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Frequently asked questions
Rigorous answers for commercial estimators and contractors — unit rates, proposals, overhead, win-rate tracking, AI tools, and plans. Jump to a category or browse every question below.
New to unit rates? Start with our unit rate estimating software overview or estimator guides.
Unit rate basics
What is unit rate estimating?
Unit rate estimating prices construction work by unit of measure — dollars per square foot of slab, per linear foot of conduit, or per each door hardware set. You multiply takeoff quantities by loaded rates to build a proposal total instead of guessing one lump sum for the whole job. Read our unit rate estimating guide for a deeper walkthrough. For how takeoff, estimate, and proposal stay separate documents on the same unit rates, see takeoff vs estimate vs proposal. UnitRate.ai stores your commercial unit rates with labor and material breakdowns so estimators reuse consistent math on every pursuit.
Who is UnitRate.ai for?
UnitRate.ai is built for contractors and estimators — general contractors coordinating multi-trade bids, subcontractors pricing repeat scopes for GC invites, and in-house estimating teams that need a durable rate library. See commercial vs residential construction estimating for that split, then explore unit rate estimating software features tailored to commercial workflows.
How is unit-rate estimating different from lump-sum bidding?
Lump-sum bids hide assumptions inside a single number. When drawings change or alternates appear, you rebuild the logic from scratch. Unit-rate estimating ties every line to a quantity and a rate, so scope revisions update extensions automatically and errors are easier to spot before bid day. See our commercial pricing workflow guide for when each approach makes sense on commercial work.
How is UnitRate.ai different from generic construction estimating software?
Many platforms emphasize takeoff quantity extraction or back-office accounting. UnitRate.ai focuses on the commercial contractor workflow between those steps: maintaining loaded unit rates, assembling proposals with scope and payment terms, sending client-ready links, handling change orders, and learning from win/loss history. AI drafting is included on every plan to speed up rates, scope, and line items without replacing your judgment.
Is this estimating software or takeoff software?
Estimating and proposals from unit rates. Takeoff stays in the tool you already use.
Pricing plans
Is there a free plan?
Yes. The Free plan includes full unit rate library access, full AI tools (200 credits/month), customer CRM, and proposal workflow features. You can create and send up to 10 new proposals and 10 proposal emails per month. Limits reset on the 1st of each month (UTC). See pricing details for a full comparison with Founder and Pro.
What is the Founder plan?
Founder is $99/month for 10 seats with full Pro features — unlimited proposals and the same AI allowance as other plans, with that rate locked in as long as you stay on Founder. Spots are limited to the first 100 contractors. Founder access lets shops lock in a team at that introductory rate. Pro is $39/month per seat for the same unlimited proposals.
Do Free and Pro include the same AI features?
Yes. Free, Founder, and Pro share the same AI feature set and the same 200 monthly AI credit allowance. The primary Free plan difference is the monthly proposal create/send limit (10 each); paid plans remove that cap.
What counts toward my monthly proposal limit on the Free plan?
Creating a new proposal and sending a proposal email each count separately toward your 10-action monthly limit for that action type. Resending an existing proposal counts as another send. Editing drafts you already created does not create a new proposal slot unless you create a brand-new proposal record.
When do Free plan limits reset?
Free plan proposal and send limits reset on the 1st of each month (UTC), regardless of your signup date. AI credits also reset monthly. Paid subscribers are billed on their signup anniversary through Stripe.
Can I upgrade, downgrade, or cancel later?
Yes. Upgrade from Dashboard → Billing. Paid subscribers manage payment methods and cancellation through the Stripe billing portal; access continues through the current billing period after cancellation.
Proposals & bidding
Can I build construction proposals from unit rates?
Yes. UnitRate.ai connects your private unit rate library directly to proposal line items. Pull rates into a new proposal or template, adjust quantities for the specific job, apply overhead and fee markup, add scope language and payment terms, then send a branded PDF or online review link. Clients can accept or decline online, and the proposal record stays tied to your customer and project history for the next bid. For how rate-level includes and excludes become owner-facing sentences, see proposal scope, inclusions, and exclusions.
