Preconstruction Software That Tells You the Margin Before You Bid
Build the estimate from your own cost library, see the projected margin before you submit, and track every bid through to award. When you win, the estimate becomes the project budget. No re-entry.
No credit card. No setup fee. No contract.
Trusted by 100+ Canadian construction businesses
From single-crew renovators to multi-site general contractors.
You Do Not Lose Money on Site. You Lose It at the Bid.
A job that comes in at three per cent instead of fifteen was almost never ruined by the crew. It was priced wrong before anyone picked up a tool. A missed allowance, an old labour rate, a subtrade quote that never got levelled against the others, a markup applied to the wrong base.
By the time it shows up in the monthly report, the contract is signed and the only options left are bad ones.
Construction forecasting software exists to move that moment forward. BillEasy models the margin while the estimate is still a draft, so you find out what the job is worth before you commit to building it.
Before you submit
Projected margin, cost breakdown and risk, modelled on the estimate as you build it.
Before you commit
Compare subtrade quotes side by side and level them on the same scope.
Before you start
The won estimate becomes the live project budget. Same numbers, no re-entry.
Four Reasons Estimates Go Wrong
Pain Point
The Solutions
Your own cost library and reusable templates.
Build from assemblies and rates you maintain once. A 200-line estimate takes hours instead of days, and every line is current.
Your own cost library and reusable templates.
Build from assemblies and rates you maintain once. A 200-line estimate takes hours instead of days, and every line is current.
See the margin before you send the bid.
Build one real estimate in BillEasy this week and compare it to how you price today. Thirty days, no credit card.
One Click From Won Bid to Live Project Budget
In most construction businesses, preconstruction and delivery are two different systems with a person in between. The estimator prices the job in one tool. The project manager rebuilds it as a budget in another. From that day the two versions drift, and when the job finishes nobody can tell you whether you made the margin you bid.
BillEasy does not have a handover. The estimate and the project budget are the same object. Win the job, convert it, and every cost code, quantity, rate and markup carries across exactly as priced. What you bid is what you track against, and at closeout you can answer the only question that matters: did we make what we said we would?
- 1
Estimate
Build it from your cost library. Model the margin. Send the proposal.
- 2
Win
Client approves. One click converts the estimate.
- 3
Budget
Live project budget, identical to the bid. Every actual cost now measures against it.
Bid versus actual, on every job, without anyone building a spreadsheet.
What Is Preconstruction Software?
Preconstruction is everything that happens before a shovel goes in the ground: scoping the work, taking off quantities, pricing it, inviting subtrades, levelling their quotes, setting the markup and submitting a bid you can actually deliver at. Preconstruction software is the system that runs that process.
It matters more than most contractors treat it. The margin on a job is almost entirely decided in preconstruction. Delivery can protect a good bid or fail to, but it can rarely rescue a bad one. A business that bids at eight per cent and delivers well still makes eight per cent.
BillEasy covers the full preconstruction cycle: smart estimating from your own cost library, margin and risk modelling before you submit, bid and subtrade management, reusable templates, collaboration for the bid team, and reporting that tells you which kinds of work you actually win. Then it carries the won estimate straight into the project, which is where most preconstruction tools stop and a spreadsheet takes over.
Six Modules. One Preconstruction System.
Everything from first takeoff to signed contract, connected to what the job will actually cost.
Build accurate estimates from your own cost library instead of starting from zero. Assembly-level pricing means a 200-line estimate takes hours, not days.
See what's included
- Your own cost library of materials, labour and equipment rates
- Assemblies and pre-built line groups
- Labour, material, equipment and subcontractor breakdown per line
- Markup rules by line, by section or across the estimate
- Quantity and rate adjustment with live totals
- Version history on every estimate
- Import quantities from your takeoff tool
Explore Smart Estimating- Your own cost library of materials, labour and equipment rates
- Assemblies and pre-built line groups
- Labour, material, equipment and subcontractor breakdown per line
- Markup rules by line, by section or across the estimate
- Quantity and rate adjustment with live totals
- Version history on every estimate
- Import quantities from your takeoff tool
See projected margin, cost breakdown and risk on an estimate before you submit it. Walk into the bid knowing which number you can actually hold.
See what's included
- Projected gross margin on the estimate as you build it
- Cost breakdown by category, phase or trade
- What-if modelling on rates, quantities and markup
- Break-even price and minimum acceptable bid
- Risk and contingency allowances applied and visible
- Comparison against your historical margin on similar work
Explore Financial Insights- Projected gross margin on the estimate as you build it
- Cost breakdown by category, phase or trade
- What-if modelling on rates, quantities and markup
- Break-even price and minimum acceptable bid
- Risk and contingency allowances applied and visible
- Comparison against your historical margin on similar work
Track every bid, invitation and subtrade quote through to award in one pipeline. Compare quotes side by side and see your real win rate by client and job type.
