Your estimating spreadsheet, inside the quote
Width × height × material, quantity × sheets × stock: your own formulas in a Spreadsheet block, connected to the lines the client sees.
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- Building QuoteCloud since 2013
QuoteCloud's Spreadsheet block is a full spreadsheet inside the quote, on the Essentials plan and up. Import your .xlsx or build it with formulas, tabs and lookups. Connect any cell to a price line's description and unit price, and bring the price table total back into a cell for your own checks, such as price per m².
Last reviewed by the QuoteCloud team
A fictional sign maker's estimating sheet beside an engineered drawing of a 4,800 × 900 mm fascia panel lying on a router bed. The formula bar steps through the Job tab: B2, the width, 4,800 mm; B4, =B2*B3/1000000, an area of 4.32 m²; B6, =ROUNDUP(B4*(1+B5),1), a billed area of 5.0 m² with the 15% waste allowance drawn as a dashed outline round the panel; and D10, =B6*(D7+D8)+B9*Rates!B9, $995.00, which is connected to the fascia line's unit price in Lena Marchetti's quote. Finally the quote total, $2,223.10 inc tax, comes back into cell Check!B2.
Every cell that prices the quote, wired to its line
Rafe's Job tab on the left, Lena's price table in the editor on the right. Pick a connection, or point at a cell or a line, to see where each figure goes.
Rafe Okonjo's sheet · the connected cells
=B6*(D7+D8)+B9*Rates!B9
Job
| Row | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Item | Value | Unit | Line price |
| 10 | Fascia panel line | Fascia panel 4,800 × 900 mm, 3 mm ACM, printed + laminated | $995.00 | |
| 11 | Install hours | 4 | h | |
| 12 | Installers | 2 | people | |
| 13 | Installation line | Installation: 2 installers × 4 h | $720.00 | |
| 14 | Window vinyl line | Window frost vinyl band 3,600 × 500 mm | $126.00 | |
← Price table total
Check
| Row | A | B |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check | Value |
| 2 | Quote total (inc tax) | Price table$2,223.10 |
| 3 | Fascia area | 4.32 |
| 4 | Price per m² (check) | $515 |
| 5 | Minimum job | $450 |
| 6 | Minimum check | OK |
- Typed in
- Your assumption
- Connected to the price table
The price table in the editor · lines and their cells
Choose a connection above, or point at a cell or a line.
Sample data from a fictional sign maker. The connection is set up in the editor: any cell can set a price line's description and unit price, and a price table total can come back into a cell. Quantities stay on the price table. Tick the lightbox to see the total land in Check!B2.
Job, Check and Rates: the estimator's three tabs
Job takes the measurements and choices and does the working: area, billed area with waste, the material and finish rates looked up from Rates, fabrication hours and the three connected lines.
Check receives the price table total and works out the price per square metre and whether the job clears the minimum. Rates holds Morrowgate's own figures, so a rate change is made once, in the template.
Click the tabs and the cells to see each formula in the formula bar.
- Several tabs with cross-tab references
- VLOOKUP, ROUNDUP and IF, as in your spreadsheet
- Typed-in cells and your assumptions marked
Spreadsheet block: Essentials plan and up
Your estimating sheet
=B6*(D7+D8)+B9*Rates!B9
Job
| Row | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Item | Value | Unit | Line price |
| 2 | Fascia width | 4,800 | mm | |
| 3 | Fascia height | 900 | mm | |
| 4 | Area | 4.32 | m² | |
| 5 | Waste allowance | 15% | ||
| 6 | Billed area | 5.0 | m² | |
| 7 | Material | 3 mm ACM | per m² | $78 |
| 8 | Finish | printed + laminated | per m² | $64 |
| 9 | Fabrication | 3 | h | |
| 10 | Fascia panel line | Fascia panel 4,800 × 900 mm, 3 mm ACM, printed + laminated | $995.00 | |
| 11 | Install hours | 4 | h | |
| 12 | Installers | 2 | people | |
| 13 | Installation line | Installation: 2 installers × 4 h | $720.00 | |
| 14 | Window vinyl line | Window frost vinyl band 3,600 × 500 mm | $126.00 | |
Check
| Row | A | B |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check | Value |
| 2 | Quote total (inc tax) | Price table$2,223.10 |
| 3 | Fascia area | 4.32 |
| 4 | Price per m² (check) | $515 |
| 5 | Minimum job | $450 |
| 6 | Minimum check | OK |
Rates
| Row | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rate | $ | Per |
| 2 | 3 mm ACM | 78 | m² |
| 3 | 5 mm acrylic | 112 | m² |
| 4 | 10 mm PVC foam board | 54 | m² |
| 5 | Finishes | ||
| 6 | printed + laminated | 64 | m² |
| 7 | cut vinyl lettering | 46 | m² |
| 8 | Fabrication h per m² | 0.5 | h |
| 9 | Fabrication | 95 | hour |
| 10 | Installer | 90 | hour |
| 11 | Frost vinyl | 60 | 3,600 × 500 mm |
- Typed in
- Your assumption
- Connected to the price table
A real spreadsheet, not a calculator widget
What sign makers and printers carry over from the spreadsheet they already use.
Import your .xlsx
Bring in the estimating file you already trust, then tidy it into the template.
The functions you use
SUM, ROUND, ROUNDUP, IF, VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP, number formats and cross-tab references.
