Estimate generator.

How this estimate generator works

You type your business details, the prospect's details and one line per item, press Preview, and the page builds a Letter-size PDF in your browser. Nothing is uploaded. The PDF has your business name and contact lines at the top right, the word ESTIMATE at the top left, a "Prepared for" block, the estimate number and date, an optional "Valid until" date, a red header row (Description, Qty, Price, Total), your line items, a totals block and any notes you typed.

The estimate number defaults to EST-0001 and becomes the file name when you download, so change it for each job (EST-0002, or a client code plus a date) and you will not overwrite earlier files. The currency menu offers CAD, USD, EUR and GBP and only changes how amounts are formatted. It does not convert anything.

Line items, one per line

Each line has three fields separated by the pipe character: description, quantity, unit price.

• Description | Quantity | Unit price
• Example: Frontend build | 1 | 6500
• Example: Site visit (hours) | 7.5 | 95

The line total is quantity multiplied by unit price. Quantities can be decimals, so hours work well. Two things trip people up. First, type prices as plain numbers: 1500, not 1,500. The page reads the number before the first comma, so "1,500" is read as 1. Second, a line with fewer than three fields is skipped silently, and the description cannot contain a pipe character itself.

The totals, step by step

The totals block works in a fixed order:

• Subtotal is the sum of all line totals.
• Discount is a flat amount in your chosen currency, not a percentage. Enter 500 for a $500 discount. If you want ten percent, work out the amount first.
• Tax is the tax rate applied to the subtotal after the discount is taken off.
• Total is subtotal minus discount plus tax.

Worked example

The form opens with three sample lines: 1 x 1,500 for discovery and research, 1 x 4,500 for UI design and 1 x 6,500 for the frontend build. The subtotal is 12,500.00. Enter a 500.00 discount and the taxable amount becomes 12,000.00. At the default 13 percent rate, tax is 1,560.00, and the total is 13,560.00. Without the discount the same job would be 12,500 plus 1,625 tax, or 14,125.00.

Estimate, quote or invoice?

In everyday use an estimate is a good-faith projection that can move, a quote is a firm price the customer can accept, and an invoice is the bill after the work. Words are not always used strictly, so say which one you mean in the notes. A sentence such as "This is an estimate. Final cost depends on scope confirmed in writing" does a lot of work. The Valid until date matters too: prices for materials, subcontractors and your own time change, and an expiry date keeps an old estimate from being accepted a year later at a stale price.

If you are dealing with a consumer in Ontario, the law treats estimates seriously. Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, section 10, where a consumer agreement includes an estimate the supplier may not charge more than 10 percent above it, and if they do the consumer can require the goods or services at the estimated price. Repairers have extra estimate rules in section 56. Other provinces have their own rules, so check yours before promising a figure.

Tax on an estimate

The tax rate box is yours to set. The default of 13 percent is the Ontario HST rate, which the Canada Revenue Agency page on which rate to charge confirms for Ontario. The rate depends on the place of supply, so a job in another province may need a different rate, and some supplies are zero-rated or exempt. Small suppliers are not required to register until they pass 30,000 dollars in taxable revenue over four consecutive calendar quarters, so if you are under that line and not registered you should leave the rate at zero and not show a tax line you cannot remit.

Related tools

When the client says yes, move to the quote generator for a firm price, the invoice generator for billing, and the receipt generator to acknowledge payment. If you are ordering materials for the job, the purchase order generator uses the same line format.

Tips for an estimate that gets accepted

• Break the work into lines a client can recognise, not one vague "Services" line. Itemised scope also protects you when the client asks for something extra.
• Use the notes box for assumptions: what is included, what is not, how many revision rounds, and how long the estimate is valid.
• State payment terms. "50 percent to start, balance on delivery" is clearer than silence.
• Save the PDF and send it from your own email so the client has a dated copy, and keep a copy for your records.

What this tool does not do

It does not track acceptance, convert the estimate into an invoice, store your clients, or calculate multiple tax lines such as separate GST and PST on different items. It applies one tax rate to the whole discounted subtotal. For anything more complex, build the estimate here as a draft and finalise it in your accounting software.