Yes
No, unless it is something requested by the client It increases the turn around time for the bid to be completed.
Great question.You won’t need an itemized bid when you only have to change a door, but when it comes to a larger project you definitely need to have a detailed bid explaining you the cost of material and supply, labor, general contractor overhead(if you hire one),disposal,warranty, etc. This creates a better understanding between the owner and contractor.
Hope this helps.
Only in certain situations, the value of overhead and profit is private information. I will only itemize certain allowances.
Great question, Sentry Automatic Fire Protection Inc.! I find that a general, bullet-pointed list of items and prices works best. The reason is because if you itemize every step of the project it works against the General Contractor in 2 ways:
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The contractor loses time. In order to itemize a project it will require more time to complete the bid. And, if you are a busy contractor, this is inefficient and expensive.
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What will generally happen, especially if the project is B2B, is that the potential customer will try to review each line and negotiate on each line. For instance, if I am submitting a bid for a whole house remodel and I detail every item in the list of the $80,000 project, then the customer will take the estimate and ‘farm’ out the estimate to other construction companies; or, the customer will begin to look into separate trades for lower bids. Again, it is an inefficient use of time.
But…once the contract is signed, I will show how the dollars are being allocated to the project, such as $5,000 mechanicals, $5,000 rough electrical and plumbing, etc. I enjoy building and maintaining a great, transparent relationship with all of my clients but, for business purposes, the exact details must wait until the later in the process.
I hope my response helps with understanding how contractors approach bidding on projects. Good luck!
No, I don’t think that is necessary. However, I do think you should be provided a detailed proposal that outlines exactly how the job will be performed and what services it includes and excludes. You want to make sure you are comparing apples to apples in any job you are having performed at your residence or business.
I generally do according to work being done. As in Framing, electrical, plumbing etc. Makes my quotes look more professional and the customer see exactly what they are paying for.
I will break it down to a time and materials break down but I don’t itemize materials on the bid. After I secure the contract I will give a breakdown of where the money went to on the final invoice. If the customer is against the idea I will bid it on a time/labor basis and will let them purchase the supplies required but will have a surcharge for time and material acquisition.
Not usually, even when requested, something that is included on the contract. We must utilize our time best, to keep company above water
absolutely i think it should be itemized. Part of a customer spending money is knowing where said money is going. It should at least be detailed enough for them to know how much materials and labor are, if not broken down more if possible
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As a homeowner and real estate investor myself as well, I’ve been on both sides of this process. I would say that it is a good idea - it helps the customer understand the costs of each item and lets them prioritize which items to choose. A lot of times, customers get intimidated when they see one big number.
The level of detail depends on the scope of work though. I’ve had a painting subcontractor break down work by the hour and even per dropcloth and roll of tape. That is a bit too much. One line item for labor+materials, or one line item for labor and one for materials is more than enough.
It is more professional to itemized the bid and provide customer with the cost of each item. This way customers can trust you and see that you put time to price their job precisely.
This is a tough one. When itemized, customers tend to gravitate towards the more costly line items and start getting bids for that portion of the larger project. This will then bring all the low-bidders trying to steal what work they can. The only time I separate material, labor, overhead and profit is when I’m dealing with insurance.
He doesn’t have to, you can ask, but he gives you a lump sum contract and all items listed in the contract are included for that price. sometimes customers ask that for budgetary purposes and it is a good practice to give the client a general outline for each section of the project. good luck.