What contingency percentage should I use?

10–20% is common. Use a higher percentage for projects with unclear scope or first-time clients.

Should I include tax in the quote?

It depends on your location and whether you’re required to charge sales tax or VAT. If you do, apply the rate to the pre-tax total and show tax as a separate line.

Can I use this for fixed-price projects?

Yes. Enter your estimated hours and rate to get the cost side; then you can set your quote at or above the total depending on your margin goals.

Project Cost Estimator

Build a project quote with labor, materials, a contingency buffer, and tax. The result is a line-item breakdown you can use in estimates and invoices.

Estimated hours

Hourly rate ($)

Materials / expenses ($)

Contingency buffer (%)

Tax rate (%)

How it works

Labor is hours × hourly rate. Subtotal is labor plus materials and other expenses. Contingency is a percentage of that subtotal to cover unexpected work or scope creep.

Tax is applied to the amount after contingency (labor + materials + contingency). The total is what you’d charge the client. Use this breakdown in your estimate or invoice so the client sees how the total is built.

Project Cost Estimator

How it works

Frequently asked questions

Stop estimating. Start invoicing.

Project Cost Estimator

How it works

Frequently asked questions

Stop estimating. Start invoicing.