Running the Business · Part 2
Template: the estimate worksheet, blank and worked
One sheet, used on every job that is not already in the price book, that walks the takeoff, labor units, loaded rate, materials, overhead, contingency, and margin in order and produces a price by division rather than by feel. The blank is followed by the same sheet filled in for a 50-gallon gas water heater replacement, so the format is never in doubt. Keep the finished sheet in the job folder; it is what a change order is measured against.
What the full lesson covers
- Fill the sheet top to bottom; do not write a price until line 9.
- The loaded labor rate and the overhead rate are computed once a year and written at the top of every sheet, so they are never guessed on a job.
- Price equals cost divided by (1 minus target margin). The sheet shows the division so the markup mistake cannot happen.
- The finished worksheet is the takeoff of record for the job; changes are measured against it.
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More lessons in Getting Work
- 1Where the first ten jobs actually come from
- 2Supply-house relationships and credit: the account, the terms, the personal guarantee, and the notice your supplier sends your customer
- 3Subbing to general contractors: how to get on the list, what they check, and the four clauses in the subcontract that matter
- 4Property managers, home-warranty companies, and realtors: volume vs. margin, and the paperwork each one lives on
- 5Google Business Profile, reviews, and referrals: the only marketing that matters in year one, and the two laws that govern reviews
- 6Advertising law for a licensed contractor: the number on every ad and the van, the word you can never use, and what a misleading ad costs
- 7Pricing models: hourly vs. a flat-rate price book, the service fee, and good/better/best, inside the rules for service calls
- 8Estimating as a method: takeoff, labor units, materials, overhead recovery, markup vs. margin, and contingency
- 9Estimate vs. quote vs. bid: the legal difference, and the moment a number becomes a contract
- 10Public works: DIR registration, prevailing wage, certified payroll, and apprentices. A separate world; know it before you bid
- 11Template: the estimate worksheet, blank and workedYou are here
- 12Template: the price-book starter. Forty service tasks, each with the line that builds its price
- 13Template: the first-90-days marketing plan. Thirteen weeks, one page, nothing paid