Tender & Estimating Software for Carpenters
My Trade Hub is estimating and tendering software for carpentry contractors that automates the quantity takeoff and pricing from your plans — wall and roof framing, flooring, and door and fix-out items — so you can turn a set of drawings into a client-ready quote or tender in minutes rather than hours. It is built for Australian residential and commercial carpentry, and every measured item stays editable so you keep full control of your rates and margin.
Key takeaways
- My Trade Hub automates the carpentry takeoff from your plans — wall and roof framing, flooring, and doors and fix-out — so nothing gets missed or double-counted.
- Automated takeoff is 60-75% faster than manual estimation, so you can quote more framing and fix-out packages without adding admin time.
- Every measured quantity stays editable, so you apply your own rates and margin and keep full control of the final price.
- Framing and roof carpentry are usually priced as a trade package direct to the builder; larger or project-home framing packages are sometimes won by formal tender.
- The same measured quantities that build your quote carry through to variations and progress claims once the job is under way.
Why carpentry estimating takes so long
Carpentry estimating takes so long because a single set of plans covers two quite different scopes of work — structural first-fix carpentry and detailed second-fix carpentry — and both hide hundreds of individual lengths and counts that need to be measured off the drawings by hand.
First-fix carpentry means scaling lineal metres of wall framing, counting studs and noggins, working out truss or rafter quantities, and measuring sheet flooring area — all before a single stick of timber is ordered. Second-fix carpentry then adds door counts, architrave and skirting lineal metres, and built-in joinery, each of which is easy to undercount on a busy floor plan.
For most carpentry contractors and subcontractors, that means a quote gets squeezed in between jobs on site, which is exactly when a stud count comes up short or a run of skirting gets missed on a floor plan.
What’s in a carpentry takeoff
A carpentry takeoff is the measured length and count of every item of structural and finishing carpentry shown on the plans, broken down so each can be priced with materials and labour. A complete takeoff typically covers:
- Wall framing — top and bottom plates, studs and noggins, measured in lineal metres by wall type and timber or steel stud size.
- Roof carpentry — trusses or cut roof rafters, ridge and hip members, counted or measured against the roof plan.
- Flooring — structural flooring, particleboard or plywood sheet flooring, measured in square metres.
- Doors and fix-out — internal and external door counts, jambs, architraves and skirting measured in lineal metres.
- Decking and external carpentry — decking area, external stairs, pergolas and fascia and barge boards.
How My Trade Hub takes off carpentry work from your plans
My Trade Hub’s estimation engine reads your architectural and structural plans and performs the measured takeoff automatically — framing lineal metres, roof and flooring area, and door and fix-out counts — instead of you scaling them off the drawings by hand.
Because the takeoff is automated rather than manual, it is 60-75% faster than estimating the same job by hand, so you can turn a set of plans into priced quantities in the time it used to take just to measure the framing.
The output is a structured, itemised list of carpentry quantities — not a black-box total — so you can review every length and count against the plans before it goes anywhere near a client.
Pricing carpentry work: rates, labour and margin
Once the quantities are measured, pricing a carpentry job means applying a materials rate and a labour rate to every framing, flooring and fix-out item, then adding overheads and margin on top — the takeoff only gets you halfway to a number you can stand behind.
Labour is usually the larger cost on carpentry work, and it varies with access, floor level, timber versus steel frame, and how much of the job is first fix versus second fix, so your rates need to reflect the real conditions on site, not a generic average.
On top of materials and labour, add your overheads and margin, and factor in a reasonable allowance for fixings, wastage and any make-good to other trades’ work.
| Item | Description | Unit | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timber wall framing, 90x45 studs | m | 420 | $8.50 | $3,570 |
| 2 | Roof trusses, supply & install | m² | 220 | $42.00 | $9,240 |
| 3 | Particleboard sheet flooring | m² | 185 | $28.00 | $5,180 |
| 4 | Internal door, hung with architrave | No | 14 | $185.00 | $2,590 |
From estimate to a professional quote or tender
With the carpentry quantities measured and priced, the next step is turning that pricing into a document a builder or head contractor can actually act on — a clear, professional quote for a framing or fix-out package, or a complete tender submission for a larger project.
My Trade Hub turns the priced takeoff straight into a client-ready quote or tender, with your branding and terms attached, so you are not re-keying the same numbers into a separate spreadsheet or Word document.
Because the slow part — the takeoff — is already done, producing the quote itself takes minutes, which means you can turn a framing or fix-out price around the same day the plans land in your inbox.