Does UnitRate.ai support change orders?
Yes. After a proposal is sent or accepted, you can create change orders that amend scope and pricing, send them to the client for online approval or rejection, and update project totals when a change order is accepted. Change order emails and review links follow the same workflow as proposals so field revisions do not live only in email threads. For the estimating sequence — bid-day unit rates to a change-order line to overhead and fee — see how to price a construction change order.
Can clients accept or decline proposals online?
Yes. Send a branded proposal link where clients review scope, line items, payment terms, and totals, then accept or decline. You receive notification when they respond, and a PDF record stays available. This is standard on all plans that can send proposals within your monthly limits.
Labor, materials & overhead
How does UnitRate.ai handle labor and material costs?
Each unit rate can include labor rows (productivity, wage, burden) and material rows (unit quantity, waste, supplier cost). AI can draft missing breakdown rows when you describe a scope, and you remain responsible for validating productivity and pricing against field conditions. Loaded rates roll into proposal line items so you see line totals before overhead and markup. This structure is what separates unit rate estimating software from a single-number spreadsheet cell.
How do overhead and markup work in UnitRate.ai?
You can apply company overhead and fee markup at the proposal level so direct costs stay visible in line items while the client-facing total reflects how your company recovers home-office cost and profit. Some contractors load overhead into each unit rate instead; UnitRate.ai supports proposal-level markup so your team can match internal accounting practice. Review totals against benchmarks before send — the software does not guarantee a target margin. For how to keep overhead out of the master rate, see how to build a commercial unit rate library. For the bid-day stack — overhead, fee, and contingency versus the unit rate — see overhead, fee, and contingency on commercial bids.
Analytics & win rates
Can I track which unit rates and proposals win jobs?
UnitRate.ai records proposal outcomes — wins, losses, and pending — and surfaces analytics such as win rates by customer, pricing zones, and competitiveness guidance from your history. AI summaries can highlight patterns in your data, but results depend on how consistently you log outcomes and how much history you accumulate. Analytics help you ask better pricing questions; they do not promise a specific win-rate improvement.
AI features
Is this AI estimating software?
Yes — AI drafts from your library and a job description. It does not auto-count devices on a PDF.
Does UnitRate.ai include AI features?
Yes. All plans include the same AI tools — unit rate drafts, labor and material breakdown suggestions, proposal scope drafting, line item recommendations, payment term suggestions, change order scope help, pricing guidance, and analytics summaries. Usage is capped at 200 AI credits per month across all plans; credits reset monthly. AI outputs are starting points you must review before sending proposals or relying on them in the field.
Getting started
How is UnitRate.ai better than spreadsheets for estimating?
Spreadsheets work until rates live in personal files, formulas break silently, and nobody knows which version went to the client. UnitRate.ai centralizes unit rates with version history, connects them to proposals and templates, tracks client responses, and feeds analytics back into the next bid. You still control the numbers — the difference is structure, reuse, and a single place for estimating and proposal delivery instead of scattered tabs.
How do I get started quickly with UnitRate.ai?
Create a free account, set up your company profile and trades, then browse or add unit rates from the commercial starter library. Build a proposal from a template or scratch, let AI draft scope if helpful, and send a test link to yourself before going to a client. Most teams start with one repeat project type — TI, concrete, electrical — and expand the library as they win work. Browse estimator guides for unit rate and pricing workflows.
Can multiple people on my team share one account?
UnitRate.ai is organized around individual contractor accounts today — one login per subscription. Many estimators share credentials within a small office, but there is no separate seat-based team product yet. If you need formal multi-user permissions, contact us through the contact page so we understand your workflow.
Security & data
Is my pricing and proposal data private?
Your unit rates, labor rates, customer records, and proposal content are private to your account. UnitRate.ai does not share your individual pricing with other contractors or sell your data for third-party marketing. Aggregated, anonymized trends may be used internally for market guidance features that cannot identify your company. See our Privacy Policy for full details.
Still have questions?
Create a free account to explore unit rate libraries, proposals, and analytics — or contact us for product help.