The estimate will help determine what costs will be required to implement a particular project. We will tell you how to draw up such a document. The estimate is often made during construction, repair, commissioning or installation work, and landscaping. One of the project participants from the customer’s side prepares estimates. He must determine the preliminary cost during the feasibility study preparation, calculating the amount that he is willing to spend. The contractor determines the cost of performing his work and the cost of the necessary materials required during the implementation of the project.
For example, when building or finishing a private house, the contractor draws up an estimate, based on which the customer agrees or refuses the services of a particular team and looks for a new one.
The estimated rationing and pricing system is taken from the relevant reference books. For example, in construction, there are:
- State budget standards;
- Federal unit rates;
- Production industry standards;
- Territorial;
- Customized and branded, which are developed for individual companies.
Information in such collections is updated, considering the development of production technologies, inflationary processes, and the pricing system.
Do you still have questions on how to draw up estimates? Ask them outsourcing estimating experts Glavbuh Assistant. They are in touch with leading experts of the Federal Tax Service, FSS, Pension Fund of the united States, and other regulatory bodies throughout New York, so they can professionally solve any of your problems with accounting, calculations, and more.
Classification of Estimates
When implementing large projects, which, as a rule, take place over a long period, it is difficult to draw up an estimate right away. You should take into account the constantly changing prices for:
- Labor resources
- Equipment
- Tools
- Materials
- Energy carriers.
Therefore, the estimate calculation must be carried out from smallest to largest. What does it mean? A preliminary estimate is calculated based on current prices. And later, it is corrected.

For an accurate calculation, the following classifications of estimates are used:
- Local – the price includes direct costs for materials and equipment, overhead costs.
- Object – they summarize the sections “Equipment”, “Installation”, “Performance of work”, “Other costs”, that is, all limited costs that are determined by the customer.
- Consolidated – they separately calculate the limit of funds required to complete the project.
- Conceptual – developed with specialized proposals from investors, collecting the necessary data to determine the investment required. The calculation includes the cost of materials, work, necessary equipment, and all other funds required during the work.
The prices in the estimate are entered in the appropriate columns. The document is formed in the form of a table. The columns indicate:
- Volume and types of work;
- Number;
- Cost of materials;
- The cost of additional resources.
Estimating methods by calculation methods
How to make an estimate, what methods to use for this? In practice, several methods are used that are used to calculate costs:
- Analog – if the contractor performed similar work from similar materials at some site, then taking into account the volume of new work, it is possible to calculate the forthcoming costs, taking into account the inflation process;
- Time-based – the cost is calculated based on a unit of time spent; for example, when carrying out repairs, household contracts, this method has a limited application;
- Base-index – they use databases, for example, construction from the state, federal, regional standards with predicted indices, the base cost for individual elements is multiplied by the value for the type of work, region, specific industry, etc.;
- Resource – the cost is determined based on predicted prices in the market, established tariffs for resources, forthcoming costs;
- Resource-index – use the corresponding databases installed for each region to calculate costs;
- Basic compensation costs are determined at the primary level, considering the current prices and tariffs.

Professional specialists will help you carry out the necessary calculations and draw up reports. Outsourced bookkeeping services will cost you 7,000 rubles a month on average. How it works on the example of the Chief Accountant Assistant. You write to the assistant in the Internet chat about the task to be solved and upload the documents to the service. Then the assistant hands them over to specialized specialists to process primary data, taxes, and personnel. These employees keep all records, prepare accounting and tax reports, answer questions. You can find out how much the service will cost your company.
Step-by-step Budgeting
The calculation work will be carried out in several stages. To make an estimate, you must first draw up several statements for each cost type.
Stage 1. Drawing up a list of types of work to be done
The contractor is determined with the types of work, taking into account their indicators:
- Unit of measurement
- Scope of work
- The number of units of the required equipment
- The amount of work to be done manually.
Based on the work carried out results, a statement is drawn up, where the planned types of operations will be indicated. Based on this, the cost of materials and necessary work will be included in the estimate. The statement should be as detailed as possible. In this example, it is necessary to register tree planting, landscaping lawns, recreation areas, etc.
Stage 2. Drawing up a statement for calculating material costs
It takes into account:
- Type of materials grouped by tasks, for example, soil, seeds for sowing, etc
- Unit of measure for costs, for example, cubic or square meter, the amount of material used, the cost per conventional unit.
- The total cost for each type of cost is calculated in rubles.

Stage 3. Employee payroll
They take into account the type of work, their cost, and volume. Suppose the workers will work according to the tariff system. In that case, they determine the tariff rate per hour, the number of additional payments, and the total amount of time that will have to be spent to perform specific work.
Stage 4. Sheet for calculating the machine-hour
For each equipment object, a calculated indicator is considered, which includes:
- Book value
- Wage rate
- Price per liter of fuel
- Price per liter of lubricants
- The number of working hours.
Based on this, the cost of equipment work is calculated per hour, per day, per month. Next, calculate the total cost of equipment in rubles.
Stage 5. Local estimates
For each type of expense, you need to draw up a local estimate, writing in it everything that was calculated in the statements.
Stage 6. General estimate
Combine all indicators of local estimates into a general estimate. Make a general calculation of costs. In this case, in the table, all costs must be divided by:
- Design;
- Assembly;
- Cost of equipment;
- The cost of equipment;
- The cost of consumables;
- Others.