Construction Rates Library Software
A rates library is the set of unit prices — labour, material and plant rates against every measured item — that turns a measured quantity into a priced line in an estimate. My Trade Hub lets you build and maintain your own rates library and applies it automatically to the quantities produced by the estimation engine, so pricing stays consistent from job to job and every rate remains editable whenever your costs change.
Key takeaways
- A rates library is the set of unit prices — per square metre, cubic metre, lineal metre, tonne or item — that turns a measured quantity into a priced line.
- My Trade Hub applies rates from your own library automatically to measured quantities, so you are not looking up and re-keying a rate for every line item.
- Rates can be organised into different classes for different kinds of work — for example, separate residential and commercial rates for the same item.
- Keeping your rates library current is what keeps every estimate accurate — the engine applies the rates you give it, so an outdated rate produces an outdated price.
- Every rate stays fully editable, on a single line or across a whole job, so you keep control of your own pricing.
What is a rates library?
A rates library is your collection of unit prices — what it costs, per square metre, cubic metre, lineal metre, tonne or item, to supply and install every measured item you commonly price. It is what turns a quantity takeoff into an actual dollar figure: quantity multiplied by rate builds the line total, and every line total rolls up into the priced estimate.
Most estimators and builders already carry some version of a rates library, even if it has never been formalised — a spreadsheet of current supplier prices, a set of remembered labour rates, or a folder of old, priced jobs used as a rough reference. A structured rates library simply makes that knowledge consistent, searchable and reusable across every job rather than living in one estimator’s head.
Because the rate is what most directly reflects your actual costs and margin, keeping it accurate matters at least as much as measuring the quantity correctly — a perfectly measured job priced against a stale rate still produces the wrong number.
In plain terms
A rates library is your own price list for construction work — what everything costs you to supply and install, kept in one place so you are not re-working it from memory on every job.
How My Trade Hub applies your rates
My Trade Hub applies rates from your own library directly to the measured quantities the estimation engine produces from your plans, so each line in an estimate is priced automatically the moment it is measured, rather than left blank for you to look up separately.
Because the rate is matched to the item and its unit — square metres of brickwork against a per-square-metre rate, cubic metres of concrete against a per-cubic-metre rate — the quantity and the rate are always speaking the same language, removing a common source of pricing error.
Every applied rate stays visible and editable on its line, so you can see exactly which rate priced which item, and adjust it on the spot if this job’s conditions, supplier or site access mean it should differ from your standard rate.
Organising rates by class and trade
A useful rates library is organised, not just long. My Trade Hub lets you group rates by trade section — concrete, carpentry, roofing, electrical — mirroring the way a Bill of Quantities is structured, so finding and maintaining the right rate is quick even once your library covers hundreds of items.
- By trade — grouping rates the way a job is actually built and priced, trade by trade.
- By rate class — for example, separate residential and commercial rates for the same measured item, where your true cost or margin genuinely differs.
- By region — where labour and material costs vary meaningfully between the areas you work in.
- By item — the underlying unit price, description and unit that the rate applies against.
Keeping a rates library current
A rates library only stays useful if it reflects what things actually cost right now. Material prices move, supplier quotes expire, and labour rates change with the market — a rate you set a year ago and never revisited is quietly eroding your margin on every job it is applied to.
My Trade Hub keeps every rate editable at any time, whether you are updating a single line after a new supplier quote or reviewing a whole trade section after a broader cost change. Because rates apply automatically to future quantities, an update made once flows through to every job priced after that point, rather than needing to be re-applied job by job.
Accuracy, review and staying in control
Automating rate application does not remove the judgement of setting the rate in the first place. My Trade Hub applies the rates you give it — it does not invent a price for you — so the accuracy of a priced estimate is only ever as good as the rates behind it.
Because every rate is visible and editable line by line, you can adjust for a job’s specific conditions — a harder-to-access site, a rush program, a client-supplied material — without disturbing your standard rate for every other job that uses the same item.
Who uses a rates library
A rates library is used by anyone responsible for pricing a job — estimators building up a tender, business owners pricing their own work, and admins maintaining consistent pricing across a company’s tenders so two estimators quoting similar jobs land on comparable numbers.
It matters most where a business prices a genuinely wide range of similar jobs — residential renovations, light commercial fit-outs, repeat trade work — because that is exactly where a consistent, current rate saves the most time and protects margin most reliably.
Rates library vs pricing from memory or a spreadsheet
The difference is less about the rate itself and more about where it lives and how consistently it is applied. A rate remembered or re-typed from an old job is only as reliable as whoever is recalling it that day; a structured, current rates library applies the same rate to the same item every time, for everyone pricing a job.
- Rates library vs memory — a library does not rely on one estimator recalling the right figure under time pressure.
- Rates library vs a static spreadsheet — a library applies automatically to measured quantities, rather than needing a rate looked up and pasted in for every line.
- Rates library vs a rate on an old job — a maintained library reflects current costs, not whatever happened to be charged on the last similar job.
Common mistakes with a rates library
Most pricing errors trace back to the rates library rather than the measured quantities underneath it:
- Letting rates go stale after a material or labour cost increase, so every job priced against them understates the real cost.
- Applying a rate against the wrong unit — for example a per-lineal-metre rate against a per-square-metre quantity.
- Using one rate for every job type, when residential and commercial work genuinely carry different real costs for the same item.
- Not reviewing rates regularly enough to catch supplier price changes before they show up as a margin surprise on a completed job.
How My Trade Hub helps with your rates library
My Trade Hub lets you build and maintain your own rates library and applies it automatically to the measured quantities the estimation engine produces from your plans, so pricing is consistent from job to job without you looking up a rate for every line.
Because every rate stays fully editable — on a single line or across a whole trade section — keeping your library current takes minutes, and that accuracy flows straight through to every estimate you price after that. Build your rates library on My Trade Hub’s tiered plans, with no lock-in contract.
Frequently asked questions
what is a rates library in construction estimating?
A rates library is your set of unit prices — per square metre, cubic metre, lineal metre or item — for the materials and labour you commonly price. It is what turns a measured quantity into a priced line in an estimate.
how does My Trade Hub apply rates to an estimate?
Rates from your library are applied automatically to the measured quantities the estimation engine produces from your plans, matching each item to its correct unit rate. Every applied rate stays visible and editable.
can I have different rates for residential and commercial jobs?
Yes. Rates can be organised by class, so you can keep separate rates for residential and commercial work — or by region — where your real costs genuinely differ for the same item.
how often should I update my rates library?
As often as your real costs change. A rates library only stays useful if it reflects current material and labour prices, so review it whenever a supplier quote or labour rate moves rather than leaving it to drift.
can I edit a rate after it has already been applied to an estimate?
Yes. Every rate stays fully editable on its line, so you can adjust it for a specific job’s conditions without changing your standard rate for every other job.
do I need to set up a full rates library before I can estimate a job?
You can start pricing straight away and build your rates library up as you go — but the more complete and current your library is, the more of an estimate is automatically priced the moment quantities are measured.
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