One cost book, with margins your client never sees
Labour, material and subcontract rates in one catalogue, updated from your supplier's price list, with cost and margin on every line kept internal.
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- 4.2 on Capterra
- Building QuoteCloud since 2013
QuoteCloud's product catalogue works as a builder's cost book: each labour rate, material and subcontract item has a SKU, category, unit price and cost, with margin calculated. Import or update rates from CSV, quote from them in price tables, keep cost and margin hidden from the client, and route deep discounts for approval on Business.
A sample cost book for a fictional builder, Corbel Building Co., in QuoteCloud's product catalogue: a banner shows a supplier CSV import that updated 22 rates and marked one inactive, then rates filtered by Labour, Materials, Subcontract and Allowances, each with a SKU, sell price, unit (per hour, per m², per point, per lm), cost, margin and status, for example a carpenter at $95 per hour costing $68 (28% margin) and a 100 mm slab at $165 per m² costing $121 (27%). Cost and margin are for the team only.
When a supplier puts its prices up
Update the cost book once and every estimator prices the next job from the new rates, instead of each one fixing their own spreadsheet.
Get the new price list
Save the supplier's list as a CSV with your SKU, name, category, sell price and cost for each rate.
Import with column mapping
Map each column to a catalogue field. QuoteCloud validates the rows before they are imported or updated.
Retire the old rate
Mark a discontinued product Inactive, and keep a new rate in Draft until the director has checked it.
Estimate from the new rates
Estimators search the catalogue or filter by category inside the price table, and each line arrives with its current price and cost.
Priced from the book, cost kept off the page
The Doyle extension is priced from the same cost book. The owners see a 100 mm slab at $165 per m², plasterboard at $48 and metal roofing at $145. Corbel's costs of $121, $35 and $104 stay in the catalogue, with the margin on each.
Lines you don't keep in the book, such as a one-off crane hire, are added by hand, and the price table can carry a cost on those too, hidden from the client like every other cost.
- Sell price on the page, cost and margin kept internal
- A Discount column with a default value, per line
- Custom columns, including Formula columns for your own calculations (custom formulas: Business)
Price tables and product catalogue: Essentials and up
Pricing tablesYour extension, stage by stage
| Item | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 · Site works & demolition | $7,450 | ||
Site establishmentFencing, amenities and skip bins
|
1 lot | $2,850 | $2,850.00 |
Demolition & waste removalRear deck, laundry and the existing rear wall
|
1 lot | $4,600 | $4,600.00 |
| Stage 2 · Base | $13,480 | ||
Excavation & footingsTo the engineer's design
|
1 lot | $5,200 | $5,200.00 |
Reinforced concrete slab100 mm, with vapour barrier
|
32 m² | $165 | $5,280.00 |
Rock excavation Provisional sumIf rock is found in the footings
|
1 lot | $3,000 | $3,000.00 |
| Stage 3 · Frame & lock-up | $34,750 | ||
Wall & roof framingLVL beam to the engineer's detail
|
1 lot | $14,800 | $14,800.00 |
Metal roofing & guttersPitched roof over the extension
|
34 m² | $145 | $4,930.00 |
Stacker door & windows PC sumSupply, your selection
|
1 lot | $9,500 | $9,500.00 |
Cladding & sarkingFibre-cement weatherboards
|
46 m² | $120 | $5,520.00 |
| Stage 4 · Services & fix-out | $46,060 | ||
Electrical rough-in & fit-offLicensed subcontractor
|
1 lot | $7,900 | $7,900.00 |
Plumbing & drainageLicensed subcontractor
|
1 lot | $8,400 | $8,400.00 |
Plasterboard & corniceWalls and ceilings
|
120 m² | $48 | $5,760.00 |
Kitchen joinery & benchtops PC sumSupply and install, your selection
|
1 lot | $24,000 | $24,000.00 |
| Stage 5 · Finishes & handover | $13,010 | ||
Wall & floor tiles PC sumSupply, your selection
|
1 lot | $3,200 | $3,200.00 |
TilingKitchen splashback and floor
|
28 m² | $95 | $2,660.00 |
PaintingTwo coats, internal and external
|
1 lot | $6,200 | $6,200.00 |
Builder's clean & handoverFinal inspection with you
|
1 lot | $950 | $950.00 |
| Optional upgrades Tick to add | |||
| 1 ea | $2,180 | $2,180.00 | |
| 24 m² | $145 | $3,480.00 | |
| 1 ea | $4,300 | $4,300.00 | |
- Subtotal
- $116,930.00
- Tax (10%)
- $11,693.00
- Total
- $128,623.00
- Plus, monthly
- $0.00/mo
- Deposit on signing (10%)
- $12,862.30
Sample cost book · team view
Know the margin before it goes out
Price and cost sit side by side on every rate, so the margin on a job is known while it is still being priced, not after the last claim.
What each rate in the cost book holds
The catalogue fields that make a builder's rates usable by every estimator, and safe to share.
SKU, name and note
A code your team recognises, the name the owners read and a note such as "supply only" or "to the engineer's design".
