A proposal form in construction is a document that outlines the details of a construction project, including the scope of work, materials, labor, timeline, and cost estimates. It serves as a formal offer or bid submitted by a contractor to a client for consideration and acceptance.

Construction proposal generation software is a type of software designed to automate the process of creating proposals for construction projects. This software typically includes features such as customizable templates, drag-and-drop functionality, integration with project management tools, cost estimation tools, and collaboration capabilities. It streamlines the proposal creation process, reduces errors, improves consistency, and saves time for construction professionals by providing them with tools to quickly generate professional-looking proposals tailored to the specific requirements of each project.

Follow these steps to propose a construction project:

1. Gather Information: Collect project details, client requirements, and budget constraints.
2. Outline Scope of Work: Clearly define the scope of the project, including tasks, deliverables, and timelines. Learn more about how to create a Scope of Work or download our template in this comprehensive guide.
3. Estimate Costs: Calculate material, labor, equipment, and other costs associated with the project. You can learn more about crafting a construction budget with our free budgeting template here.
4. Write the Proposal: Draft a comprehensive proposal document outlining the project details, scope, timeline, costs, and terms.
5. Customize: Tailor the proposal to the specific needs and preferences of the client.
6. Review and Revise: Thoroughly review the proposal for accuracy and completeness, making any necessary revisions.
7. Present the Proposal: Schedule a meeting with the client to present the proposal and discuss any questions or modifications.
8. Finalize an Agreement: Negotiate terms and finalize the proposal, ensuring mutual agreement between both parties. Get a head start on drafting your construction contract with our free template and guide.
9. Sign the Contract: Sign a formal contract based on the agreed-upon terms and conditions outlined in the proposal.

At a minimum, a construction proposal should contain the following elements:

1. Your company’s contact information
2. Your client’s contact information
3. Date the construction proposal was prepared
4. Item names, quantities, and price for each material required to execute a project (you can include labor in the price or as a separate line item)
5. Subtotal, taxes, fees, and the total
6. Construction schedule
7. Terms and conditions
8. A place for both parties to sign and date the proposal once approved

If you want to add a competitive edge to your proposals, we recommend including:

• Your company’s logo to add an extra dose of professionalism
• Inspirational images to help clients visualize what they’re getting
• Descriptions of items to show how you plan to use them
• A payment schedule so your client knows when to expect an invoice

When looking for a constructino proposal app, be sure to consider the following features:

• Cloud-based: A cloud-based construction proposal platform will help keep your proposals organized in the cloud so any team member, contractor or client can access them when they need to. It also ensures you only ever have one version of a proposal floating around to create a single source of truth.
• Integrations: The construction proposal app you choose should integrate with your other business tools so you don’t have to completely overhaul the way you work. Integrations with Gmail, Zoom and accounting software like QuickBooks Online are some important integrations to look for as you’ll commonly be using these tools to send and communicate your proposals, then align them with your business finances.
• All-In-One Tools: Construction proposal software is most useful for busy pros when it has other features that help optimize the entire project workflow. For example, if you use one tool to create your proposals and another to create invoices, you’ll be spending a lot of time entering the same data twice, which could hold you back from taking on more projects. Be sure to look for tools that can tackle takeoffs, proposals, invoices, change orders, and more so you can achieve maximum business efficiency.

P.S. Houzz Pro’s construction proposal software checks all of the boxes on this wishlist. Try a demo to see for yourself.

With a subscription to Houzz Pro’s proposal software for construction you also get access to these project-winning tools that help your business stand out from the competition:

• Takeoffs
• Mood boards
• 3D floor planner
• CRM

You can find more information about what features are included with each of our plans here.

When you subscribe to Houzz Pro’s construction proposal software, you gain premium access to our support team. That means you get an exclusive phone number that directs you to an onshore team member and you get pushed to the top of the queue.

You also get personalized on-demand onboarding support, showing you how to properly use the specific features you want, when you want, to help get your business up and running with Houzz Pro. We also have a wide variety of help articles available in our Help Center and in-depth how-to videos on our YouTube channel.