Software reviews

Estimating software calculates your costs from drawings using material libraries and labour rates – it is an internal process to determine whether a job is profitable. Quoting software produces the client-facing document with your price. Some tools do both, some specialise. Know which problem you are solving.

Some tools like Buildxact offer direct Xero integration for syncing invoices and costs. Most quoting tools export to CSV or PDF which you manually enter into accounting software. If accounting integration is important, check before committing – not all estimating tools connect to your bookkeeping.

Budget options like PriceAJob start from 10 GBP per month. Mid-range tools like EstimatorXpress and Buildxact run 50-150 GBP per month. Full-featured platforms like Buildern cost 80+ GBP per month. Most offer monthly subscriptions with no long-term commitment required.

Not always. Traditionally you price in an estimating tool and track costs somewhere else, and the gap between the two is where most builders lose money – they price well but never check whether the job made profit. Some tools, like Planyard, do both: build the quote from your own cost database, then convert the won bid into a live budget and track actual costs against it, so your estimate and cost tracking stay connected.

There is no genuinely free full-featured estimating tool. PriceAJob offers a limited free tier. Some builders use spreadsheet templates as a free starting point but outgrow them quickly. If budget is tight, PriceAJob or Contractor Foreman (which includes basic estimating) are the most affordable options.

Import your estimate as a project budget in a cost tracking tool like Planyard. As you issue purchase orders to subcontractors and suppliers, committed costs update against that budget in real time. At project end, compare actual spend to your original estimate. This closing of the loop is what separates profitable builders from busy ones.