Where to Find Estimate Totals
To view estimate totals:
Open the project you want to work on.
Navigate to the Estimates module from the left-side menu.
Scroll down to the Summary section at the bottom of the estimate page.
The Summary section displays a breakdown of all costs and the final project total.
How Estimate Totals Are Calculated
Buildern calculates the total estimate based on the following:
Item Quantity – The number of units for each item
Unit Cost – The cost per unit
Markup Values – Additional percentage or fixed profit applied
Included Items – Only items marked as Calculate in total are included
Each estimate item contributes to the total depending on these values.
Summary Section Overview
The Summary section includes additional cost components that affect the final total.
These may include:
Builder Fixed Cost - The total cost of all estimate items
Allowances - Placeholder amounts for items not yet finalized
Overheads - Additional operational costs
Insurances - Insurance-related costs applied to the project
Markup - Profit added on top of the base costs
Tax - Applicable taxes based on your settings
Adjust - Manual adjustments made to the estimate total
All of these values are automatically calculated and combined to produce the final total.
Overheads
The Overheads section includes additional operational costs required to complete the project.
Examples include:
Management Fee – Project management or administrative costs
Travel – Transportation-related expenses
Waste – Percentage-based cost to account for material loss
Delivery of Goods and Maintenance – Delivery and logistics costs
Miscellaneous – Any additional expenses not categorized elsewhere
You can add new overhead items by clicking Add an option and define them as either fixed amounts or percentages. You can also remove any overhead or insurance entry at any time. Each item includes a delete (×) icon on the right side.
Managing Overheads and Insurance Items
Buildern allows you to add, edit, and remove overhead and insurance costs directly from the Summary section.
Click Add an option under either Overheads or Insurances.
If no options are available, Buildern will prompt you to go to Settings to create new overhead or insurance types.
Alternatively, you can configure them manually by going to:
Settings → Finance → Overheads / Insurances → Add new option.
👉Learn more about General Settings
Insurances
The Insurances section allows you to include project-related insurance costs.
Common examples include:
Course of Construction Insurance
General Liability Insurance
Workers Compensation Insurance
Professional Liability Insurance
Insurance values can also be set as fixed amounts or percentages and are automatically included in the estimate total.
How the Final Total Is Calculated
The final estimate total is calculated as follows:
Total = Builder Fixed Cost + Allowances + Overheads + Insurances + Markup + Tax + Adjustments
Buildern recalculates this total automatically whenever changes are made to items, quantities, or cost settings.
You can manually adjust the final estimate total directly from the Summary section.
At the bottom of the Summary panel, you will see the Total value. When you hover over it, a “Click to edit” option appears, allowing you to update the final amount.
ℹ️ Note: Editing the total will override the automatically calculated value. Any differences will be reflected in the Adjust field in the Summary section.
In the next guide, we’ll build on this and show you more ways to optimize your workflow.
Happy Building!