10 Easy Steps to Estimate Your Next Construction Project [Template]

Correctly estimating the costs for your entire construction project is essential. If your estimate at the beginning is incorrect, your project can easily slip into the red and your profits can disappear. An estimate also allows stakeholders to make decisions about whether a project is even feasible. While your best option for estimating correctly every time is using a construction management software like PASKR, we want to make it easier for you to estimate even if you are not yet ready to commit to PASKR’s system.

While an estimate will not be the project’s final cost, a comprehensive estimate gives stakeholders authority to make important decisions such as attaining financing, changes in project design or materials, etc. In addition, an all-inclusive estimate will keep everyone working on the project accountable for all costs.

How our Free Construction Estimate Template Works

We have created an extensive spreadsheet for you to quickly and easily update your project costs to estimate every aspect of your construction project. Our team has taken hours to plug in every CSI Cost Code and the formulas to calculate all the needed information for your next project.

What Are CSI Cost Codes?

Construction Specification Institute (CSI) Cost Codes are the most widely used standard for organizing specifications into 16 different divisions for commercial construction projects in the United States and Canada.

Within our estimate template, we have included each cost code as a line item to make it easy for you to input your data and customize the template to your specific project be deleting unnecessary cost codes.

Steps To Use The Template

Step 1: “Make a Copy” of the Google Sheet to edit

Step 2: Input your Company and Project Details including the information about mark-ups and square footage in the first table

Step 3: Determine Cost Codes you will not use for your project and delete the entire row by highlighting the row, right clicking, and choosing delete row (Note: Do not delete any Subtotal rows as this will affect the formulas for Totals at the end)

Step 4: Add any additional cost items by using the Placeholder lines available in the appropriate division

Step 5: In the Unit Category, select from the dropdown the correct category (Note: The letter at the end of each division number indicates the suggested category)

Step 6: In the Unit Type, select from the dropdown the type of unit you will be quantifying

Step 7: Input the quantities for each unit needed

Step 8: Input Cost per Unit

Step 9: Input Building Permit Cost in final totals chart at bottom of spreadsheet

Step 10: Allow formulas to calculate your totals and celebrate how much time you have saved!

NOTE: Only edit cells that are white. Any cell that is not white, may contain a formula. If you edit the cells with the formula, it may affect your total calculations.