Free Estimate Template for Excel (.xlsx)
An estimate spreadsheet that does its own math. Type quantities and prices, set your tax rate once, and the totals follow.
- Free, no signup
- PDF in about two minutes
- Works on a phone
Download the blank template
The same layout as the form on this page, as a file you can edit, print or hand to a client. Free, no signup, no watermark.
US letter size. The online form on this page fills the same layout with automatic totals and downloads a PDF.
What is in the spreadsheet
The .xlsx follows the same layout as our Word template, laid out as a single sheet: a header block with your business, Bill to, estimate number, date and valid-until date; 15 line-item rows with Description, Qty, Unit price and Amount; Subtotal, Discount, Tax and Total; a Notes & terms area; and an "Accepted by ____ Date ____" line. Money cells are formatted as currency, so $1250 shows as $1,250.00 without any effort on your part.
The difference from Word is that the math is live. Amount, Subtotal, Tax and Total are formulas, and the tax rate is one cell you edit.
Cells you type in vs cells that calculate
| You type | It calculates |
|---|---|
| Header details and Bill to | Amount on every line (Qty x Unit price) |
| Description, Qty, Unit price | Subtotal |
| Tax rate (one cell) | Tax |
| Discount, if any | Total |
| Notes & terms |
If a formula cell ever shows a typed number instead of a formula (click it and look at the formula bar), someone overwrote it. Copy the formula from the row above to restore it. To guard against that, you can protect the sheet in Excel with Review, Protect Sheet after unlocking the cells you type in.
Changing the tax rate
Click the tax rate cell, type your combined state and local rate and press Enter. Tax and Total recalculate at once. Do a sanity check every time you change it: $1,000 at 8.25% should give $82.50.
If you have jobs in more than one tax area, keep the master file with your most common rate and change the cell per estimate. Write the rate into the notes as well ("Tax at 8.25%, Travis County") so the client can see where the figure came from.
Adding rows without breaking SUM
The Subtotal adds up a fixed block of rows. Excel only stretches that range when you insert rows inside it. So:
- Right-click the row number of a line-item row somewhere in the middle of the block and choose Insert.
- Select the Amount cell from the row above, copy it, and paste it into the Amount cell of each new row.
- Click the Subtotal and check that the highlighted range now covers every line-item row.
Typing a new row underneath the last line-item row is the classic mistake. The row looks part of the table, but the Subtotal ignores it, and the estimate goes out short.
Print area and saving as PDF
Before you send, open the print preview. If you added rows or widened a column and the sheet now spills onto two pages, change the scaling to fit all columns on one page (in Excel, Page Layout, then Width set to 1 page). Check that the paper size is Letter.
Then save a PDF: File, Save As, PDF on Windows, or File, Export, PDF on a Mac. Send the PDF, not the .xlsx. The client sees clean values, cannot change a quantity by accident and does not need a spreadsheet app to read it.
Using it in Google Sheets or Numbers
Google Sheets. In Drive, choose New, File upload, select the .xlsx, then open it with Google Sheets. Use File, Make a copy for each new client so the master stays clean, and File, Download, PDF to send.
Numbers. Open the .xlsx directly. Numbers converts the formulas. Export with File, Export To, PDF.
LibreOffice Calc. Opens the file as is. Use File, Export as PDF.
Using it as an estimate sheet for job costing
Many contractors call this kind of file an estimate sheet: a working spreadsheet where you figure your costs before the client sees a price. You can turn the template into one by adding columns to the right of the estimate:
- Unit cost: what you pay per unit, from the supplier quote or your labor cost per hour
- Markup %: what you add on top
- Unit price: Unit cost x (1 + Markup %), feeding the Unit price column
Example: lumber costs you $412 for the job. At a 20% markup the price is $412 x 1.20 = $494.40. Note that a 20% markup is about a 16.7% margin on the selling price. Mixing the two up is one of the most common ways small contractors underprice work.
When the numbers are set, hide the cost and markup columns (right-click the column letters, Hide) before you print or save the PDF, so the client sees only the estimate. Keep the full file in your job folder. When the job is done, compare your estimated costs against the real receipts, and adjust your markup on the next one.
If you would rather not manage formulas at all, the form above does the same row math and totals in the browser and downloads a PDF directly.
How to use
Three things, then download
Your business name, the client and the line items are all a PDF needs. Tax, dates and terms are there when you want them.
- 01
Download the .xlsx
Use the Excel button above. The file opens in Excel, Numbers, LibreOffice and Google Sheets.
- 02
Set your tax rate
The rate lives in one editable cell. Change it there and the Tax and Total lines update.
- 03
Fill the line rows
Type Description, Qty and Unit price on any of the 15 rows. Amount fills itself as Qty times Unit price.
- 04
Print or save as PDF
Check the print preview, then save a PDF to send so the client sees values, not formulas.
Use cases
Frequently asked questions
The Amount column (Qty times Unit price), Subtotal, Tax and Total. You type into Description, Qty, Unit price, the tax rate cell and the Discount line if you give one. Leave the formula cells alone and the math stays right.
Click the tax rate cell, type your rate and press Enter. Tax and Total update immediately. A quick check is that on a $1,000 taxable amount an 8.25% rate should show $82.50 of tax.
Insert new rows between the first and last line-item rows, not below the last one, so the Subtotal's range grows to include them. Then copy the Amount formula down into the new rows.
Yes. Upload the .xlsx to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets, or open it in Numbers or LibreOffice Calc. The formulas and currency format carry over.
In Excel choose File, Save As, and pick PDF, or File, Export. In Google Sheets choose File, Download, PDF. Set the scaling to fit the sheet on one page if you added rows.
Yes. It is free to download with no signup and no watermark.
Related tools
Estimate templates by trade
Each page loads the line items that trade actually bills, in the units it bills them. Ballpark US figures, there to show the structure.