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Construction Terminology

Quote / Estimate / Bid / Proposal – What is the Difference?

Is there a difference between a Quote/Estimate/Bid/Proposal?  Absolutely!  Here is how those words all differ.

Quote – a price for material which normally has time attached to it – say 30 days.  An example would be framing materials or trim materials such as plumbing fixtures, door hardware etc.

Estimate – What a general contractor collects to calculate his expected costs to complete a project.  They can include overhead, subcontracts, equipment costs etc.

Bid – Can be used two ways, one referring to a document – “I received the electrician’s bid today”, receiving an actual document or it can be referred to as a price – “What was the electricians’ bid?”, the price for his work.

Proposal – a proposal is a detailed document submitted as part of a competitive process to win business.  It includes quotes from suppliers for materials, proposals from sub-contractors, estimates of labor, and overhead, such as insurance costs and the contractors mark up for profit.