Price every building and trade job with a method you can explain line by line
A complete estimating and quoting system for small building, renovation and trades firms: qualify the enquiry, measure, know your true rate, build the estimate, price the risk, write the quote and learn from every result.
- A 10-chapter e-book that follows one composite renovation firm from the first call to two accepted quotes, with every step tied to a file
- The Estimating Workbook: 18 sheets from charge-out rate and rate library to estimate, risk register, options, quote summary, payment stages, enquiry log with follow-up alerts and win-rate dashboards
- A 9-sheet Markup, Margin and Day-Rate Calculator that shows the markup mistake in money, plus 5 fillable PDF forms (15 pages)
- Brand-ready quote letters and terms summary, a scope and exclusions library, 42 client and supplier messages, 26 AI prompts, 4 cheat sheets, a 5-page print pack, a calendar and a task board
The Trades Estimating and Quoting System · Bodhih Pro Kits · 239 by Bodhih Training, trainers to 2,000+ companies since 2008.
How do I price a building or trade job accurately?
Qualify the enquiry, measure the site, take off quantities, cost labour at your true break-even hourly rate, add materials with waste, preliminaries and contingency for named risks, then divide by one minus your target margin. Show allowances and exclusions separately. The Trades Estimating and Quoting System from Bodhih Training gives you a file for each step.
Want the full free guide first? Read How to Price a Building or Trade Job: A Step-by-Step Method.
You already feel the problem. Here is what it is costing you.
A charge-out rate that is someone else's
The rate came from a friend in the trade or the last firm you worked for. It does not count your unproductive hours or your overheads, so some jobs lose money even when the price looked fine.
Margin that quietly turns into markup
Adding 25% to cost feels like a 25% margin. It is 20%. On a year of work the gap can be large, and it never shows up on a single quote.
Hidden work eating the profit
Rot under the bath, blown plaster behind the units, old cable in the walls. Without allowances and exclusions, the cost lands on you.
Quotes that take too long and vanish
A bathroom visited ten days ago is still not priced. A quote sent last month has had no follow-up. Nobody knows which jobs you win or why.
Prices from memory
Supplier prices moved months ago. The rate in your head did not.
Discounting to win
A client says another firm is cheaper and the price drops, with no change in the work and a smaller profit on every hour.
Picture the next few weeks with the kit open beside you.
Picture the first hour. You open the Start-here map, type your business details into Settings and your team into the Charge-Out Rate sheet, and see your real break-even cost per hour for the first time. As you put it next to what you charge, the next decisions get easier.
Now it is the next site visit. You measure with the checklist, photograph every wall and note every hidden-work risk. Back at the desk you take off the quantities, type the rate codes and watch the estimate add up line by line, with prelims, allowances and contingency from named risks.
Imagine sending that quote. The scope reads in plain words, the client can see what they are choosing and what is not included, and three options sit side by side. You present it at their table, and the log reminds you when to follow up. Whether they say yes this week or next month, you know what the price contains and why.
And then the job is finished. You compare the estimate with what happened, ask the clients who said no for one reason, and update two rates. Whether you start with the workbook tonight or the qualifying form tomorrow morning, every quote from here on starts from your own evidence.
20 files that do the work for you
The e-book shows you how. The tools make it happen. Here is exactly what you download.
The Trades Estimating and Quoting System (e-book, PDF)
The guide: methods, worked examples, scripts and exercises
Start here: estimating and quoting map
The job from enquiry to accepted quote in ten steps with the file to open at each, your first hour, Brand it in five minutes, your first week and a 30/60/90 day plan.
Estimating Workbook
18-sheet workbook: settings, charge-out rate builder, rate library with productivity and waste, jobs register, estimate from a work breakdown, preliminaries, PC and provisional sums, risk register and contingency, good-better-best options, quote summary, payment stages, enquiry and quote log with follow-up alerts, win-rate stats, estimate versus actual and three dashboards.
Markup, Margin and Day-Rate Calculator
9-sheet calculator: price at target margin, the markup-versus-margin mistake in money, a conversion table, day rate and minimum charge, cost-plus pricing, the true cost of a discount and four pricing methods compared with a chart.
