– Free Excel-based estimating software

BidSmart Estimator version 2.6 is released for FREE…

Download the free version, including Quick Start Guide from the link at the bottom of this post.

UPDATE: Microsoft now blocks all macro-enabled files that were downloaded from the Internet or other “untrusted sources.” Read this post to find out how to fix this problem.

The BidSmart Estimator, version 2.6 is a Microsoft Excel© (Windows version) workbook. Built using Microsoft Office’s Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming, it provides ample functionality for small to medium-sized contractors. It is compatible with Excel versions 2016 through 2021 (Office 365.) See this post, How to Update the BidSmart Estimator, for help and advice on updating your Estimates.

Versions before 2.0 were provided to a few organizations as a paid customized application. Version 2 is released as a FREE Office application with the option to have it customized to the needs (and location) of the business. Although the Estimator is meant for the building industry, it can also be used for any business that needs to estimate time and materials.

Features of the BidSmart Estimator 2.6

• Task-based job estimating with customizable Markups, Profit, Overhead, and other values such as the Labor Rate.
• Ability to track Mileage, Mobilization, Planning, Design, and other costs
• Tooltips are everywhere for immediate help and Excels Notes feature adds even more assistance
• (New) Change your default calculator
• (New) Add a signature line to show your client’s approval of the Estimate
• Add Subtotals inline with your regular line items.
• Simple What if? analysis with the builtin tools to evaluate price and variable changes
• Change Order creation (from an existing estimate)
• Invoice creation (from an existing estimate)
• Reporting based on an estimate (with or without subtotaling):
  • Details report – Listing of the Estimates task showing several key costs
  • Itemized report – Listing of tasks without or without costs
  • Scope of Work – A task listing only, exportable to Excel, Word, or a PDF file
• Export the Estimate (and other reports) to JPEG file format for inclusion in text messages (MMS).
• The Estimate and every report are exportable to another Excel workbook, Word, JPEG, or a PDF file
• (New)Exporting and Importing to/from Comma Separated Values (CSV) files is now supported
• Import data from other Estimates (Within the same file version only)
• New Estimate Wizard to easily create new estimates based on existing ones or not
• (New) The Costs Database now has a Filtering feature to help locate and group records
• (New) A full featured Costs database Editor is now available for working with Costs records
• The Developers Utility provides the ability to cancel some properties of the workbook (such as the workbook protection) to allow for user customization
• The companion BidSmart Contract (licensed separately) can be filled in via a link with all the pertinent data exported from an Estimate. (The Contract is licensed as a customizable VBA powered Microsoft Word© document.)

Data Entry made simple…

While inserting data into the Estimate worksheet directly is allowed, input is best achieved by using the various forms. These forms provide greater data validation and feedback to ensure a good estimate is generated.

Using the Estimator is as simple as entering the Description of the Work to be Performed, generally one specific task of many, and adding values to its costs. Costs are then calculated according to user-defined variables, such as Markup, Labor Rate, and Profit Margin. These variables can be entered directly in the workbook’s cells, or through the various Input forms. Using the input forms is the suggested method, as it prevents the user from altering any vital formulas or data, and provides validation so that your entries are usable values.

Easily change the calculation variables…

The BidSmart What if? form allows you to try different Markups, Profit Margins, and other values without changing the Estimate. Once you have massaged the data, you can easily save the new values to the Estimate.

Extensive customization options…

And…of course, there are numerous options to change the way the Estimator looks and works. All these options and preferences are available on one tabbed form with 6 pages of choices.

The setting/preference changes are too numerous to mention. All of them are reversible and trying them out can do no harm.

Tools for Every Situation

The tools and features of the Estimator are easily found. Either a ribbon menu item or an item on one of the Estimator’s context menus will provide you with access to most every feature. Each tab has its own context menu customized for that worksheet.

Read more form some previous posts…

• Free Tips (Old but still relevent)
• How to Update the Estimator
• Maximizing and using the new features of the Estimator 2.6
• Managing and Reusing your data with the Costs Database

BidSmart Contract – BS Contract…

The BS Contract is a related Microsoft Word document that is easily linked to any BS Estimate. The contract is also programmed extensively with VBA to cooperate with the estimate or be used separately. The input is form-driven the same as the Estimator and simple to use. It is licensed separately from the Estimator.

If the BS Estimator code or formatting has been changed from what is available on this website, the Contract may not work as expected, or at all. The proper working of these documents depends on both the instructions to fetch and export data and the location of that data.

The BS Contract 1.0 is in Beta development. All the new features have been incorporated. Comprehensive testing and bug squashing are now being performed.

The BS Estimator is FREE to use, Copyright Richard L. Barnes 2014-2025, and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Check the following link to see what that’s all about:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

When opening the Estimator for the first time you may need to close it and reopen it after changing the Trust Center options. The Quick Start guide explains this situation. Microsoft now blocks all macro-enabled files that were downloaded from the Internet or other “untrusted sources.” Read this post to find out how to fix this problem.

Click to download the Estimator…

For more information, contact the developer.