How to use cost breakdown in estimating

Cost breakdown lets you calculate a line item’s unit price from its underlying material, labour, machinery, and subcontractor costs.

Note: Cost breakdown must be activated in company settings before you can use it. See how to activate cost breakdown.

1. Open a project and navigate to the estimate.
2. Find the line item you want to add a cost breakdown to. Each line item has a calculator icon.
   • A blue calculator icon means the line item already has a cost breakdown.
   • A grey calculator icon means no cost breakdown has been added yet.
3. Click the calculator icon to open the cost breakdown, whether you’re adding one or editing an existing one.
4. In the top-left corner of the pop-up, choose whether to calculate:
   • Per unit — costs apply to a single unit, and the unit price scales automatically if the quantity changes.
   • Total quantity — costs apply to the full quantity of the line item.
5. Add rows under any of the following headings: Material, Labour, Machinery, Subcontractor. Adding one row automatically adds a new empty row below it.
6. For each row, fill in:
   • Code
   • Name
   • Comment (optional)
   • Quantity
   • Unit
   • Unit price
   • Contingency (as a percentage)
7. Alternatively, click Add from resources under any heading to pull existing materials, labour, machinery, or subcontractors from your company resources. See how to manage project resources.
8. Once all costs are added, close the pop-up. The line item’s unit price updates automatically based on your cost breakdown.

Tip: You can also build a cost breakdown directly on a budget code in the library. When you pull that budget code into a new estimate, its cost breakdown is already included.