Enquiry qualifying form
Two-page fillable form for the first call: the job, budget signal, timeline, decision-makers and red flags, scored, with the decision to price it, charge for a survey or pass.
Site visit and measure-up checklist
Five-page fillable checklist: before you go, access and services, the measure-up table, existing condition and hidden-work risks, and trade-by-trade checks for nine trades.
Supplier and subcontractor price request form
Three-page fillable form: a materials price request, a subcontract package request with the scope and what is included, and a comparison of the prices that come back.
Quote review checklist
Two-page fillable checklist to run before any quote leaves the office: quantities, rates, margin, scope, exclusions, allowances, document checks and a second-person sign-off.
Lost-quote debrief and estimate-versus-actual review forms
Three-page fillable form: a lost-quote debrief with the client's reasons, and an estimate-versus-actual review for every completed job with the rate changes to make.
Quote letters and terms summary
Brand-ready Word pack with [YOUR BUSINESS NAME] header. Part 1: four letters (fixed-price quotation, estimate with a range and a stop point, day-rate proposal, good-better-best options) with allowances, exclusions, assumptions, programme, stages, validity and acceptance. Part 2: a one-page payment stages and terms summary with 14 points to agree and six questions for your lawyer.
Scope of works and exclusions library
Brand-ready library: 10 scopes of work by trade, 20 exclusions, 12 assumptions, client wording for prime cost and provisional sums, and a table explaining quote, estimate, day rate, cost-plus and options.
Quoting message library
42 brand-ready messages and phone scripts in 7 groups: enquiry replies, survey booking, quote cover notes, follow-ups, price objections, win, loss and decline replies, and supplier and subcontractor price requests.
Worked example pack: a kitchen and bathroom and a rewire
Two composite jobs priced from first call to accepted quote: the qualifying form, measure-up, estimate lines, prelims, allowances, risks, quote summary, options, payment stages, review and follow-up, with figures that match the workbook samples.
AI prompt pack for estimating and quoting
26 tool-agnostic prompts in 7 groups (qualifying, site visit and take-off, building the estimate, scope and exclusions, the quote document, follow-up and objections, learning and rates), each with what to paste in and what to check.
Price-or-pass decision card and estimating mistakes card
Thirteen 'if this, then that' rows for deciding whether and how to price a job, and sixteen common estimating mistakes with what to do instead.
Numbers that matter: estimating and quoting KPI card
Thirteen numbers the quoting job runs on, each with a plain definition, the exact formula, where it lives in the workbook and what to do if it moves.
Quoting rules by country (October 2026)
Dated orientation on cooling-off rights for doorstep quotes, sales tax registration, licensing references and payment rules in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, UAE and others.
Site and office print pack
5 printable pages: a pocket measure-up card, a van checklist for site visits, a wall poster of the ten quoting steps, a markup-and-margin desk card and a ten-point check before any quote is sent.
30-day set-up and weekly quoting rhythm calendar
40 events: a 30-day set-up plan, then a Monday quoting review and a Thursday follow-up slot each week to week 12, with reviews on days 60 and 90. Import into Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar.
Quoting task board
33 set-up and quoting tasks with list, owner, due day, priority and the kit file to use. Import into Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira.
Chapter by chapter
Each chapter opens with a real situation, gives you a method and ends with something to do today, using the tools in your kit.
- Format
- PDF e-book + XLSX + fillable PDF + DOCX + printable PDF + ICS + CSV
- Files
- 20 files plus a one-click ZIP
- E-book
- 60 pages
- Works with
- Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, Word, Google Docs, Acrobat, any PDF reader, Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, Trello, Asana, Notion
- Best for
- Small building, renovation and trades firms that price their own work
From Enquiry to Accepted Price
Who the kit is for, what it covers and stops at, and the ten-step method with its learning loop.
Qualifying the Enquiry: Price It, Charge for It or Pass
The ten-minute qualifying call, survey fees, red flags and passing kindly.
The Site Visit and Measure-Up
Measuring, photographing and turning hidden-work risks into risks, allowances or exclusions.
