Project Estimation Template

A practical, no-frills cost estimation template. The columns and formulas are set up for a typical regional contracting estimate — direct costs, indirect costs, contingency, profit, and a clean total at the bottom.

What's in it

• Direct costs — materials, labour, plant, subcontracts.
• Indirect costs — site overhead, mobilisation, supervision, insurance, bonds.
• Risk and contingency — separate row, with a note on when to bump it up.
• Profit margin — calculated as a percentage of total cost, easy to flex.
• Cashflow checkpoints — milestones where billings and costs should match up.

It's deliberately simple. There's nothing fancy, no macros, no plug-ins. Open it in Excel, Google Sheets, or LibreOffice and start filling in numbers.

What it isn't

• Not a substitute for proper cost engineering on large projects.
• Not a BOQ tool — it's for the high-level estimate that goes to the owner-manager, not a line-by-line takeoff.
• Not connected to any AI service. Numbers stay on your machine unless you choose to share them.

1. Download the CSV and open it in your preferred spreadsheet tool.
2. Replace the example values in column B with your project's actual numbers.
3. Adjust the contingency percentage based on the risk profile of the project.
4. Use the cashflow checkpoint rows to track that your billings keep up with costs as the project runs.
5. Save a copy per project. Don't reuse the same workbook across jobs — version drift will get you eventually.

If you want to use AI to sanity-check a finished estimate, see prompt #7 in the Contracting Prompt Pack.