Electrical estimating workflow
How commercial electrical and low-voltage shops turn published unit rates into private libraries and client-ready proposals.
Guides for contractors
Resources for unit rate estimating and construction proposals
Published unit rates for electrical, low-voltage, roofing, drywall, painting, concrete, flooring, plumbing, and HVAC work, including 3/4" EMT, exposed.
Practical articles for commercial estimators — how unit rates work, how to build a unit rate library, how takeoff differs from estimate and proposal, how commercial estimating differs from a house quote, how to estimate tenant improvements, how to log bid win rate, how to price jobs and change orders, how to write proposal scope and exclusions, and how proposal software fits into your bidding workflow. New guides are added here over time.
Looking for software? See our unit rate estimating software overview or pricing plans.
All guides
- EstimatingVideo
How to Price a Job With Unit Rates
How to price a job as a contractor: build a unit rate for each item from material, crew time, and labor cost, measure the quantities, and multiply.
4 min read · Oct 19, 2026
- EstimatingVideo
Master Unit Rate List: Stop Copying Old Bids
Copying your last bid often copies its wrong rates. Keep one master unit rate list, update it with crew production at closeout, and bid from checked rates.
4 min read · Oct 12, 2026
- EstimatingVideo
Labor Productivity Rates for Estimating
Many bids are lost on labor productivity rates no one has checked, not on price. Compare bid and actual crew hours per unit, then rebuild each unit rate.
4 min read · Oct 7, 2026
- Estimating
Allowances and Alternates in Unit-Rate Bids
How commercial shops price allowances and bid alternates from named unit rates — qty × rate, clear labels, recovery once — without silent lumps.
10 min read · Sep 28, 2026
- Estimating
How Bid Addenda Change a Unit-Rate Offer
How commercial shops reprice bid addenda from a unit-rate library — retakeoff, re-extend, revise scope, and keep the offer clear before award.
10 min read · Sep 21, 2026
AnalyticsWhat to Log for Bid Win Rate
How a commercial shop logs bid win rate — won and lost reasons, bid versus award, fee, and cycle time — and how unit rates keep that log clear.
10 min read · Sep 14, 2026
EstimatingTenant Improvement Estimating With Unit Rates
How commercial contractors estimate tenant improvements with unit rates — TI vs shell, library pricing, allowances, and suite proposal language.
11 min read · Sep 14, 2026
ProposalsProposal Scope, Inclusions, and Exclusions
How commercial contractors write proposal scope, inclusions, and exclusions from unit rates so the owner accepts the same lines the estimate priced.
11 min read · Sep 13, 2026
EstimatingCommercial vs Residential Construction Estimating
How commercial and residential estimating differ on scope, unit rates, labor, waste, and proposals, and how Unit Rate AI prices both by the unit.
11 min read · Sep 13, 2026
PricingOverhead, Fee, and Contingency on Commercial Bids
How overhead, fee, and contingency differ on commercial bids, where each sits versus unit rates, and how to show the stack on an estimate or proposal.
11 min read · Sep 13, 2026
EstimatingTakeoff vs Estimate vs Proposal for Contractors
How takeoff, estimate, and proposal differ for commercial contractors, and how unit rates connect measured quantities to a client-ready total.
10 min read · Sep 13, 2026
PricingHow to Price a Construction Change Order
How commercial contractors price a change order from unit rates: extend bid-day lines, apply overhead and fee once, and show the owner the unit math.
10 min read · Sep 12, 2026
EstimatingHow to Build a Commercial Unit Rate Library
How commercial contractors build a MasterFormat unit rate library: naming, includes/excludes, labor burden, waste, versioning, and overhead vs proposal.
12 min read · Aug 27, 2026
Contractor guideWhy New Construction Founders Underprice Their First Jobs
Most new company owners start by estimating materials, adding a desired paycheck, and calling it a bid. That approach quietly leaves overhead, labor risk, waste, contingency, and real profit uncovered—and the shortfall shows up months later as cash-flow pressure.
6 min read · Aug 20, 2026
EstimatingHow Unit Rate Estimating Works for Commercial Contractors
What a commercial unit rate includes, how it differs from lump sum, and how GCs and subs turn a rate library into client-ready proposals.
10 min read · Aug 16, 2026
PricingHow to Price a Commercial Construction Project
How commercial contractors price a job: scope, takeoff, loaded unit rates, overhead and fee, proposal terms, and tracking wins versus losses.
10 min read · Aug 16, 2026
Estimating & pricing FAQ
Short answers on unit rates, lump-sum vs unit-rate bidding, overhead, and getting started.
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 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.
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.
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.
Put these practices into Unit Rate AI
Build a unit rate library, send construction proposals with online acceptance, and track wins — with AI tools on every plan.