Quantity Take-Off: From a Tape or a Drawing to Numbers You Can Price
Turning a measure or a drawing into traceable quantities, net of openings, in the order of the work.
Your True Charge-Out Rate
Building a break-even rate from wages, on-costs, productive hours and overheads, then a charge-out rate.
Building the Estimate from a Work Breakdown
Quantity times rate from a rate library, preliminaries priced on their own, and crew-days as a sense check.
Markup, Margin, Contingency and Risk
The markup-versus-margin error in money, and contingency priced from a named risk register.
Allowances, Exclusions and the Right Kind of Price
Prime cost and provisional sums, exclusions and assumptions, the right word for the price, and good-better-best options.
Supplier Prices, the Rate Library and Bigger Jobs
Dated supplier prices, a rate library that stays current, tenders and multi-trade jobs, and tool categories.
The Quote Document, the Presentation and the Follow-Up
What a quote contains, payment stages, presenting it, the follow-up cadence and price objections without blind discounts.
Learning From Every Quote, and Where AI Fits
Lost-quote debriefs, estimate versus actual, changing rates from patterns, and where AI helps and must not decide.
The Price You Can Stand Behind
What a defensible price looks like and the three habits to keep.
Numbers That Matter: Definitions and Formulas
The quoting KPIs with exact formulas and where they live in the workbook.
Measure-Up Formulas and Waste Allowances
Area, wall, skirting and crew-day formulas, imperial conversion and how to set waste allowances.
Not just reading. Tools you will actually open again.
E-book
- The Trades Estimating and Quoting System: 10 chapters, 2 appendices and 6 hand-drawn figures (PDF)
Start here
- 00-Start-Here-Estimating-and-Quoting-Map.pdf: the ten steps with the file for each, your first hour, Brand it in five minutes, your first week and a 30/60/90 day plan
Workbooks
- Estimating-Workbook.xlsx: 18 sheets including Settings, Charge-Out Rate, Rate Library, Jobs, Estimate, Prelims, Allowances, Risk Register, Options, Quote Summary, Payment Stages, Enquiry and Quote Log, Job Type Stats, Estimate vs Actual and three dashboards
- Markup-Margin-and-Day-Rate-Calculator.xlsx: 9 sheets for price at margin, the markup mistake, conversion, day rate and minimum charge, cost-plus, discounts and four pricing methods
Forms
- Enquiry-Qualifying-Form.pdf: Enquiry qualifying form
- Site-Visit-and-Measure-Up-Checklist.pdf: Site visit and measure-up checklist
- Supplier-and-Subcontractor-Price-Request-Form.pdf: Supplier and subcontractor price request form
- Quote-Review-Checklist.pdf: Quote review checklist
- Lost-Quote-and-Estimate-vs-Actual-Review-Forms.pdf: Lost-quote debrief and estimate-versus-actual review forms
Word templates
- Quote-Letters-and-Terms-Summary.docx: four brand-ready letters (fixed price, estimate, day rate, options) and a 14-point terms summary for your lawyer
- Scope-of-Works-and-Exclusions-Library.docx: 10 scopes by trade, 20 exclusions, 12 assumptions and client wording for allowances and price types
- Quoting-Message-Library.docx: 42 messages and scripts from first reply to supplier price requests
- Worked-Example-Pack-Kitchen-Bathroom-and-Rewire.docx: two composite jobs priced from first call to accepted quote
- AI-Prompt-Pack-for-Estimating-and-Quoting.docx: 26 prompts with what to paste in and what to check
Cheat sheets
- Price-or-Pass-and-Mistakes-Cards.pdf: 13 decision rows and 16 estimating mistakes
- Numbers-That-Matter-KPI-Card.pdf: 13 quoting numbers with formulas and where they live
- Quoting-Rules-by-Country-Oct-2026.pdf: dated notes on cooling-off rights, sales tax registration and licensing references
Print pack
- Site-and-Office-Print-Pack.pdf: 5 pages: pocket measure-up and hidden-work cards, a van checklist, a ten-step wall poster, a markup-and-margin desk card and a ten-checks poster
Calendar and import
- 30-Day-Setup-and-Weekly-Quoting-Rhythm.ics: 40 calendar events
- Quoting-Task-Board.csv: 33 tasks for Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira
When you have worked through it, you will be able to…
Every outcome is practised with a worked example and a tool, not just described.
