Free Plumbing Bid Template

A bid is a price you are submitting into a competitive process, usually against other contractors and usually to a deadline. What wins it is rarely the number on its own, it is how completely the scope and the exclusions are written down.

Bid, quote or estimate: this is the same document

It is one form with one word changed on it, and that is deliberate. A bid is a price submitted into a competitive process, a quote is normally a fixed price you are committing to, and an estimate is a considered approximation that can move with the scope. Owners and general contractors use all three interchangeably.

So the word at the top matters far less than one line inside: changes to the scope are priced in writing and approved before the work is performed. On a bid it matters most of all, because you are pricing against people who may have read the same drawings differently, and the exclusions are what stop a low bid from turning into an expensive job. That line is already in the template and in the generator below.

The longer version, including what belongs in the exclusions and why every price you send needs a valid until date, is in estimate vs quote vs bid. The plumbing contractor estimate template is this same form with the other word on it, and the same plumbing line items.

What a contractor bid should contain

• Your business details and license number where required
• The customer name and the job address
• A bid number and the date you submitted it
• The project or solicitation it answers, so it can be matched to the right package
• A valid until date, because a bid held open indefinitely is a price you never agreed to
• Scope in plain language, line by line, so it can be compared against the other bids
• What is explicitly excluded, which is where a low bid and an honest bid differ
• A line saying scope changes are priced in writing and approved before the work is performed
• Subtotal, tax, any deposit required to book the work, and the total

What goes on a plumbing contractor bid

These are the lines a plumbing job usually needs. They are already in the template and in the generator, so you edit rather than start from an empty page.

• Service call and diagnosis
• Replace water heater, 50 gal
• New shutoff valve and supply lines
• Haul away old unit
• Permit and inspection

Delete what does not apply, add what does. The point is that a customer looking at an itemized plumbing bid can see where the money went, which is what stops the argument before it starts.

Write an exclusions line, it wins arguments before they start

Most disputes are not about the price, they are about whether something was included. Permits, disposal, painting after drywall, moving furniture, parking, after hours work, unforeseen rot behind a wall. Name them.

"Excludes permit fees, asbestos or mold remediation, and any repair to structure found behind existing finishes" is a single line that has saved contractors thousands.

Put an expiry on every price you send

Material prices move. An estimate with no valid until date is an open ended offer that a customer can accept next spring at last summer's lumber price.

Thirty days is the usual default. If your material is volatile, say 14 days and say why.

Questions people ask

What is the difference between a bid and a quote?

A bid is a price submitted into a competitive process, usually against other contractors and usually to a deadline. A quote is a fixed price offered directly to one customer. In practice an accepted bid becomes the price, so write it as tightly as you would write a quote.

What should a contractor bid include?

The scope in enough detail that another contractor reading the same drawings would price the same work, the exclusions, the price, and the date the bid expires. Anything you leave vague is a thing you will be expected to have included.

How long should a bid stay valid?

Put a date on it. Competitive work can sit on somebody's desk for weeks while the other prices come in, and material costs move in that time, so a bid with no expiry is an open ended risk you are carrying for free.

Can I withdraw a bid after I have submitted it?

Before it is accepted, usually yes, unless you are bidding into a process that says otherwise, and public work often does. Read the instructions to bidders before you submit anything, because on some jobs the bid is backed by a bond and pulling out costs money. This is not legal advice.

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