Price the dig, and the rock you might hit.
A homeowner wants a number for a new driveway base. You know the machine hours, the tons of crushed stone and roughly how many loads come out. You don't know what's two feet down. Redline builds the bid from your numbers and puts the price of the unknowns in writing before you mobilize.
From the site walk to a bid
Walk it and figure your numbers
Machine hours by machine, tons or yards of stone and fill, the load count you expect to haul off, mobilization. These are your estimates; Redline doesn't do takeoffs.
Pick fixed or hourly
A homeowner usually wants one number. A builder you work for every month may want hourly with an estimate. You can draft both and send them side by side.
Price the unknowns in words
Rock, unsuitable soil, extra loads, standby while the builder's crew catches up. Write the unit prices into the email that goes with the quote, so the conversation happens before the bucket hits ledge.
Deposit on homeowner jobs
Add a deposit percentage to the quote. On Solo and up, bill it as its own invoice with a card pay link before you mobilize.
Book it after the locate
Put the locate ticket number in the job notes, set a reminder for the day it's good, then book the machine days.
A new driveway base
Draft for Paul Ferreira, with your rates:
Excavator with operator, 10 hrs at $165: $1,650
Skid steer with operator, 8 hrs at $115: $920
Haul-off, 14 loads at $140: $1,960
3/4 crushed stone, 85 tons at $32: $2,720
Mobilization: $450
Total $7,700. Deposit at 30%: $2,310. Save it?
Approve the quote and it saves to his file. The email is drafted with the total, the deposit, the hammer rate and the extra load price. It sends from your Gmail when you approve it.
Quotes by chat work on every plan. Deposits and pay links are on Solo and up. Example prices only.
How excavation work usually gets priced
| Job | Common way to price it | On the quote |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation dig for a builder | Hourly per machine, billed on finish | Estimated hours by machine, mobilization |
| Homeowner driveway or pad | Fixed price with a deposit | Hours, stone by the ton, loads, mobilization |
| Drainage or French drain | Per linear foot | Footage, pipe, stone, restoration |
| Utility trench | Per linear foot | Footage, depth noted, backfill |
| Lot clearing | Fixed or by the day | Days or a flat price, haul-off or burn |
| Rock, unsuitable soil, extra loads | Unit price if encountered | Written in the email with the quote |
A quote line in Redline always counts toward the total, so contingent prices belong in the email or your terms, not as lines.
The rock conversation
Dig long enough and you hit ledge on a fixed-price job. The crew spends half a day on the hammer, and then the owner has to tell the customer the price went up, after the fact, with a hole in their yard. The job was fine. The paperwork wasn't.
The fix costs nothing: say what the unknowns cost before you start. The email Redline drafts with the quote is the place for it, and it's saved on the customer's file with the quote. When it happens, tell Redline the hours on the hammer and they go on the final invoice at the rate the customer already saw.
For builders you work with every week, the bid matters less than getting paid. The excavation software page covers billing hours and loads and catching builders who pay late.
Straight answers on excavation estimates
Redline does
- Turn machine hours, tons and loads into a priced quote
- Draft fixed and hourly versions to send side by side
- Remember your machine rates and mobilization
- Draft the email with your rock and extra load prices
- Bill a deposit before you mobilize (Solo and up)
Redline doesn't
- Do cut and fill takeoffs from a site plan
- Track machine hours or equipment logs
- Request locate tickets or check their status
- Let the customer accept the bid online
- Handle bid bonds, retainage or AIA billing
Questions contractors ask
Can Redline work out yards from dimensions?
If you give it the length, width and depth, it can do the arithmetic and show you the result to check. Swell, compaction and how many yards fit in your truck are your numbers to give it.
Can I quote a GC on a bid list?
You can build the number here and email it from your Gmail. If the GC needs their own bid form filled out, that happens outside Redline.
Is quoting free?
Yes. Quotes by chat work on Free. Deposits, invoices and card pay links start on Solo at $29 a month. See pricing.
More for excavation contractors
Bid the next dig from the cab.
Redline is free to start. Send your hours, tons and loads, and it builds the quote.
Keep reading
- Excavation softwareTurn machine hours and loads into an invoice and chase builders who pay late.
- Quotes and estimatesItemized quotes by chat or from a photo, with a deposit. Options and tax in the composer.
- Concrete estimate appSquare feet and thickness into yards, base, steel and finish, with a deposit.
- Paving estimate appParking lot bids as repair or replace options, with striping and mobilization per phase.