Contractor estimate and invoice software keeps one record per job that produces two documents: the estimate the customer signs and the invoice they pay, with the same lines, the same markup and the change orders in between. The point is that the invoice never disagrees with the estimate, and that the company can see, per job, what it priced against what it billed and what it cost. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, cited below, puts the median annual wage for cost estimators at $78,740 in May 2025; a small contractor prices from a template and keeps the record in software rather than hiring for it, and the free template on this site is the estimate half.
One record, two documents
The estimate becomes the invoice by changing its status, not by retyping it; the lines, the markup and the customer are the same record. Software that keeps estimates in one place and invoices in another is how a customer is billed a number they never agreed to.
Change orders between the two
The work that grows between the estimate and the invoice is a change order priced by the same method, recorded against the job, and signed before it is billed. The template on this site prices the change like any job; Pro records it against the estimate it changes.
Priced against billed against cost
Per job: what was priced, what was billed, what it cost, and the margin that survived. That is the report the accountant wants and the one that chooses next year's markup. Pro keeps it and exports it; Markupbird stops there and leaves the books to the books.
Questions people ask about contractor estimate and invoice software
Is there free contractor estimating software?
The estimate template on this site prices a job from your own takeoff, rate, overhead and markup, free and with no account, and prints the estimate. Markupbird Pro adds the rate tables, the estimates kept against customers and jobs, and the wins recorded against the markup.
What markup should the estimate carry?
Whatever covers the overhead share and leaves the profit the company needs, chosen with the margin in front of you; the template prints the margin the total carries at any markup you try.
Should the invoice be generated from the estimate?
Yes. An invoice that starts from the estimate's lines shows the customer what was quoted and what changed, and it keeps the record of the job's margin in one place.