- You will be able to qualify every enquiry in ten minutes and decide to price it, charge for a survey or pass
- You will be able to measure a site and turn hidden-work risks into contingency, allowances or exclusions
- You will be able to calculate your break-even hourly cost and a charge-out rate from your own numbers
- You will be able to build an estimate line by line from a rate library with productivity rates and waste
- You will be able to apply margin correctly and see what the markup mistake costs in money
- You will be able to write a quote with scope, allowances, exclusions, options, stages and validity
- You will be able to follow up on set days and handle price objections without blind discounting
- You will be able to compare every finished job with its estimate and update rates from evidence
Know your starting point. Prove your progress.
People who measure before and after improve faster and can show it. AssessAll, our sister assessment platform, has AI-graded assessments that pair with this kit. Take one now, work through the kit, then re-take it.
A taste of Chapter 4
A tradesperson might be paid for around 2,000 hours a year. Not all of those hours can be charged to a job. Holidays, public holidays, sickness, training, travel between jobs you cannot charge for, waiting for materials or other trades, rework and admin all come out. What is left is the productive share: the hours that land on a job and can be priced. The workbook's sample team runs from 45 percent for a supervisor who spends half her time on site visits to 80 percent for a tiler. The true cost of an hour on a job is therefore not the hourly wage. It is everything you spend to have that person available for a year, divided by the hours they actually spend on jobs.
The honest comparison
| Free templates and typical advice | This kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Charge-out rate | A number copied from the trade | Built from wages, on-costs, productive hours and overheads |
| Estimate | A lump sum or a blank spreadsheet | An 18-sheet workbook: rate library, work breakdown, prelims, risk register, options and quote summary |
| Margin | Plus a percentage on cost | Price = cost / (1 - margin), with the markup mistake shown in money |
| Unknowns | Hope, or a blind 10% | Named risks, PC and provisional sums, written exclusions |
| Quote document | A total and 'includes everything' | Brand-ready letters for four price types with stages, validity and a terms summary for your lawyer |
| Follow-up and learning | Wait and wonder | Follow-up alerts, win rate by job type, lost-quote debriefs and estimate versus actual |
Made for you if…
- Owners and office managers of small building and renovation firms, from sole traders to about 25 people
- General contractors doing domestic and light commercial work
- Electricians, plumbers, carpenters and joiners, painters and decorators, tilers and roofers
- HVAC and refrigeration engineers, landscapers and handymen who quote their own work
- Estimators and office staff who prepare quotes for the owner to sign
- Firms in the UK, India, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Gulf, Singapore and Africa
Probably not for you if…
- Homeowners running their own project: The Renovation Project Manager and the Self-Build Owner's Kit are written for you
- Anyone wanting legal, tax, safety or design advice: the kit is educational and points you to your lawyer, accountant, regulator and qualified designers
- Running a job once it is won, including variations: The Contractor Job File Kit covers that
Built by trainers, tested in real rooms.
Bodhih Training has designed and delivered corporate programmes since 2008. Bodhih Pro Kits package what works in those workshops into a guide plus the exact tools we use, so you can apply it the same day without a facilitator in the room.
From here to using it in three steps
- STEP 1
Tap Get the kit
Name, email and country. UPI, card or netbanking in India; international cards everywhere else. No account to create.
- STEP 2
Download instantly
Your download page opens at once, with every file and a one-click ZIP. A permanent link lands in your inbox too.
- STEP 3
Open the first tool
Start with the quick-start chapter, then the main spreadsheet or planner. Most buyers use something from the kit the same day.
Your next quote can be one you can explain line by line
Open the Start-here map, set your true charge-out rate and price your next job in the workbook. Whether you start with the charge-out rate tonight or the qualifying form on tomorrow's first call, you will know what every price contains and why.
Personal licence for the buyer's own use (and use with your own team or clients where the kit says so). Please don't share or resell the files. Team and company licences: solutions@bodhih.com.
