Price a construction job in five steps: quantify the scope, cost materials at current vendor prices, cost labor at fully burdened rates, add subcontractors, equipment, permits, waste and contingency, then apply a markup that covers your overhead recovery rate plus your target net profit. Never price from a competitor's number.
Break the job into phases and take off quantities in the units you buy in: squares, linear feet, cubic yards, fixture counts, device counts. Vague scope produces vague pricing and unbillable extras.
Pull current vendor pricing rather than a stale spreadsheet, and add a waste factor appropriate to the trade, commonly 5% to 15%. On long-lead items, note the price validity window and add an escalation clause if the schedule stretches.
Estimate hours per phase, then apply the fully burdened hourly cost, not the wage. Include mobilisation, clean-up, punch list and travel. If you have historical job data, use actual hours from similar past jobs rather than optimistic guesses.
Subcontractor quotes, equipment rental, dumpsters, permits, inspections, temporary power, protection and disposal. Then add a contingency, typically 3% to 10% depending on how much of the work is hidden or unknown.
Markup must cover both overhead and profit. Calculate your overhead recovery rate annually, add your target net profit and use that as your baseline. Adjust up for difficult clients, tight schedules or high-risk scope, and only adjust down deliberately.
Matching a competitor's price without knowing their cost. Estimating labor at wage instead of burdened cost. Forgetting non-productive time. Absorbing small extras to keep the peace. Quoting before you have subcontractor numbers in writing.
WinkScope drafts the scope, prices materials from a live vendor price book, applies your labor rates with burden, and shows live margin as you build. When the job runs, actual labor from GPS time tracking and actual material cost post back against the estimate so you learn whether your pricing was right.
Charge based on burdened cost plus overhead recovery and profit, not a market average. If burdened labor cost is $45/hour and you need 50% markup to cover overhead and profit, your billing rate is around $67.50/hour.
Square-foot pricing is useful for a rough budget conversation, not for a contract. Always convert to a detailed line-item estimate before you sign.