See what's included
- Opportunity pipeline from invitation to award
- Invitations to bid, sent and tracked
- Subtrade quote collection in one place
- Side-by-side quote comparison and levelling on the same scope
- Bid due dates, reminders and status
- Win rate reporting by client, trade and job type
- Lost bid reasons recorded
Explore Bid Management- Opportunity pipeline from invitation to award
- Invitations to bid, sent and tracked
- Subtrade quote collection in one place
- Side-by-side quote comparison and levelling on the same scope
- Bid due dates, reminders and status
- Win rate reporting by client, trade and job type
- Lost bid reasons recorded
Reuse your own estimate, proposal and contract templates on every new job. Set them up once and your team stops rebuilding the same documents.
See what's included
- Estimate templates by job type
- Branded proposal and quotation templates
- Contract and scope templates
- Standard inclusions, exclusions and assumptions libraries
- Terms and conditions blocks
- Template permissions so rates are not edited by accident
Explore Templates- Estimate templates by job type
- Branded proposal and quotation templates
- Contract and scope templates
- Standard inclusions, exclusions and assumptions libraries
- Terms and conditions blocks
- Template permissions so rates are not edited by accident
Share takeoffs, markups and estimate revisions with the whole bid team in one thread. Comments and approvals live with the file, not in someone's inbox.
See what's included
- Shared estimates with role-based access
- Comments and queries attached to specific lines
- Internal review and approval before a bid goes out
- Revision history with who changed what
- Document sharing with the bid team
- Notifications on changes and approaching deadlines
Explore Collaboration Tools- Shared estimates with role-based access
- Comments and queries attached to specific lines
- Internal review and approval before a bid goes out
- Revision history with who changed what
- Document sharing with the bid team
- Notifications on changes and approaching deadlines
Export bid summaries, cost reports and analytics in the format the client expects. Track which estimates convert so your pricing gets sharper every quarter.
See what's included
- Client-facing bid summary and detailed breakdown
- Internal cost report with margin visible
- Export to Excel, PDF and CSV
- Win and loss analysis across the pipeline
- Estimated versus actual margin on completed jobs
- Scheduled report delivery
Explore Reports & Analytics- Client-facing bid summary and detailed breakdown
- Internal cost report with margin visible
- Export to Excel, PDF and CSV
- Win and loss analysis across the pipeline
- Estimated versus actual margin on completed jobs
- Scheduled report delivery
Price one job properly and see the difference.
Load your rates, build a real estimate, and look at the margin before you send it. Thirty days free, no credit card, no setup fee.
Preconstruction Is One Third of the Job
A bid is only worth what you deliver against it. BillEasy runs the whole lifecycle on the same data, so the estimate you priced is the budget you track and the ledger you close out against.
| Stage | What BillEasy does | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|
| Preconstruction | Estimating, margin modelling, bid and subtrade management, proposals | You are here |
| Delivery | Scheduling, contracts, change orders, crews, client portal | Our project management software for construction |
| Finance | Job costing, progress billing, holdback, payments, WIP and reporting | Our construction accounting software |
Bids That Already Account
for How Canada Builds
01Provincial tax handled correctly
GST, HST and PST applied by province on the estimate, so the number you submit is the number that holds.
02Holdback-aware pricing
Price and present the job knowing how statutory holdback affects your cash position across the draw schedule.
03Reusable proposal and scope templates
Reuse your own estimate, proposal and contract templates on every new job. Set them up once and your team stops rebuilding the same documents.
04Priced in Canadian dollars
Your software bill does not move because the exchange rate did.
How BillEasy Compares on Preconstruction
The capabilities that decide whether an estimating platform fits a Canadian contractor of three to fifty people. We have marked where we do not compete as clearly as where we do.