What buyers say
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The Bodhih family, when you are ready for more
The Contractor Job File Kit
Run every job from a single file.
The Small Contractor Business Kit
Run your building or trade firm as a business.
The Renovation Client Communication Pack
Give homeowners a professional client pack.
AssessAll
250+ AI-graded assessments to measure skills and earn verified credentials.
Jobulary
Individual development plans that start from evidence and stay yours.
Bodhih Training
Run this topic as a live workshop for your team, in person or online.
Pewple
Book a vetted coach for career, leadership or communication. Pay per session.
Bodhih.org pathways
Certification pathways in Applied AI, Workplace English and management.
The Trades Estimating and Quoting System: FAQs
Read the free guideAlready bought? Resend my linkHow do I work out my charge-out rate as a tradesperson?
Add up the yearly cost of each person (wage, employer on-costs, tools and van), divide by the hours they actually work on jobs, and add a share of your overheads per productive hour. That gives a break-even rate. Divide it by one minus your target margin for a charge-out rate. The Charge-Out Rate sheet does this for your whole team.
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Markup is profit as a share of cost; margin is profit as a share of the price. Adding 25% to cost gives a 20% margin, not 25%. To get a 25% margin, divide cost by 0.75, which is a 33.3% markup. The calculator shows the gap in money on any job.
How much contingency should I add to an estimate?
Rather than a fixed percentage, list the risks on the job, estimate the likelihood and cost of each, and price the expected cost of the ones you carry. Use provisional sums or exclusions for big unknowns the client should see. The Risk Register sheet does the arithmetic.
What is the difference between a quote and an estimate?
In general use, a quote or fixed price is the price for a defined scope, while an estimate is your best assessment that may change within a range you explain. How the words are treated in law differs by country, so check your lawyer and use the matching letter in the kit.
Can I use this with my staff?
Yes, within your own business under the personal licence: your estimator, office manager and site team can use the files for your firm's quotes. Company and multi-site licences are available from solutions@bodhih.com.
Does it work in my country?
The method works anywhere and the workbooks take any currency, tax rate and metric or imperial units. The dated country sheet covers cooling-off rights, sales tax registration and licensing references for the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore and the UAE as of October 2026. Laws change and differ by state and trade, so check them locally.
Is this legal, tax or safety advice?
No. The kit is educational. Templates are starting points for your lawyer and accountant to check, and it gives no structural, electrical, gas or fire design advice. Check your national safety regulator, a competent person and your advisers.
How can I measure my starting point?
AssessAll offers three assessments that fit this kit, sold separately: Estimation & Number Sense, Estimation & Forecast Calibration, and Pricing & Discount Discipline. They help you see where your estimating and pricing judgement is strong and where to practise.
How do I turn this into a development plan for my estimator?
Use the KPI card and the estimate-versus-actual reviews to see where accuracy slips, then turn that into a development plan. Jobulary shows how a structured plan works at jobulary.com/how-it-works.
Do I need estimating software to use it?
No. Everything runs in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice. If you move to estimating or job-management software later, your rate library and estimate-versus-actual history move with you.
How much does The Trades Estimating and Quoting System cost?
₹1,299 including 18% GST for buyers in India, or $34 for buyers outside India. One-time payment, no subscription, with an automatic invoice.
How do I get the files after paying?
Instantly. Your download page opens the moment payment succeeds, and a permanent download link is emailed to you. Download each file separately or everything in one ZIP.
What software do I need?
Any of the usual tools: Excel or Google Sheets for spreadsheets, Word or Google Docs for templates, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview, Xodo or GoodNotes for the fillable PDFs, and Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar for the calendar plan.
Can I get a refund?
Because it is a digital download, kits are not refundable once downloaded. We always refund a duplicate charge or a failed delivery, and if a file is corrupted and we cannot fix it within 3 working days. Full terms: bodhih.org/refunds.
Can my company buy this for a team?
Yes. Team and company licences, and workshops on this topic run by Bodhih Training, are available. Write to solutions@bodhih.com or call +91 99000 11601.
