Collect and organize
Bring the available job information into an editable estimate.
General contractor estimating
Price the scope you self-perform with the same rigor as your financials.
Bring job information, company pricing, internal labor, cost basis, and proposal presentation into one workflow for the painting and finish work your crews carry.
Bring your latest estimate or pricing sheet.Start from what you already use.
Where estimates go wrong
Trade details that change the price.
- Self-performed scope can get priced at a rough markup instead of real cost
- Markup can conceal weak margin
- Scope and exclusions must survive into the proposal
Price with context
Use company labor, pricing history, and financial cost basis.
Review and issue
Resolve gaps, check margin, and publish the approved proposal.
Example workflow
Job package → self-performed estimate → margin review → proposal
Keep self-performed labor, material, overhead, and exclusions visible through approval, with subcontractor quotes carried as their own lines.
What carries forwardSave recurring supervision, cleanup, warranty, mobilization, markup, and scope conventions as explicit company guidance.
Why it matters
A total is not enough when you are responsible for the margin.
General contractors need to see what a self-performed scope actually costs against real crew capacity, not a rough number carried at a flat markup.
How it works
A clear path from input to reviewed estimate.
Each step stays visible, editable, and connected to the same job.
Collect job context
Bring notes, files, photos, prior estimates, and pricing into the job.
Scope the self-performed work
Build out materials, labor, and any subcontractor quotes you want carried in the same total.
Check the economics
Review cost basis, duration, overhead, markup, and resulting margin.
Issue the proposal
Create a branded client document from the approved estimate.
Built into the workflow
What General Contractors gives you.
Editable scope
Add sections and line items for the work you carry, including a subcontractor quote as its own line.
Company financial model
Connect payroll, overhead, owner pay, burden, and capacity to job margin.
Imports and history
Start from current sheets and prior work instead of a blank catalog.
Reusable company rules
Keep recurring scope, pricing, and proposal conventions.
Keep exploring
Connected parts of the same estimate.
Questions
About General Contractors
Straight answers about how this part of BidPilot works.
Is BidPilot a full construction management suite?
No. BidPilot is focused on estimating, company pricing, margin, and proposals rather than scheduling every part of job operations.
Does it structure my subcontractor trades separately?
Not yet — BidPilot is built around the painting, drywall, and finish scope you self-perform. You can still add a subcontractor quote as its own line so it is carried in the total and margin, without a dedicated trade breakdown for it.
Build the next estimate in your numbers.
Start free and teach BidPilot the rest as you work.