Legend: ● Full ◐ Partial or higher tier only ○ Not offered CNV Vendor does not publish it
Pricing published
- BillEasy
- CAD
- Procore
- Autodesk Takeoff
- USD
- STACK
- USD
- Buildxact
- CAD
- Buildertrend
- JobTread
- CNV
- Contractor Foreman
- USD
Entry price
- BillEasy
- C$24.99 /mo
- Procore
- ~US$10k /yr
- Autodesk Takeoff
- US$108 /mo
- STACK
- US$299 /user/mo
- Buildxact
- CA$149 /mo
- Buildertrend
- ~US$499 /mo
- JobTread
- CNV
- Contractor Foreman
- US$49 /mo
Free trial
- BillEasy
- 30 days
- Procore
- demo
- Autodesk Takeoff
- STACK
- free tier
- Buildxact
- CNV
- Buildertrend
- demo
- JobTread
- CNV
- Contractor Foreman
- 30 days
| Capability | BillEasy | Procore | Autodesk Takeoff | STACK | Buildxact | Buildertrend | JobTread | Contractor Foreman |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing published | CAD | USD | USD | CAD | CNV | USD | ||
| Entry price | C$24.99 /mo | ~US$10k /yr | US$108 /mo | US$299 /user/mo | CA$149 /mo | ~US$499 /mo | CNV | US$49 /mo |
| Free trial | 30 days | demo | free tier | CNV | demo | CNV | 30 days | |
| AI automated takeoff | CNV | symbol detection | AI Takeoffs | AI assistant | CNV | CNV | ||
| BIM / 3D model takeoff | CNV | |||||||
| Build from your own cost library | ||||||||
| Published regional cost database | BNI, US | AU/NZ/US | US supplier feeds | |||||
| Canadian cost data | ||||||||
| Pre-bid margin modelled on the estimate | vs budget | markup only | target margins | |||||
| Break-even price and what-if scenarios | ||||||||
| Estimate becomes the live project budget | manual, lossy | Advanced tier | ||||||
| Bid pipeline with win rate reporting | weak analytics | CNV | opportunities | |||||
| Branded proposal with e-signature | via Docusign | CNV | Pro tier | e-sign CNV | e-sign CNV | e-sign | CNV | |
| Provincial GST, HST and PST on estimates | Canadian defaults flagged unsuitable | CNV | CNV | CNV | CNV | |||
| Holdback-aware bidding |
Canadian cost data does not exist in any of them.
There is no Canadian cost database inside any estimating platform on the market. The Canadian data that exists is published as annual books, priced in US dollars. A Canadian reviewer of one major platform records that its default pricing, taxes and measurements are unsuitable for Canada. Provincial tax and holdback are unclaimed ground.
We Are Not a Takeoff Tool
If what you need is AI reading your drawings and counting symbols across a set, buy BillEasy AI. We are good at it, several of the software publish inaccurate figures, and we outsmart them over here. We also do BIM model takeoff, and we do ship a published cost database of national average rates.
We do not hand back to you as a number like other tools are normally following this practice. We price the job from the rates you actually pay, show you the margin before you submit it, track the bid through to award, and turn the estimate you won into the live project budget without anyone retyping it. If you already have a takeoff tool, bring the quantities in and price them here.
And we do the Canadian part. Provincial tax on the estimate, holdback across the draw schedule, Canadian dollars on the invoice. No estimating platform on the market does that today.
Who Uses BillEasy Preconstruction
Estimators
A cost library they control, assemblies, fast line entry and version history.
Price it once. Reuse it forever.
Owners and Directors
Margin visible before the bid goes out, and win rate by client and job type.
Know what you are agreeing to.
General Contractors
Subtrade invitations, quote levelling and a bid pipeline across every opportunity.
Compare quotes on the same scope.
Home Builders
Reusable estimate and proposal templates, client-ready presentation, selections priced in.
Same house, half the pricing time.
Subcontractors
Fast quoting from your own rates and a record of what you bid against what you made.
Stop guessing your own numbers.
Thirty days. Your rates. Your real bids.
Load your cost library, price a live opportunity, and see the margin before you submit. If it does not fit how you work, walk away and owe nothing.
No setup fee. No contract. Cancel anytime.
What Canadian Contractors Say
Based on 456 reviewsFrequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about BillEasy's features, pricing, setup, and construction management tools to help you get started confidently.
Get Customized Demo Now!Preconstruction software runs everything that happens before work starts: scoping, takeoff quantities, estimating, inviting subtrades, levelling their quotes, setting markup and submitting the bid. BillEasy covers that full cycle and then carries the won estimate straight into the live project budget, which is where most estimating tools hand over to a spreadsheet.
An estimate produces a price. Forecasting tells you what that price is worth. BillEasy models projected margin, cost breakdown and the effect of a change in rate or quantity while the estimate is still a draft, then keeps forecasting against the budget once the job is running. The point is to know the outcome before you commit, not after.
Know the Margin Before You Sign the Contract
Thirty days free. Your rates, your real bids. No credit card, no setup fee, no contract.
Questions? Call us during business hours or start a live chat. A real person answers.
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