Provision of an estimate of a job, work or a service is often an essential part in dealing with a customer or a client. By giving an estimate of the work that needs to be done, the company allows the customer to get an idea of an approximate cost of the project or service. This estimate might vary from the actual incurred cost due to many factors such as changes in the material cost, labour cost, time, etc. This is the reason a quote that is provided to a customer to fetch a deal is different than the estimate as the former involves the actual cost.
Often, companies opt for the work estimate template of Excel as it smoothens the task of preparing work estimates of different services for various customers.
What is a work estimate template?
In MS Excel, there is a template for estimating the costs of a work or a job to present it to the concerned customer. It can be easily customised and updated for the requirements of any company in any industry.
It presents the details of the company offering the service, customer, job description, costs,
Download
[For Excel: xlsx & Polaris Office] [Size: 13.0 KB]
OTHER OPTIONS
Download
[OpenDocument Spreadsheet .ods] [Size: 21 KB]
How to use the work estimate template?
This template is a simple one that can easily be downloaded, customized and updated on the basis of the company’s requirements.
First of all, the user can update its company details including name, address, phone number, and logo. After that, the customer details of name, address and number can be updated. The next step is to modify or update the job description.
In the job description, a brief explanation of the service is mentioned so to avoid any kind of confusion as well as to bring both the parties on the same page.
Once this is done, information about the costs is entered. This includes the details of different steps/procedures/resources of the project along with their costs.
Although these are only the estimated figures and customers clearly know that the variations can occur, making accurate estimates is always a preferred option. For this purpose, many companies often include sales tax and some indirect costs or try to incorporate any unforeseeable or foreseeable costs.
For instance, if the duration of a job is more than a year and the inflation is expected to increase over the next year, the increased prices can be incorporated to provide a better estimate.
When all the costs will be entered, the in-built formula of the template will automatically calculate the total estimated cost. Below the total cost, a note is added that clarifies the customer/client that this is just an estimate of the project cost and the actual cost may vary.
After this is done, the date of the preparation and the name or signature/digital signature of the person who has prepared the sheet, are inserted.
This template, once customized, can be utilized by the company for different jobs with the required modifications. As they will have a basic template, it will be easy to modify it for all the types of services provided.
Benefits of work estimate template
Companies use this Excel template for its various benefits such as:
- It is easy to use, customize and update.
- The job description helps in avoiding misunderstandings between the customer and the company about what the job entails.
- The detailed costing indicates to the customer the required resources and their costs.
- The note at the end informs the customer that this document is providing an estimate of the cost which may vary from the actual cost. This will avoid any future issues between the parties.
- With modifications, this template can be utilized by the company to prepare estimates of different jobs for different customers resulting in saved time.
Due to the associated benefits, this template of work estimate is often opted for by many companies.
We hope this article and the attached template will prove to be useful to your organization in preparing work estimates for your customers. For any questions or feedback, please write to us. Thank you!