Categories by team
Labour, materials, subcontract and allowances, with subcategories, and categories assigned to the teams that use them.
Price, cost and margin
The sell price and your cost, with profit and margin calculated. Neither cost nor margin reaches the client's document.
Active, Draft or Inactive
New rates wait in Draft until checked; old ones go Inactive instead of being deleted, so nobody quotes last year's price.
Images
Products carry their images into the price table, so a selection such as a tile or tapware shows what it is.
Role permissions
Decide who can edit the cost book and who can only quote from it, so rates change in one place.
Import your rates during the trial
Free for 14 days, no credit card required. Bring your rates spreadsheet as a CSV and estimate your next job from it.
Deep discounts wait for a director
Corbel's policy: any estimate with a discount over 5% goes to the construction manager and a director before it can be sent. A workflow with that trigger puts the document In Review, and it waits until both approve.
The same workflow can trigger on total value, so a commercial fit-out over $250,000 is checked before it goes out. Approvers see the whole document, approve or decline, and only then can the estimator send it.
- Triggers on discount percentage or total value
- Also by creator team or role, template, product folder or customer
- Every named approver can be required before sending
Approval workflow: Business plan
Approval workflowDocument workflow
In ReviewTriggered when Discount Percentage greater than 5%
- Tessa GrayConstruction managerApproved
- Ruth HammondDirectorWaiting
Must be approved by all approvers before it can be sent.
- Approval request sent by Dan Okafor
- Approved by Tessa Gray
Approval workflow · Business plan
What the cost book does, and what stays with you
The catalogue holds your rates and costs and puts them into every estimate the same way. It doesn't pull prices from supplier feeds, apply markup rules by itself or track what the job actually cost: you update rates by CSV or by hand, set the sell price on each rate, and keep job costing in your accounting or job management software.
Once it is in place, rates are updated once from the supplier's list, every estimator prices from them, the margin on each job is visible before it is sent, and deep discounts wait for a director. See what a QuoteCloud implementation covers.
Cost book and margin questions
Can QuoteCloud hold a builder's cost book?
Yes. The product catalogue stores labour rates, materials and subcontract items with a SKU, name, note, category and subcategories, images, a sell price and a cost, with profit and margin calculated. Estimators add rates to price tables by searching or filtering the catalogue, several at once. The product catalogue is on Essentials and above.
How do we update rates when a supplier changes its prices?
Import the supplier's list from a CSV file. QuoteCloud maps your columns to catalogue fields and validates the rows before importing or updating. Mark discontinued products Inactive and keep new rates in Draft until they are checked. Lines added to estimates from then on carry the new price and cost.
Do clients see our costs or margins?
No. Costs and margins are kept for your team: the catalogue shows cost and margin on each rate, and the client's document shows only the item, quantity, rate and amount. Lines added by hand can carry a cost too, and it stays hidden from the client.
Can a deep discount need approval before an estimate is sent?
Yes, on the Business plan. Set up an approval workflow that triggers on discount percentage or total value, or on creator team or role, template, product folder or customer. The document goes In Review, and named approvers approve or decline it before it can be sent.
Can QuoteCloud apply our markup automatically?
Not as a rule. Set the sell price and the cost on each rate in the catalogue and QuoteCloud calculates the margin. Price tables have a Discount column, and custom Formula columns for your own calculations are on the Business plan. QuoteCloud does not pull prices from supplier feeds.
Can we control who edits the cost book?
Yes. Role permissions decide who can change the product catalogue and who can only quote from it, and product categories can be assigned to teams, so a residential estimator sees the rates their team uses. New rates can wait in Draft until someone with the right role has checked them.
Explore QuoteCloud for construction
Every page of QuoteCloud for construction, from the first estimate to the last variation.
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Staged estimates & building quotesEstimates broken into stages and trades, priced from your cost book, with upgrades the client can tick.Explore
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Commercial fit-out proposals & tendersTrade packages, a programme, locked compliance content, approvals and several signers for commercial work.Explore
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QuoteCloud implementation for buildersYour estimate template converted, cost book imported, insurances locked in, approvals and training.Explore
- PC sums, provisional sums & selectionsPrime cost and provisional sums set out clearly, and the client's selections and upgrades chosen before signing.
- Quotes for trade subcontractorsFor electricians, plumbers and other trades quoting builders: rates, inclusions, licences and a quick acceptance.
- Contracts, deposits & progress claim schedulesContracts signed by every owner, the deposit paid on signing, and the stage payment schedule set out in the contract.
- Plans, site photos & build schedulesDrawings, marked-up site photos and a Gantt build schedule inside the estimate, next to the price.
- Variations & change ordersEach variation its own document: the scope before and after, the new contract sum, signed on site before work starts.
- Accounting & job management integrationsWon jobs into Xero or QuickBooks, and on to simPRO, ServiceM8 or your calendar through Zapier.
- Construction templatesReal QuoteCloud templates for builders, renovators, roofers and subcontractors, ready to make your own.
- FAQAnswers to the questions builders, renovators and contractors ask most.
Price from current rates, protect every margin
Free for 14 days. No credit card required.