Quoting vs tendering for carpentry work
Most carpentry contractors move between two different pricing situations, and knowing which one you are in changes how you should price the job.
A framing or fix-out package for a single home or small commercial fit-out is usually priced directly for the builder as a fixed price with a short list of inclusions and exclusions. A volume or project-home framing package, or a larger commercial fit-out, is more formal: you are often pricing against a builder’s or developer’s standard drawing set and specification, in competition with other carpentry subcontractors under a set closing date.
The estimating principle is the same in both cases — measure the scope accurately, then price it — but a tender demands more supporting documentation and a tighter, more competitive rate, since you are one of several contractors bidding the identical scope.
Common mistakes in carpentry estimating
Most carpentry under-quotes come down to a short list of recurring mistakes, all of which are avoidable with a consistent takeoff process.
- Undercounting studs and noggins on non-standard wall heights or bulkheads, which quietly adds up across a whole frame.
- Under-pricing roof carpentry on complex hip and valley roofs, which carry more labour than their area on the drawing suggests.
- Missing fix-out items on a busy floor plan — robe shelving, feature architraves, or built-in joinery shown only in a note.
- Not allowing for fixings, wastage and delivery costs, which are easy to leave out of a quick materials price.
- Pricing from an outdated drawing revision, so the quote no longer matches what is actually being framed or fixed.
Who prepares carpentry estimates
On most residential jobs, the carpentry contractor who will do the framing or fix-out also prices it — reading the plans, measuring the scope and building the quote themselves, since a separate estimator is rarely justified for a job of that size.
On larger commercial fit-outs or volume framing packages, a dedicated estimator inside the carpentry business usually prepares the quote or tender, often working from a builder’s program and a full architectural and structural drawing set rather than site knowledge alone.
Either way, the same bottleneck applies: someone has to manually scale hundreds of lengths and counts off a drawing before a single rate can be applied, which is exactly the step My Trade Hub automates.
How My Trade Hub helps carpenters win more work
My Trade Hub automates the measured takeoff for carpentry work directly from your plans — wall and roof framing, flooring, and doors and fix-out — so the slow, error-prone part of estimating happens in minutes instead of hours.
Every measured item stays fully editable, so you apply your own rates and margin and keep complete control of the final price before it goes to a builder or client. Because the takeoff is 60-75% faster than doing it by hand, you can quote and tender for more carpentry packages without adding estimating overhead — and the same measured quantities carry through to variations and progress claims once the job starts.
Frequently asked questions
what’s the best estimating software for carpenters?
The best estimating software for carpenters automates the quantity takeoff from your plans — framing, roof carpentry, flooring and fix-out — and lets you apply your own rates rather than relying on generic pricing. My Trade Hub performs that takeoff automatically and produces a client-ready quote or tender, while keeping every rate and quantity editable so you stay in control of the final price.
how do carpenters price a job?
Carpenters price a job by measuring the framing, roof carpentry, flooring and fix-out scope, pricing materials and labour against each item, then adding overheads, wastage and margin. Automating the takeoff from the plans removes the missed lengths and counts that are the most common cause of under-pricing.
how long does it take to quote a framing job?
A manual framing takeoff and quote can take anywhere from a few hours for a small job to a full day or more for a larger home, depending on how many walls, trusses and fix-out items need to be measured by hand. Automating the takeoff cuts that time by 60-75%, so a job that used to take a day can be quoted the same afternoon.
what should be included in a carpentry quote?
A complete carpentry quote should list the scope of work (framing, roof carpentry, flooring or fix-out), the price, what is included and excluded, any provisional allowances for items not yet selected, and the validity period of the price.
do carpenters need to tender for commercial work?
Larger commercial fit-outs and volume or project-home framing packages are sometimes won by formal tender rather than a simple quote, particularly where a builder or developer is comparing several carpentry subcontractors against the same drawing set. Most residential framing and fix-out work is priced as a direct quote.
how do you estimate wall framing from plans?
Wall framing is estimated by measuring the lineal metres of top and bottom plate on the plans, then calculating studs and noggins from the standard spacing for that wall type and height, plus an allowance for openings, corners and wastage. Doing this by hand from a drawing is slow and error-prone; My Trade Hub measures these quantities automatically as part of the takeoff.
Ready to win more work?
Turn your plans into professional tenders 60–75% faster with My Trade Hub. Plans built around your tendering volume — no lock-in contracts.
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