- 1
Open the cost build-up
Click a line item, or press = while you're on it. The build-up opens with a group for each kind of cost: Materials, Labor, Equipment and Other — plus Subcontractors when the job uses them.
- 2
Add materials
Under Materials, click + From Catalog to pull a material you've priced before, or + Custom to enter a new one with its unit cost.
- 3
Add labor and equipment
Do the same under Labor and Equipment. Labor and equipment can be priced by the hour or from a production rate — how much the crew puts in per day — and the hours work themselves out.
- 4
Watch the price build itself
As you add costs, the unit price updates. TrenchIQ adds sales tax to taxable materials and applies your overhead and margins — the same way, on every line.
- 5
Go back to the bid
Click ← Bid Overview to return to the whole bid. The line total is the rounded unit price times the quantity, so the bid always foots.
Tutorial 04
Build a unit price, cost by cost
Open a line's cost build-up, add what the work really costs, and watch overhead, margin and tax turn it into a unit price.
Try it on your next bid
TrenchIQ is in a closed beta for contractors who bid unit-price work. Founding Testers get the estimating free, for as long as we offer it.