Cost Estimator

This Excel template is a Construction Cost Estimating Template that helps project teams build detailed, bottom-up cost estimates for construction projects. It's structured around four interconnected components:

Resource Libraries (Subcontractor, Equipment, Material, Manpower sheets) serve as a centralized price book, storing unit rates for every resource type, from labor categories and equipment hourly costs to material unit prices and subcontractor scopes.

Unit Cost Calculation sheets break down each work item (e.g., excavation, concrete pouring, rebar installation) into its individual resource inputs. For each item, it calculates a fully loaded unit cost by stacking labor, material, and equipment costs, then adding overhead and profit margins. Production rates and contingency factors are also applied to reflect real-world conditions.

The Cost Estimate sheet serves as the main input form where project details are entered and work items are priced using the unit costs derived from the calculation sheets.

The Bill of Quantities (BOQ) ties everything together, listing all work items with their quantities, unit costs, and total costs to produce the project's overall cost summary.

Together, the template streamlines the estimating workflow: resource rates are maintained in one place, unit costs are systematically built up from first principles, and the BOQ automatically rolls everything into a final project cost, making it easy to update rates or quantities and see the impact across the entire estimate.