Create accurate and detailed estimates in minutes, no matter what type of work you do.
Bolster users spend an average of 84% less time estimating.
With pre-built assemblies containing items, costs and profit, you can estimate in minutes, not hours, even if you're estimating bigger jobs.
Use AutoCost's millions of items for live, region-specific pricing for both materials and labor. See item stock at local stores based on zip code.
Bolster's estimating tool looks like a spreadsheet, but is much more powerful. Items and assemblies can have formulas attached to them, updating costs based on inputted dimensions.
"The software has done exactly what I got it for, which was to not spend four hours a weekend writing estimates. With a bathroom - done before I leave the customer's home. Kitchen? 80% done before I leave."
Bolster gives you all the tools you need to help you scale your construction business.
Save time, win more jobs, increase profit, and get paid faster with Bolster.
Get startedConstruction estimating software turns a scope of work into a priced, itemized number you can defend. Good software does three jobs at once: it measures quantities, it prices labor and materials from current costs, and it turns the finished estimate into a proposal the client can approve. If your tool only does one of those, you are still retyping numbers between spreadsheets, supplier quotes and Word documents, and that is where most estimating mistakes come from.
This guide covers what estimating software actually does, how it compares to Excel, what to look for when you choose one, and a worked example of building an estimate in Bolster.
At its core, estimating software is a structured cost database plus a calculator. You describe the job (a 12 x 16 deck, a primary bathroom remodel, a 2,400 sq ft custom home) and the software works out how much material and labor that scope needs and what it will cost.
Most contractors start in Excel, and plenty still use it. A spreadsheet is flexible and free, but it has limits that show up as you grow:
Estimating software keeps the flexibility (you can still build your own items and formulas) while fixing the parts that cost money: live pricing, reusable assemblies and a single estimate that flows into everything downstream.
Use this checklist when you compare tools, including Bolster:
People search for both, and the line between them is blurry. Quoting software usually means the client-facing part: a clean, branded quote with a price and terms. Estimating software is the engine behind it that works out the price. For residential contractors you want both in one place, so the quote is generated from the estimate instead of retyped. In Bolster the estimate becomes an interactive presentation automatically, with digital signature built in.
Here is how a typical 5 x 8 bathroom remodel comes together in Bolster. The numbers are illustrative, not a price list.
Michael at MJK Builders put it simply: "With a bathroom, done before I leave the customer's home. Kitchen? 80% done before I leave."
Bolster was built for residential builders, remodelers and specialty trades in the US and Canada. The estimating engine works like a spreadsheet, so it feels familiar, but every item has formulas attached so costs update as dimensions change.
On average, Bolster users spend 84% less time estimating. HB Builders went from 8 to 9 days per estimate in Excel to about 30 minutes. Mangino Home Improvements cut estimates from 8 hours to 30 minutes and now quotes full custom homes.
A lot of searches are for an "estimating app" because contractors want to price jobs on site. Bolster runs in the browser on any tablet or laptop and has iOS and Android apps, so you can measure, price and present at the client's home. That matters because the contractor who sends a clear, professional quote first usually wins.
Bolster suits general contractors, remodelers, custom home builders and trades such as decking, fencing, roofing and siding, landscaping, painting and flooring. If you are comparing tools, see how Bolster stacks up against Buildertrend and JobTread, or book a demo and we will build an estimate for one of your real jobs.
The best tool is the one built for your work. Residential contractors should look for live material and labor pricing, reusable assemblies, takeoff linked to the estimate, and proposals generated from the same data. Bolster was built specifically for residential builders, remodelers and trades.
For most growing contractors, yes. Excel is flexible but prices go stale, formulas break and nothing connects to proposals, schedules or invoices. Estimating software keeps your own pricing logic while adding live costs and reusable assemblies.
Accuracy depends on your quantities and your prices. Linking takeoff measurements to assemblies removes most counting errors, and live regional pricing removes stale costs. Prestige Home Renovations reports 95% estimating accuracy and more than $1,000 of margin recovered per job with Bolster.
Estimating software works out what a job will cost. Quoting software presents the price to the client. Bolster does both: the estimate automatically becomes an interactive proposal the client can sign and pay from.
Yes. Bolster runs in the browser and has iOS and Android apps, so you can measure, price and present a proposal while you are still at the client's home.
It depends on how much of your pricing you bring with you. Bolster includes pre-built assemblies and AutoCost pricing to start from, plus onboarding and coaching to build your own item library.
