Estimation Modules

PSS Bids Manager includes 6 estimation modules for comprehensive bid costing. Each module handles a specific cost category with automatic calculations and cost rollup.

Module Overview

Module	Purpose	Auto-Calculations
Concrete	Slabs, footings, cylinders	SF, CY, rebar costs
Labor	Crew hours and rates	Daily costs, dependent roles
Equipment	Rentals, owned equipment	Fuel, delivery, insurance
Materials	Supplies and consumables	Waste factors, tax
Subcontractor	Pumping, drilling, subs	Buffer markup
Misc	Other costs	Direct cost entry

Cost Rollup

All modules feed into the cost rollup system:

🔍 Click diagram to expand

Cost recalculation is triggered automatically when any item is created, updated, or deleted.

---

Concrete Module

The Concrete module handles all concrete work including slabs, footings, walls, and cylindrical elements.

Shapes

Shape	Dimensions	Calculations
SLAB	Length × Width × Depth	SF, CY
FOOTING	Length × Width × Depth	CY
WALL	Length × Height × Thickness	SF, CY
CYLINDER	Diameter × Length	LF, CY

Fields

namestringrequired

Item description (e.g., "Foundation Slab", "Pier #1")

shapeenumrequired

SLAB, FOOTING, WALL, or CYLINDER

lengthnumberrequired

Length in feet

widthnumber

Width in feet (not used for CYLINDER)

depthnumberrequired

Depth/thickness in inches

rebarSizestring

Rebar size (#3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8)

rebarSpacingstring

Spacing (6", 8", 12", 16", 18", 24")

Auto-Calculations

Square Feet = Length × Width
Cubic Yards = (Length × Width × (Depth/12)) / 27
Rebar Cost = Lookup from rebar rates table

Auto-Materialization

tip

Enable "Auto-add to Materials" to automatically create entries in the Materials module for:

• Concrete (based on cubic yards)
• Rebar (based on size and quantity)

Duplication

Concrete items can be duplicated within the same scope. Click "Duplicate" on any concrete item to create a copy.

---

Labor Module

The Labor module tracks crew hours, rates, and automatically calculates dependent roles.

Fields

rolestringrequired

Job role (e.g., "Finisher", "Laborer", "Operator")

quantitynumberrequired

Number of workers

hoursPerDaynumberrequired

Hours per worker per day

daysnumberrequired

Number of days

ratePerHournumberrequired

Hourly rate (from pricing items or manual entry)

vehicleCountnumber

Number of vehicles (triggers auto costs)

Auto-Calculations

Daily Cost = Quantity × Hours Per Day × Rate Per Hour
Total Cost = Daily Cost × Days + Auto Costs

Dependent Roles

The system automatically calculates supervision needs:

Dependent Role	Calculation
Ops Coordinator	5% of skilled labor hours (max 40 hrs)
Labor Foreman	1 per 10 skilled laborers
Junior Foreman	1 per 5 laborers

note

Dependent role hours are read-only and recalculate automatically when labor items change.

Auto Costs

When vehicle count is specified, these costs are added automatically:

Cost Type	Description
Vehicle Depreciation	Per-vehicle daily rate
Fuel	Based on estimated mileage
Insurance	Per-vehicle daily rate

---

Equipment Module

The Equipment module handles rentals, owned equipment, and associated costs.

Fields

namestringrequired

Equipment name (from catalog or manual entry)

rentalTypeenum

DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY

quantitynumberrequired

Number of units

daysnumberrequired

Duration in days

ratenumberrequired

Rental rate per period

fuelChargenumber

Fuel cost (auto-calculated or manual)

deliveryFeenumber

Delivery/pickup fee

insuranceRatenumber

Daily insurance rate

Equipment Catalog

Select from the equipment catalog for pre-configured rates:

• Skid Steer (Daily, Weekly)
• Excavator (Daily, Weekly)
• Concrete Mixer
• Compactor
• And more...

Fuel Charge Automation

tip

Fuel charges can be calculated automatically based on equipment type and hours of operation. Configure fuel rates in Admin → Global Variables.

---

Materials Module

The Materials module tracks all supplies and consumables with waste factor support.

Fields

namestringrequired

Material name (from catalog or manual entry)

quantitynumberrequired

Quantity needed

unitstringrequired

Unit of measure (EA, LF, SF, CY, GAL, etc.)

unitCostnumberrequired

Cost per unit

wastePercentagenumberdefault: 0

Waste factor (e.g., 10 for 10% waste)

isTaxablebooleandefault: true

Whether item is taxable

Waste Factor

Extended Cost = Quantity × Unit Cost × (1 + Waste% / 100)

warning

Waste is applied to the total, not the unit cost. This ensures accurate quantity tracking.

Tax Exemption

If the bid is marked Tax Exempt, taxable materials are filtered from the tax calculation but still included in the total cost.

---

Subcontractor Module

The Subcontractor module handles all subcontracted work including pumping services.

Fields

namestringrequired

Subcontractor service name

vendorstring

Vendor/company name

quantitynumberrequired

Quantity

unitstringrequired

Unit of measure

unitCostnumberrequired

Cost per unit

buffernumberdefault: 0

Markup percentage

Buffer (Markup)

Total Cost = Subtotal × (1 + Buffer% / 100)

The buffer allows you to add markup on subcontractor costs.

Pump Catalog

The system includes a pump catalog with 122 entries from various vendors:

Pump Selection

1. Click "Add from Pump Catalog"
2. Search or browse vendors
3. Select pump type
4. Rates auto-populate:
   • Volume rate ($/CY)
   • Hourly rate
   • Travel fee
   • Minimum hours
   • Reach (meters)

Pump Fields

Field	Description
Vendor	Pump company name
Pump Type	Size/model (e.g., "32 Meter")
Volume Rate	$/CY pumped
Hour Rate	$/hour
Travel Fee	Mobilization cost
Min Hours	Minimum billable hours
Reach	Maximum reach in meters

Joint Saw Rates

Green saw and demo saw rates are available from global variables:

• Green Saw - Cutting fresh concrete
• Demo Saw - Cutting cured concrete

---

Misc Module

The Misc module handles any costs that don't fit other categories.

Fields

namestringrequired

Description of the cost

quantitynumberrequired

Quantity

unitCostnumberrequired

Cost per unit

notesstring

Additional notes

Common Uses

• Permits and fees
• Testing and inspection
• Temporary facilities
• Safety equipment
• Miscellaneous supplies

---

Module Best Practices

Use the catalogs

Equipment and pump catalogs have pre-configured rates. Use them instead of manual entry when possible.

Enable auto-materialization

For concrete items, enable auto-add to Materials. This ensures concrete and rebar are tracked properly.

Include waste factors

Always add appropriate waste percentages for materials (typically 5-15% depending on material type).

Use buffer for subs

Add a buffer percentage on subcontractor items to account for markup and contingency.

Review dependent roles

Check that auto-calculated supervision hours make sense for your project scope.

Next Steps

📄

Creating a Bid

Complete bid creation workflow

💻

API Reference

Programmatic access to estimation modules