Build a line-item estimate and bid for a construction job
A structured estimate with quantities, labor hours, materials, markup, contingency, and a bid summary you can check before submitting.
The prompt
Help me build an estimate and bid for a construction job.
Job and trade: [e.g. "tenant fit-out, electrical only", "bathroom remodel, GC"]
Plans, specs, or site walk notes: [PASTE SCOPE NOTES, SHEET NUMBERS, SPEC SECTIONS]
Quantities from my takeoff: [ITEMS AND QUANTITIES - e.g. "42 duplex receptacles", "180 LF 3/4 in. PEX"]
Labor rates and crew: [LOADED HOURLY RATES, CREW SIZE, PREVAILING WAGE OR NOT]
Material pricing I have: [SUPPLIER QUOTES - or "none yet"]
Overhead, profit, and contingency targets: [e.g. "12% OH, 10% profit, 5% contingency"]
Bid due date and format: [LUMP SUM / UNIT PRICE / T&M NOT-TO-EXCEED]
Steps:
1. Organize the scope into cost codes or CSI divisions and flag anything in my notes with no quantity.
2. Build line items: quantity, unit, material cost, labor hours (state the labor unit you used), labor cost, equipment, subcontractor.
3. Add general conditions: supervision, permits, dumpsters, temp power, mobilization, cleanup, insurance and bond if required.
4. Apply overhead, profit, and contingency separately so I can see each.
5. Run a sanity check: cost per square foot or per fixture against the ranges I give you, and call out lines that look light.
Rules:
- Never invent prices or labor units. Where I have not given a number, show [ADD PRICE] or [CONFIRM LABOR UNIT].
- Separate alternates and allowances from the base bid.
Return: the line-item table, a one-page bid summary, a list of assumptions, and a draft inclusions/exclusions list to attach to the bid.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Sales prompts
What to fill in
- PASTE SCOPE NOTES, SHEET NUMBERS, SPEC SECTIONS
- LOADED HOURLY RATES, CREW SIZE, PREVAILING WAGE OR NOT
- SUPPLIER QUOTES - or "none yet"
- e.g. "12% OH, 10% profit, 5% contingency"
- LUMP SUM / UNIT PRICE / T&M NOT-TO-EXCEED
- ADD PRICE
- CONFIRM LABOR UNIT
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the Few-Shot structure (Few-shot prompting). A few-shot prompt includes one or more worked examples of the input and the output you want, so the model can copy the pattern instead of guessing it.
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