Create Your First Estimate

This article walks through creating your first estimate in Stimaro, from opening the app to generating a bid report.

The example below uses a simple construction estimate with one project, a few rates, one bid item, markup, validation, and export. Your actual project names, rates, quantities, and markup percentages will be different.

Before You Start

Before creating your first estimate, it helps to have a few pieces of information ready:

• Project name
• Customer name, if applicable
• Bid date, if applicable
• Labor, material, and equipment rates
• Quantities or takeoff information
• Your company's markup approach
• Cost codes, if your company uses them

You can still start an estimate without having every library fully built. Stimaro lets you add and adjust information as you go.

Create a Project

When you first open Stimaro, you will see the Project Library.

If you do not have any projects yet, Stimaro will show an empty-state message prompting you to create a project.

To create your first project:

1. Click New Project.
2. Enter a Project Name.
3. Add a Description, if helpful.
4. Select a Customer, if you have one in your customer library.
5. Add a Bid Date, if applicable.
6. Click Create.

After the project is created, Stimaro opens the project workspace.

Example project:

Set Up Rates

Before you can price estimate items, you need rates for the resources used in the work.

Open the Rates tab at the top of the project workspace. You can also use Ctrl+2.

The Rates area includes tabs such as:

• Labor
• Equipment
• Rental
• Material
• Subcontract
• Other
• Crews
• Factors
• Fuel

For your first estimate, start with the rate categories you need for the work you are pricing. A simple first estimate may only need labor, material, and equipment.

Add a Labor Rate

To add a labor rate:

1. Open the Labor tab.
2. Click + Add.
3. Fill in the row with the labor information.
4. Press Enter or click elsewhere to save.

Example labor rate:

Stimaro calculates the loaded labor cost using the wage, benefits, and burden fields you enter.

For example, the system may calculate:

Use the values that match your company's labor setup.

Add a Material Rate

To add a material rate:

1. Open the Material tab.
2. Click + Add.
3. Fill in the material information.
4. Press Enter or click elsewhere to save.

Example material rate:

Stimaro calculates the total material rate based on the rate, discount, and tax fields.

Add an Equipment Rate

If your estimate includes equipment, add an equipment rate.

To add an equipment rate:

1. Open the Equipment tab.
2. Click + Add.
3. Fill in the equipment information.
4. Press Enter or click elsewhere to save.

Example equipment rate:

Stimaro calculates the total daily equipment cost using the cost fields you enter.

Create Your First Item

An item is a line item on your estimate. It represents one scope of work with resources assigned to it.

To create an item:

1. Open the Items tab at the top of the project workspace. You can also use Ctrl+3.
2. Click + Add Item.
3. Fill in the item details.
4. Click Create.

Example item:

After the item is created, it appears in the item list. The next step is to assign resources to the item.

Add Resources to the Item

Resources are the labor, equipment, materials, subcontractors, rentals, or other costs that make up an item.

To add a resource:

1. Select the item.
2. Click + Add Resource.
3. Choose the resource category.
4. Select the rate or resource.
5. Enter the quantity and factor.
6. Click Save.

Stimaro uses the selected rate, quantity, and factor to calculate the line total.

Add Labor

Example labor resource:

The line total is calculated from the labor rate, quantity, and factor.

Add Material

Example material resource:

The line total is calculated from the material rate, quantity, and factor.

Add Equipment

Example equipment resource:

The line total is calculated from the equipment rate, quantity, and factor.

Review Item Costs

After resources are added, review the item cost summary.

The item detail area shows totals such as:

• Total cost
• Unit cost
• Category breakdowns

For example, if an item has labor, material, and equipment, Stimaro rolls those resource details into the item's total cost and unit cost.

This helps you verify that the item is priced correctly before it moves into the bid sheet.

Open the Bid Sheet

The bid sheet is where Stimaro rolls up your items, applies markup, and calculates the final bid amount.

To open it:

1. Click the Bid tab at the top of the project workspace.
2. Or use Ctrl+5.

Your item appears as a row with fields such as:

• Sequence
• Item number
• Description
• Bid quantity
• Unit of measure
• Unit cost
• Total bid

At this point, your direct costs are in place. The next step is to apply markup.

Add Markup

Use the markup panel to apply your company's pricing strategy.

Markup may include category-level markups, overhead, and profit.

Example markup fields may include:

As you adjust markup values, Stimaro recalculates the bid.

Use the bid summary and waterfall view to understand how direct costs, markups, overhead, and profit build toward the final bid amount.

Review and Adjust the Bid

Before exporting, review the final bid amount.

If the number is too high or too low, adjust the markup percentages and review the result again.

If you want to compare pricing approaches, use the markup tools to test different scenarios before deciding on the final bid.

Validate the Estimate

Before generating a report, check the estimate for missing or unusual information.

Open the Validation Panel and review any messages.

Stimaro checks for issues such as:

• Items without prices
• Quantities that are missing or set to zero
• Markup values that may need review
• Other estimate setup issues

If Stimaro shows an error or warning, review the message and update the estimate before exporting.

Generate a Report

When the estimate is ready, open the Reports tab. You can also use Ctrl+8.

Choose the report that fits your next step.

Common report types include:

After choosing a report:

1. Select the report template.
2. Click Export.
3. Choose PDF, Excel, or print, depending on the report and your workflow.

Typical First Estimate Workflow

A simple first estimate often follows this path:

Once you understand this flow, you can create larger estimates by adding more items, using more rate categories, and organizing work by cost code or section.

Tips for Working Faster

As you get comfortable with Stimaro, these habits can speed up estimating:

• Create several items before adding details
• Copy similar items instead of rebuilding them from scratch
• Reuse rates from your library
• Import or paste rates from an existing spreadsheet
• Use cost codes to keep reports organized
• Review validation messages before exporting
• Test markup scenarios before finalizing the bid

Stimaro recalculates totals as your rates, items, quantities, and markup change, so you do not need to manually rebuild the bid after every adjustment.