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Adding line items

Add line items and price them by square foot, cubic foot, quantity, flat rate, per foot, or per hour.

Line items are the priced rows that make up an estimate. Estimation Builder prices each one the way your trade actually bids — by area, by volume, by quantity, by the foot, by the hour, or as a flat rate — and totals them for you as you go.

Open the items window

While creating or editing an estimate, click Add Items to open the items window.

The Add Items To Estimate window, with the Select Item field, the Charge By dropdown, and the Add Item button highlighted and numbered.
The Add Items window: pick an item (1), choose how it's charged (2), enter the numbers, then click Add Item (3).
  1. Select Item — search your saved catalog and pick an item. To add one that isn't in your catalog yet, type its name and click the Add New Item button that appears — it's saved to your catalog and selected for you.
  2. Charge By — choose the pricing method. The fields below change to match it.
  3. Add Item — adds the line to the estimate. Keep adding items, then click Done when you're finished.

The six ways to charge

  • Square Foot — a price per square foot times a length and width (each in feet or inches). Example: a 20 ft × 16 ft patio at $12/sq ft totals $3,840.
  • Cubic Foot — a price per cubic foot times length, width, and height. Good for concrete, fill, and mulch.
  • Quantity * Price — a unit price times a count. Good for fixtures, posts, or anything you sell by the each.
  • Flat Rate — a single fixed price for the line, with no measurements.
  • Per Foot — a price per linear foot times a length. Good for fencing, trim, or curb.
  • Per Hour — an hourly rate times a number of hours. Good for labor.
Tip: Tick Check box if item is optional to present a line as an optional add-on rather than part of the base price.

Watch the total

The Item Total Price updates as you type, and the estimate's Grand Total updates each time you add a line — so you always know where the bid stands. When you're done, click Done, then Save the estimate.

Next: Turn your estimate into a client-ready PDF, or reuse this setup with templates.

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