A practical starting point
A project estimate you can inspect, change and explain.
Three free templates for fixed-price work. Each includes an explicit scope, a task network, three-point estimates and one separate risk event. Download without an account or email address.
What belongs in a fixed-price estimate?
Start with the deliverables and exclusions, then estimate the pieces of work that produce them. For each task, record a plausible best, likely and worst duration; add costs and connect predecessors. Keep separate events separate from ordinary uncertainty, so you can explain where the contingency comes from.
These files use illustrative inputs, not market rates or recommended bids. The quoted prices, rates and risk probabilities are placeholders. Review them against your own scope, records and delivery constraints.
- Choose a template below and download its JSON file.
- Read or edit the file in a text editor, or open the licensed BidVariance app and choose Import. Import creates a separate local project.
- Replace scope, costs and ranges. Dates are intentionally blank: set your actual start and promised completion before assessing deadline confidence.
- Run a simulation and review price, margin and schedule together. Save a dated project export with the assumptions used for the bid.
Without a license, start with the free three-point estimate calculator or bid price calculator. These check one estimate; the app combines connected tasks and risk events. Compare one-time licenses.
Website delivery
Scope: a five-page marketing website with one contact form. Excludes ongoing hosting, ecommerce, copywriting and post-launch maintenance. Dates intentionally blank; set the actual start and deadline. Daily rates are elapsed-calendar-day averages, not working-day rates.
| Task | Low / likely / high | After |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Discovery and scope | 2 / 3 / 5 | Project start |
| 2. Design and review | 5 / 8 / 12 | Task 1 |
| 3. Build and content setup | 7 / 10 / 16 | Task 2 |
| 4. Testing and handover | 2 / 4 / 7 | Task 3 |
Risk to review: Late content replacement. Separate late replacement event; ordinary content entry is already in the build estimate. Cost includes associated rework; delay does not automatically add task burn.
Download website delivery template
Inspect cost and risk assumptions
- Discovery and scope: 500 USD per calendar day; One scope workshop and agreed page inventory.
- Design and review: 500 USD per calendar day; One design direction and two review rounds; ordinary revision variability included.
- Build and content setup: 600 USD per calendar day; Five pages and one form; client supplies approved content.
- Testing and handover: 450 USD per calendar day; Browser checks, accessibility review and one handover session.
Fixed project overhead: 1,500 USD. Example contract price: 35,000 USD. Example target margin: 25%; confidence target: 80%. These are editable assumptions.
Separate event: 20.0% occurrence chance; low / likely / high cost 300 USD / 700 USD / 1,500 USD; delay 1 / 3 / 5 calendar days.
Software integration
Scope: one source system to one destination, one-way scheduled sync. Excludes replacement of either system, historical data cleanup outside the agreed sample, and 24-hour support. Dates intentionally blank. Daily rates average cost across elapsed calendar days.
| Task | Low / likely / high | After |
|---|---|---|
| 1. API and data discovery | 3 / 5 / 9 | Project start |
| 2. Mapping and interface contract | 3 / 5 / 8 | Task 1 |
| 3. Connector implementation | 8 / 13 / 22 | Task 2 |
| 4. Integration testing | 4 / 7 / 12 | Task 3 |
| 5. Cutover and handover | 2 / 3 / 6 | Task 4 |
Risk to review: Vendor API behavior differs from documentation. Distinct external change event, not ordinary debugging. The cost range includes extra engineering effort.
Download software integration template
Inspect cost and risk assumptions
- API and data discovery: 800 USD per calendar day; Confirm credentials, sample payloads, limits and field ownership.
- Mapping and interface contract: 800 USD per calendar day; Agree mappings, failure behavior and acceptance tests.
- Connector implementation: 1,000 USD per calendar day; One-way sync, retries, monitoring hooks and ordinary implementation uncertainty.
- Integration testing: 850 USD per calendar day; End-to-end tests against representative data and recovery cases.
- Cutover and handover: 800 USD per calendar day; One planned cutover, rollback rehearsal and operating notes.
Fixed project overhead: 4,000 USD. Example contract price: 80,000 USD. Example target margin: 25%; confidence target: 80%. These are editable assumptions.
Separate event: 25.0% occurrence chance; low / likely / high cost 1,000 USD / 3,000 USD / 7,000 USD; delay 2 / 5 / 10 calendar days.
Advisory engagement
Scope: one operating-model review, six stakeholder interviews and one recommendations workshop. Excludes implementation, legal review and ongoing retainer services. Dates intentionally blank. Rates are elapsed-calendar-day average costs.
| Task | Low / likely / high | After |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Scope and evidence request | 1 / 2 / 4 | Project start |
| 2. Interviews and evidence review | 4 / 6 / 10 | Task 1 |
| 3. Analysis and recommendations | 4 / 6 / 9 | Task 2 |
| 4. Workshop and final report | 2 / 3 / 5 | Task 3 |
Risk to review: Key stakeholder unavailable. Separate rescheduling event. Add only actual incremental cost; waiting time is not automatically billable effort.
Download advisory engagement template
Inspect cost and risk assumptions
- Scope and evidence request: 600 USD per calendar day; Agree the decision question and the documents needed.
- Interviews and evidence review: 700 USD per calendar day; Six interviews with one scheduled follow-up each.
- Analysis and recommendations: 700 USD per calendar day; Analyze supplied evidence and document assumptions.
- Workshop and final report: 650 USD per calendar day; One workshop and one consolidated revision round.
Fixed project overhead: 1,000 USD. Example contract price: 22,000 USD. Example target margin: 25%; confidence target: 80%. These are editable assumptions.
Separate event: 20.0% occurrence chance; low / likely / high cost 0 USD / 300 USD / 800 USD; delay 2 / 4 / 8 calendar days.
Make the template yours
A duration range is not a staffing plan. This model schedules Finish-to-Start dependencies and lets unrelated tasks overlap; it does not allocate people, check resource capacity or calculate cash flow. The templates use sequential tasks to make that relationship easy to inspect. Change dependencies only when your team can actually work in parallel.
Use elapsed calendar days consistently. Convert working-day staff costs to the calendar-day average appropriate for your schedule. A separate risk delay does not automatically add daily burn: include extra effort in the event’s cost range when appropriate.
Before sending a quote, confirm what the customer must provide, acceptance criteria, revision limits and exclusions. Keep uncertainty about ordinary work in its task range; use a separate risk event only for an additional occurrence. See contingency without double-counting, task dependencies and deadline confidence, and the import and modeling guide.
Can I use these without buying BidVariance?
Yes. Download, inspect and adapt the assumptions without an account. The files are JSON, not Excel workbooks. Running them as complete project simulations in BidVariance requires a license; the individual free calculators remain available without one.
Does importing replace my current project?
Import opens a separate project. Save or export current work first. Projects are stored in your browser, so keep JSON backups before switching devices or clearing site data.