A free contractor estimate generator lets you build a professional quote or invoice without a template file or a subscription. You type in your business and customer details, add line items (quantity × unit price), pick your province for sales tax, and download a clean PDF to email or text to the customer.
Open the free estimate generator in your browser. No login, no email, nothing to pay.
Open the free toolContruva’s generator is free with no login, no email and no paywall. It uses the same document design that Contruva customers send, handles HST, GST, PST and QST across Canada, and saves your draft in your browser so you can finish it later. Here’s how to use it and how to write an estimate that actually wins the job.
What the estimate generator makes
One form, two documents: choose a quote or estimate, or an invoice.
| Feature | Estimate / quote | Invoice |
|---|---|---|
| Your business details and brand colour | Yes | Yes |
| Customer name, address and contact | Yes | Yes |
| Document number and dates | Yes | Yes |
| Line items (qty × unit price) | Yes | Yes |
| Canadian sales tax by province, custom rate or no tax | Yes | Yes |
| Optional deposit | Yes | No |
| Notes and terms | Yes | Yes |
| Download as PDF | Yes | Yes |
The custom-rate and no-tax options cover US contractors, where sales tax on services varies by state and city, and Canadian small suppliers who aren’t registered for GST/HST.
How to create an estimate, step by step
Business name, phone, email, address and, if you’re registered, your GST/HST number. Pick an accent colour that matches your truck or logo.
Name, email, phone and the job address. Commercial clients may also want a PO number in the notes.
Use a sequential number (Q-1001, Q-1002) and date it. On a quote, say how long the price holds, often 14 to 30 days, so material price changes don’t catch you.
One line per piece of work or material: description, quantity and unit price. The generator does the multiplication and subtotal.
Pick your province and the generator applies HST, GST, PST, RST or QST. Or enter a custom rate, or choose no tax.
Add a deposit if you take one, and the terms that protect you: what’s included, what isn’t, how changes are handled.
Check it once on your phone screen, then send it. Your draft stays saved in this browser.
A worked example with HST
A tile installer in Hamilton, Ontario, quoting a kitchen backsplash. Here’s what goes into the generator and what comes out:
| Line item | Qty | Unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour: prep, tile and grout backsplash | 12 hrs | $85.00 | $1,020.00 |
| Porcelain tile, 3×12 subway (customer-approved sample) | 45 sq ft | $14.00 | $630.00 |
| Setting materials: thinset, grout, edge trim, sealer | 1 | $165.00 | $165.00 |
| Old tile removal and disposal | 1 | $90.00 | $90.00 |
| Subtotal | $1,905.00 | ||
| HST (13%) | $247.65 | ||
| Total | $2,152.65 |
If you ask for a 30% deposit to order the tile, that’s $645.80 on approval, with the $1,506.85 balance due on completion.
Notice the tile line names the product and says the customer approved the sample. That one line heads off the most common backsplash dispute before it starts.
How the totals are worked out: each line is quantity × unit price, the subtotal is the sum of the lines, tax is the subtotal × your province’s rate, and the total is subtotal plus tax. The deposit is a share of that total, and the balance is whatever is left. If you change a quantity or a price, everything below it updates, so you can try a cheaper tile or fewer hours and see the new total straight away. That’s handy on site, when a customer asks what it would cost with a different product.
Where did the $85 an hour come from? It should come from your own numbers, not a guess. The contractor hourly rate calculator works out a labour rate that covers your pay, your overhead and a profit margin.
Sales tax rates by province
The generator uses these rates. If you’re registered for GST/HST, show the tax as its own line and put your registration number on the document.
| Province or territory | Tax | Combined rate |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | HST | 13% |
| Nova Scotia | HST | 14% |
| New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island | HST | 15% |
| Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut | GST | 5% |
| British Columbia | 5% GST + 7% PST | 12% |
| Saskatchewan | 5% GST + 6% PST | 11% |
| Manitoba | 5% GST + 7% RST | 12% |
| Quebec | 5% GST + 9.975% QST | 14.975% |
Whether PST applies to a particular construction job depends on the province and the type of work, and in some cases the contractor pays it on materials instead of charging it. This is general information, not tax advice: check the CRA’s GST/HST guidance and your provincial tax ministry. Our article do contractors charge HST on materials covers the common questions.
Writing line items customers understand
A customer reading your estimate is asking two questions: what am I getting, and why does it cost that? Good line items answer both.
- Group by stage or area, not by every screw. “Rough-in plumbing, main bath” beats twenty fittings.
- Name the materials that matter to the customer: the shingle line, the flooring product, the fixture model.
- Show units (sq ft, linear ft, hours, each) so the customer can see how the price scales.
- Separate disposal, permits and rentals. They’re real costs, and listing them stops “why is it so much?” calls.
- Put optional extras on their own lines so the customer can say yes to more, not just yes or no.
For a full walkthrough of what to include and how to present it, read how to write a contractor estimate that wins the job. To get the prices right before they go on the page, use the contractor markup calculator.
Deposits and terms
A deposit protects you on material-heavy jobs and confirms the customer is serious. Add it to the quote so it’s agreed before work starts, not raised awkwardly afterwards. Some provinces set rules on deposits for certain consumer contracts, so check yours; how much deposit should a contractor ask for goes into the detail.
In the notes and terms box, cover at least: how long the price is valid, what’s excluded, how changes are priced (see how to handle a change order), the payment schedule and accepted payment methods, and your workmanship warranty.
Estimate, quote or invoice?
| Document | What it says | When to send it |
|---|---|---|
| Estimate | An informed approximate price; may change if the scope does | Early, when you can’t yet see everything |
| Quote | A firm price for a defined scope, valid until a date | After the site visit, when the scope is clear |
| Invoice | A request for payment for work done | When the job (or a stage of it) is complete |
Many contractors use “estimate” and “quote” interchangeably. That’s fine, as long as the document makes clear whether the price is fixed and how long it holds. For the invoice side, our contractor invoice template lists what a Canadian invoice must show for GST/HST.
Estimate mistakes that lose jobs
- Sending it days later. Customers often book whoever sends a clear price first. Same day or next day is the goal.
- One lump-sum line. “Bathroom reno: $18,500” invites haggling. Line items build trust.
- No expiry date. A quote accepted six months later at last year’s lumber price is a loss.
- Hiding tax until the invoice. Show tax on the quote so the total never surprises anyone.
- No follow-up. Most quotes that go quiet weren’t rejected; they were forgotten.
From one PDF to a quoting system
The generator is perfect for the odd quote. When you’re sending several a week, PDFs start to leak work: you can’t see whether the customer opened it, nobody follows up, and the signed copy turns into a new invoice you type up by hand. Contruva’s quoting software sends the same clean document as a link. You see when it’s opened, follow-ups go out on schedule, the customer signs and pays the deposit on their phone, and the signed quote becomes a job and an invoice with online card payments and automatic reminders.
All of it is in one plan, Contruva Pro, at $249.99 CAD a month. Start a 7-day free trial, no credit card needed.