specify if there are any sections of the property that you will not paint.
Excel estimate template highlights
- We have put in a lot of work to ensure that the job estimate templates look great.
- Completely free and ready for editing
- Highly customizable with detailed project scopes and estimate forms
- Professionally designed with all essential fields and estimate elements, built for all types of project cost management
How to use a cost estimate template
The job estimate template is quite easy to edit. First off, you need to break down the different parts of your project. You should also ensure that you provide enough descriptions when you split the project into phases. This is usually the main section.
Please note; however, that job estimates do not serve as binding contracts. With a job estimate template, the main aim is to provide written documentation for estimated costs and project details.
Why use a project estimate template?
A job estimate template is important for keeping detailed records and comparing the real costs to what was on the estimate. This will enable you to prepare better estimates in the future and allocate project expenses and project tasks more accurately.
When you have clear and detailed documentation about a project, there’s a lower risk of having misunderstandings with clients. It will also help you to create a realistic quote and contract. This way, both you and the client will have some sort of financial protection.
When you create a job estimate, you identify each step of the project and evaluate it for cost, then input the information on the template. This is why it’s helpful to use a standardized template for all your estimates. It will boost efficiency and allow you to provide uniform and professional communication with your clients.
Instead of creating a new estimate from scratch each time you get a client or when an old client requests work, all you need to do is edit the existing template. You will have to change the deadlines, project timeline, budget, materials needed, and other relevant details depending on the scope of a project and the customer query.
Below is a summary of why you need to use a job estimate template:
- Provides a detailed assessment of the expected cost for the entire project.
- Show you how much profit you are likely going to make from the project.
- It helps forge stronger relationships with clients and ensures that both parties are on the same page.
- There will be fewer conflicts between you and your clients over the project time frame, actual expenses or project requirements.
- This is a simple and user-friendly template that includes critical details and enables uninterrupted task execution at a quicker pace.
- It helps you to properly allocate and manage project resources, including labor and materials.
- Reduces the occurrence of errors in each project planning phase as well as project delay.
- Convey your understanding of the project and what’s needed
- It shows the client what they are paying for.
- Enables you to run the project efficiently without any unexpected costs.
Why using the right format is important when making an estimate template
A job estimate template enables you to make an analytical & educated guess about how much a job will cost and how long it might take to complete. Using the proper format and including all the required details is quite important when creating this document. When you use the correct format, it displays that you are professional and you pay attention to detail.
It’s always a good idea to use a professionally prepared template that will save you the hassle of starting from scratch. Our free job estimate template is designed to display all the required information in the correct format. All you have to do is edit the editable fields and send them to your client.
How does the estimate process work?
Creating an estimate is not just documenting guesses and giving them to your buyer. There are several processes involved in creating an estimate. That is why we prepare this ready-to-use professional job estimate template for you. Let us walk you through the process of making a job estimate:
Review the project
Each client has different expectations for their project. For you to successfully provide a detailed and accurate estimate, you need to analyze and understand the project. This will allow you to deliver the outcome that the client needs and deliver the project on time.
The more projects you complete, the easier it becomes to review future projects. Experienced project teams can do their estimation for projects fairly quickly, provided that all the project elements are familiar and the potential clients are are transparent in their communication.
Figure out the needed resources
There are several project resources involved when working on a project. This includes labor, materials, and time. You should find out exactly how much of each you need. More complex projects can require significant time to be spent on this part of the estimate.
This is why it's handy to create a master list with all the necessary project resources and then remove them for each new project estimation you send out.
Clearly describe the services to be provided
Please list the deliverables for the client to understand the process involved and why they have to pay. For example, in remodel projects or construction projects, being vague can drive up the cost of labor rates and there are potential risks of losing the client and their job.
Research your competitors
Before you make an estimate, you should take time to research your competitors so that you can charge in a way that gives you a competitive edge. For example, if you're doing a development project, you can ring up a few competitors to find out if your price estimation is off or not. Having a competitive price gives you a minimal risk of not getting the client.
Create notes and disclaimer
You should come up with additional information like terms and conditions. It’s also necessary to provide the customer with a disclaimer. A detailed estimate needs to include this section because even the most accurate estimation can go wrong because of individual tasks or stakeholders. The disclaimer can buy some reasonable time to fix everything for potential clients, or explain your cost estimating techniques.
Document and send the project estimate
Once you have gathered enough data about the project, use the job estimate template google docs to compile the information and send it to the client. You can provide them with a download link, an attachment in your email or some other format and file type such as Google Sheets.
After preparing a job estimate using our free estimate template, you should also remember to schedule a follow-up in order to ensure a successful project. You can do this about three to four days after sending the document. This serves as a reminder to the client that they should reply to your estimate.
There are a lot of benefits to using this cost estimate template. It allows you to save time since the estimate is already structured and formatted. Creating a job estimate from scratch is a long and boring process, and you might end up omitting some important details - and details are a foundation of trust.
