The essential checklist
1. Your business details
Company name, license number where applicable, insurance information, and contact details. This establishes credibility and is often legally required. Homeowners increasingly check these before they hire.
2. A clear scope of work
The single most important section. Spell out exactly what you will do, in plain statements. Vague scope is the root of most disputes: "remodel the bathroom" invites a fight; "remove and replace tub, tile, vanity, toilet, and flooring; relocate no plumbing" does not.
3. Itemized costs (or a clear structure)
Break the price into meaningful pieces (labor, materials, and any major subcontracted portions), or at minimum group by area or phase. Itemization builds trust and heads off "why so much?" pushback. How much you itemize can depend on whether you are sending an estimate, quote, or bid; see estimate vs. quote vs. bid for which structure fits.
4. Explicit exclusions
Just as important as what is included: what is *not*. List assumptions and exclusions clearly: permits the owner will pull, materials they are supplying, conditions you are not responsible for, work behind walls you cannot see. Exclusions are your margin's seatbelt.
5. A timeline
A realistic start window and estimated duration. Note that timelines can shift with weather, inspections, and change orders. Say so, but give the client something concrete to plan around.
6. Payment terms
When and how you get paid: deposit, progress draws tied to milestones, and final payment. Clear payment terms protect your cash flow and prevent the awkward "I thought we'd settle at the end" conversation. This is one of the most-skipped sections and one of the most costly to skip.
7. Change-order policy
State up front how changes and surprises are handled: that added or changed work is priced as a written change order before it proceeds. Setting this expectation in the bid makes the actual change-order conversation easy later.
8. Contingency or allowances
Where the scope has unknowns, note allowances (a set amount for a to-be-chosen fixture) or a contingency for surprises. This keeps a normal surprise from turning into an argument or a loss.
9. Validity period
How long the bid is good for. Material prices move; a bid that is open forever exposes you to cost increases you cannot recover.
10. Signature lines
Space for both parties to accept, turning a document into an agreement. If your bid becomes the contract, make sure the terms above are all present.
A quick pre-send review
Before a bid goes out, run it against three questions:
- Could a stranger read the scope and know exactly what I'm doing? If not, tighten it.
- **Have I written down what I'm *not* doing?** Exclusions prevent scope creep.
- Does the money have a clear schedule? Deposit, draws, and final, all defined.
If all three are yes, you have a bid that protects you as well as it sells.
Free bid template
You do not need to build this from scratch every time. TradesMetrics generates a clean, complete bid (scope, itemized costs, exclusions, timeline, and payment terms) from your estimate, so nothing on this checklist gets forgotten. The free estimating tool is the fastest way to produce one.
For the full process of getting to a bid in the first place, see how to bid a construction job.
Start from a template that already has every section above. Build your bid with the free estimating tool, then send it and track it inside TradesMetrics. More in the Estimating & Bidding hub.