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Bid math

Your math, shown step by step.

Your formulas, your rounding, your waste and your rates. Every number on the bid shows how it was figured and where it came from.

The chainDrop in a quoteTry the calculatorYour mathEvery tradeMath checks
The chain

From the takeoff to the proposal, one line of math.

Change something in the takeoff and send it again, and every line it touches moves. A bid you already sent keeps its math.

Every number shows its math. Show me opens where it came from. Sample job.
TakeoffAreas, lengths and counts, by condition.
ConditionPieces, waste, box and pattern from the plans.
Card formulaYour steps for each material and labor line.
RoundingUp, down or nearest, step by step.
PriceQuotes and your price sheet, matched by line.
LaborYour rates, with a rate only for this job.
Tax and markupTax, overhead, profit, insurance and bond.
Quotes

Drop in the quote. The bid math fills itself.

A PDF, a screenshot, a phone photo or the email itself. Bid Terminal reads each line, matches it to your conditions, and fills in the price, the box size and the unit. Then it figures the labor from your rates. Every filled number has a Show me back to the line on the quote.

PDFScreenshotPhone photoEmailExcel
QUOTE #4471Sample supplier · valid to Nov 14 · lead time 3 weeks
2x2 ACT tile, 16 pc/box$58.40 /box
12' main tee$9.85 ea
4' cross tee$1.10 ea
10' wall angle$3.20 ea
Freight$185.00
ACT-1 · bid lines1,236 SF from the takeoff · 5% waste
LineQtyPriceTotal

Sample quote and sample numbers. Your rates and crew sizes replace ours.

How it's figured

Every number shows its steps.

This is how a tile card turns the takeoff into a price. Change any input and every step updates. In the app, each step has a Show me to where its number came from.

Ceiling tile ACT-1 · How it's figured (sample numbers)

    Your math

    Set it up the way your shop buys and installs.

    Formula steps on each card Live

    Write it the way you'd say it: SF ÷ 4 up ÷ BOX up × BOX × 4. Each card keeps its own steps.

    Rounding at each step Live

    Up, down or nearest. 21.1 boxes rounds up to 22, and an exact 21 stays 21.

    What's in a box Live

    Pieces, SF, LF, EA or SY. Change the unit in one place and the math follows.

    Waste at every level Live

    Company, job, line, or the Takeoff condition. Waste is never counted twice.

    Labor rates Live

    Per card, in pieces or units an hour. A job that runs slow gets a rate that's only for this job.

    Tax and markup Live

    Tax, freight, overhead, profit, insurance and bond, in the order you set.

    Preset packages Live

    Ready-made material and labor setups for common systems. Adjust them to your shop.

    Excel-style formula box Live

    Type-ahead, an Insert list, and ROUNDUP, CEILING, IF, MIN, MAX and more, with a live check under the box.

    Cards made from conditions Live

    A new size read from the plans saves its own material and labor card, ready to price.

    Every trade

    Each trade gets its own math.

    Built in, each with its own test. Live

    Drywall

    Hangs the boards for fewest butt joints, with layers per side, studs, track, corner bead and control joint.

    Painting

    One side or both, primer, and wall SF from the wall height.

    Acoustical ceilings

    Tiles, mains, cross tees, wall angle and hangers, with lights on the grid.

    Flooring and tile

    By finish tag, with base, cove, toe-kick base, patterns and whole tiles.

    Wallcovering

    Rolls from the wall height and roll width.

    Doors, frames and hardware

    Hardware per opening and per leaf, pairs, cased openings and ratings.

    Masonry

    CMU, modular, queen or king brick, mortar, grout, rebar and ties.

    Roofing

    Membrane, shingles in squares, flashing, edge metal and tear-off.

    Steel and deck

    Weight from the shape, connections and deck squares.

    Insulation, firestop, waterproofing, EIFS, plaster, framing, concrete, earthwork, MEP

    Each with its own conditions and math.

    Math checks

    31 checks on the math, every trade.

    They run on every bid before you send. See all the checks

    31

    Price and math

    From waste counted twice to a $0 price

    1. Waste % assumed
    2. Freight is a % with no quote giving it
    3. Prices or rates older than N months
    4. Price per SF more than 20% off your recent bids
    5. Bid Log total doesn't match the estimate
    6. Alternates or unit prices to check
    7. Numbers you typed instead of the app's
    8. Prices that look like placeholders
    9. Materials with no price, SAMPLE rates, items added with no amount
    10. Piece length not set
    11. An option group's pick has no price or count
    12. Box in SF but the formula counts tiles
    13. A material's count missing or looks wrong
    14. An item names a material that counts nothing
    15. A material counts nothing, so it isn't priced (with its dollars)
    16. A main material counts nothing though the takeoff has area for it
    17. Labor lines with no hours
    18. A $0.00 price
    19. Bond on with no rate
    20. Second check: every line worked out again from scratch gives a different number
    21. Waste counted twice
    22. Crew days: hours a day or crew size blank
    23. A formula step cuts the count
    24. One line covers several types: same or different?
    25. A labor line skips items
    26. Labor hours don't match count ÷ speed, or boxes don't match
    27. Is a labor rate pieces an hour or units an hour?
    28. Mileage has no $ a mile
    29. Phased work: a trip for each phase?
    30. A labor % applies to all the labor, not just one wall type
    31. A material has no labor line that installs it

    Your next bid, checked before you send it.

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