Free Contractor Bid Calculator
Build a fast preliminary bid from labor, materials, equipment, overhead, and your target gross margin.
Target-Margin Bid Calculator
A quick bid still needs complete costs
The formula is only as good as the inputs. Before relying on the result, account for the real production hours, payroll burden, materials, equipment ownership or rental cost, fuel, subcontractors, disposal, travel, project-specific risk, and appropriate overhead.
Commercial work may also require supervision, documentation, mobilization, insurance limits, prevailing wage, bonding, or other costs that are not obvious from the physical scope.
Target margin protects the selling price
Pricing from a target margin works backward from the percentage of revenue you want to remain after included costs. This avoids the common mistake of treating markup and margin as interchangeable.
FAQ
Does this calculator create a final contract price?
No. It creates a preliminary price from the inputs you provide. Actual estimating should account for project-specific requirements and risk.
Why include overhead allocation?
A business has costs that cannot always be assigned directly to one job. An overhead allocation helps each job carry a reasonable share.
Can I use this for commercial bids?
Yes as a planning tool, but commercial bid documents, specifications, insurance, bonding, labor rules, and exclusions still need to be reviewed.
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