Practical tools for people who build things.

Contractor Bid & Margin Guard · Available

Know your real cost.
Bid with confidence.

An Excel workbook for the work you quote, the costs you carry and the margin you need to keep.

• A 30% markup is not a 30% margin. On $10,000 of costs, a 30% markup gives you about a 23% margin. For a 30% target margin, your bid is costs ÷ 0.70. The workbook does the calculation for you.
• Know your break-even before you commit. Account for job costs and overhead before you name a price.
• Protect your margin floor. The margin guard flags every quote that falls below it.
• Keep scope changes in view. Track change orders and compare actual costs with your estimate.
• Send the client a clear proposal. Keep your internal costs and margin out of the client-ready view.

Excel & Google Sheets · One-time purchase · No subscription

Read the full workbook details

How it works

1. Enter your costs and overhead. Put the costs of the job and your overhead into the workbook.
2. Set your target margin. Decide how much of the bid needs to remain after costs.
3. Get your minimum bid for every quote. See a warning when your quote falls below your margin floor, before you commit.

Before you buy

Does it work in Google Sheets?

Yes. You can use the workbook in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.

Do I pay every month?

No. It is a one-time purchase, with no subscription.

Is it for big GCs?

It is built for solo contractors and small crews. It works for bids up to the millions, but is designed for quoting small jobs quickly.

What if it does not work for me?

See our refund policy for the Gumroad framework and how to request help.

What is the demo?

A free demo workbook is linked on the Gumroad product page.