Cells set the lines
Connect any cell to a price line's description and unit price; quantities stay on the line.
The total comes back
Bring the price table total into a cell for price per m², margin or minimum-job checks.
Zapier can fill the inputs
A website form's width and height can be written into the input cells through Zapier; the sheet recalculates.
Lock the block
On the Business plan, lock the spreadsheet block so estimators use it without changing the formulas.
Bring your estimating spreadsheet to the trial
Free for 14 days, no credit card required. Send us your .xlsx and a current quote and we'll help you connect them in one template.
For printers: a run sheet that prices every run length
The same mechanic for print and packaging. Fernhollow's carton run sheet works out board, ink, die-cutting and make-ready for 1,200, 2,500 and 5,000, and row 8 sets each run length's unit price.
The run lengths are alternatives in a single-choice group, so Marcus picks one and the total follows. Pick another run length to see it.
- One column per run length
- Row 8 → each line's unit price
- The breaks are your figures, not a QuoteCloud rule
Run sheet
=ROUNDUP(B7/1200,2)
Run
| Row | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quantity | 1,200 | 2,500 | 5,000 |
| 2 | Board per carton | $0.62 | $0.62 | $0.62 |
| 3 | Ink per colour | $0.07 | $0.07 | $0.07 |
| 4 | Colours | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | Die-cut & glue | $0.18 | $0.18 | $0.18 |
| 6 | Make-ready | $420 | $420 | $420 |
| 7 | Run cost | $1,548 | $2,770 | $5,120 |
| 8 | Unit price | $1.29 | $1.11 | $1.03 |
- Typed in
- Your assumption
- Connected to the price table
Your cartons
Cartons · choose a quantityChoose one
One-off
- Subtotal
- $2,323.00
- Tax (10%)
- $232.30
- Total
- $2,555.30
Put your estimating sheet in the quote, in five steps
What the estimating lead does once, in each template.
Import the .xlsx
Add a Spreadsheet block to the template and import your file.
Mark the inputs
Make clear which cells estimators type into and which are your rates.
Connect the cells
Each line's description and unit price to the cells that work them out.
Bring the total back
The price table total into a check cell: price per m², minimum job.
Lock the block
On Business, lock it so the formulas stay as you built them.
Estimating spreadsheet questions
What is QuoteCloud's Spreadsheet block?
It's a full spreadsheet you place inside a quote or template, on the Essentials plan and up: formulas, several tabs with cross-tab references, lookups, number formats and .xlsx import. For a sign or print business it holds your estimating sheet, so the workings sit with the quote instead of on someone's desktop.
How does the spreadsheet set the prices in my quote?
Any cell can be connected to a price line's description and unit price. When the estimator changes a measurement or a material, the connected lines follow. The price table total can also come back into a cell, for checks such as price per square metre or a minimum job.
Can a cell set the quantity of a line?
No. Quantities are set on the price table as usual. Price the unit in the sheet and keep the number of panels, banners or copies on the line.
Can my website form fill in the spreadsheet?
Zapier can write values into Spreadsheet block cells, so a website form's width and height can go into the input cells and the sheet recalculates. Writing cells through the QuoteCloud API is not something we can confirm.
Can I stop estimators changing the formulas?
On the Business plan you can lock the spreadsheet block with content locking, so estimators use the template without editing it. Locking applies to the block, not to individual cells.
Does the sheet fetch supplier prices?
No. Your rates are the figures you keep in the sheet or in your product library. QuoteCloud doesn't pull supplier price feeds or paper indexes; update the Rates tab in the template when your costs change.
Everything a sign and print business sends
From the spec in the inbox to the signed-off proof.
-
Shopfront & signage packagesFascia, lightbox, window graphics and install as one quote, with each sign sized and priced from your sheet.Explore
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Print runs & quantity breaksQuote 2,500, 5,000 and 7,500 side by side as one choice, each unit price from your run sheet.Explore
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Materials, stocks & finishes librarySubstrates, stocks, finishes and labour rates in your product library, with costs and margins your clients never see.Explore
- Packaging & carton quotesCartons, labels and printed boxes with the dieline proof, the forme and the run lengths in one document.
- Large-format, banners & displaysBanners, exhibition stands, hoardings and vehicle graphics, priced by the square metre and signed before production.
- Artwork proofs & sign-offThe proof inside the quote: the client checks it, comments, and approves it with the same signature.
- Deposits, sign-off & install bookingA deposit or full payment on signing through Stripe or PayPal, then the steps to install day in the quote.
- From emailed spec to priced draft, with MCPAn AI assistant connected through QuoteCloud's MCP service turns specs and enquiries into drafts your estimator checks.
- Reorders & repeat jobsLast year's job as this year's draft: same lines and artwork, current prices, forme and plates on file.
- Website, CRM, accounting & MIS integrationsWebsite quote forms, your print MIS or job system, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Xero and QuickBooks, connected the way each one really connects.
- Templates for sign & print quotesReal QuoteCloud quote, estimate and sign-off templates, ready for your sheet, price book and proofs.
- QuoteCloud implementation for sign & printYour estimating sheet rebuilt as a block, your materials loaded, templates converted and estimators trained.
- FAQAnswers to the questions sign makers, printers and packaging suppliers ask most.
Your formulas, your rates, in every quote
Free for 14 days. No credit card required.
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