Every field the maker captures, and what it is for
This is the complete field list of the maker above — 22 fixed fields, generated from the same document model the builder and the PDF writer use, so the table cannot fall out of step with the tool it describes. None of it is decoration. Drop the estimate number and you cannot reference the document later. Drop the validity date and your pricing has no expiry. Drop the signature block and you have a quote nobody accepted.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Your business name | Heads the document. Remembered between estimates so you type it once. |
| Your phone | The number the client calls to say yes. Missing it is the most common reason an approved estimate stalls. |
| Your email | Where a written approval lands, which is what turns an estimate into an agreement. |
| Your address | Header detail, and what makes the PDF usable as a business record rather than a note. |
| Your website | Optional. Gives the client somewhere to check you out before they commit. |
| Logo | Optional image in the header. Renders in the on-screen preview and the downloaded PDF at full resolution. |
| Client name | Who the estimate is addressed to. An estimate addressed to nobody is a price list. |
| Client company | For commercial work, the entity that will actually be billed — not always the person you met. |
| Client phone | How you follow up. Estimates that get chased convert; estimates that get sent do not. |
| Client email | Where you send the PDF and where their written approval comes back from. |
| Job address | Where the work happens. On a single-job estimate this is half the scope definition. |
| Estimate number | The unique ID everything else hangs on. Lets you and the client reference this exact document three weeks later, and it is what the signed version and the invoice point back to. |
| Date issued | When you priced it. Starts the clock on the validity window. |
| Valid until | The date your pricing expires. Defaults to 30 days out; shorten it when material costs are moving. |
| Materials / labor split | Toggles the line list into two priced sections. On for anything where suppliers and crew move independently; off for straight service calls. |
| Tax rate | Applied after markup and discount, to the discounted subtotal. Leave at zero where the work is not taxable. |
| Markup | Covers overhead — insurance, vehicles, tools, the unbillable hours spent estimating jobs you don't win. Applied to the subtotal so your cost basis on each line stays honest. |
| Discount type | Percent or flat amount. Being explicit beats quietly shaving line rates, which destroys your own cost record. |
| Discount | The concession, shown on its face so the client can see what they were given. |
| Notes | Scope boundaries in plain words: what is included, what is assumed, what is excluded. An exclusion written today is a change order tomorrow. |
| Terms | Validity, approval, and change-order language. Prints at the foot of the PDF. |
| Signature block | Accept-and-date line at the bottom. Turn it off for a rough budget number; leave it on for anything you intend to invoice against. |
The 4 columns that repeat
Everything above is entered once per estimate. The line table is different: it repeats these columns for every row you add, and it is where the number actually comes from.
| Column | What it does |
|---|---|
| Section | Materials or labor, when the split is on. This is what makes a re-price surgical instead of a renegotiation. |
| Description | One line per task or supplied thing, named the way the client and your supplier both name it. |
| Qty | Hours, units, squares, yards. Multiplied by the rate for the line amount. |
| Rate | Per-unit price. Separate lines let a tech rate and a helper rate coexist honestly instead of hiding inside one blended number. |
The order the math runs in
Four numbers sit between your line items and the figure the client reads, and the sequence they are applied in changes the answer. The maker runs them in one fixed order: lines are summed into a subtotal, markup is added to the subtotal, the discount comes off that, and tax is calculated on what is left. Apply the discount before the markup and you have quietly discounted your own overhead. Tax before the discount and you have charged the client tax on money they never paid.
Markup deserves the field it has. It is not padding: it covers insurance, vehicles, tools, bonding, and the unbillable hours you spend writing estimates for jobs you do not win. Putting it in its own field instead of inflating individual line rates keeps your cost basis honest, which means you can re-price one line — a material that jumped, an hour you underestimated — without unpicking your profit to find out what the line was really costing you.
Start from a worked example instead of a blank page
The hardest part of an estimate is rarely the arithmetic — it is remembering the lines you always forget. This site keeps 19 preloaded estimates for that reason: 14 trade sheets plus the general-purpose ones, carrying 141 line items between them. They are shapes, not prices: the quantities and rates are editable sample values, deliberately not price guidance, and they exist so you can see which lines a job of that type usually needs before you start deleting.
If your work fits a trade, open construction, plumbing, HVAC or any of the other 11 and the maker loads that trade’s lines. If you want the grid view — quantity, unit rate, extended amount, row after row — use the estimate sheet. And if you would rather print something and fill it in by hand, the free estimate template has blank Word, Excel, and PDF versions.
One more thing worth getting right before you send: whether what you are making is an estimate at all. Estimate vs quote covers which of the two binds you to the number, and how to write an estimate walks the whole document from site visit to sent PDF.
Estimate maker FAQ
What is an estimate maker?
An estimate maker is a tool that turns a list of tasks and prices into a finished, numbered estimate document you can send a client. This one captures 22 fixed fields — your details, the client's details, the estimate number, the issue and validity dates, markup, discount, tax, notes, terms, and the signature block — plus 4 columns that repeat for every line you add. It does the arithmetic as you type and outputs a vector PDF.
Is this estimate maker free?
Yes. Build an estimate and download the PDF with no account, no trial, and no card. Free PDFs carry a small credit line at the foot; the optional Pro upgrade removes it. Nothing else is gated.
Do I have to sign up or install anything?
No. The maker runs in your browser. Your work is saved to that browser's local storage so a refresh doesn't lose it, and your business details are remembered for the next estimate. Nothing is uploaded to build the document.
Can I put my logo on the estimate?
Yes. Add an image in the header and it renders in the on-screen preview and in the downloaded PDF. The PDF is generated programmatically rather than screenshotted, so text stays selectable and the logo stays sharp at print size.
How does the maker calculate the total?
Each line is quantity times rate. Those add up to the subtotal. Markup is applied to the subtotal, then the discount comes off, then tax is applied to what remains. That order matters: taxing before a discount, or discounting before markup, produces a different number, and the maker keeps the sequence consistent so your totals are reproducible.
Can I use it for both materials-heavy and labor-only jobs?
Yes — the materials/labor split is a toggle. Turn it on and the lines separate into two priced sections; turn it off and it is one flat list. Of the 19 worked examples preloaded across this site, 6 use the split and the rest run as a single list, which is roughly the ratio you would expect: service calls stay flat, and jobs where suppliers and crew move independently get split.