An HVAC estimate template where the equipment is only one line.
Install and replacement line items covering line set, electrical, condensate, duct modification, and the permit work that comes with equipment changes.
Get the hvac estimate template
A working spreadsheet, not a picture of one. The totals, overhead, and margin are live formulas. We email it over, so no download to lose track of.
One email with the template attached. We will not pass your address on.
HVAC pricing has a problem most trades do not. The main component has a model number, and a homeowner can find that model number online in about ninety seconds. If your quote reads as equipment plus labor, you are being compared against an internet price plus whatever they imagine labor should cost.
The sheet below exists to make the rest of the job visible, because the rest of the job is most of it.
The template
| Section | Line item | Unit | What decides it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sizing | Load calculation | Flat | Priced, not given away |
| Sizing | Existing equipment | Tonnage, model, age | Read off the nameplate |
| Equipment | Outdoor unit | Each | Tonnage and efficiency |
| Equipment | Indoor unit or air handler | Each | Matched to the condenser |
| Equipment | Coil | Each | Matched, and stated as such |
| Equipment | Thermostat | Each | Staging or communication compatibility |
| Refrigerant | Line set | Linear feet | Reuse or replace, refrigerant type |
| Refrigerant | Recovery and charge | Lot | Old refrigerant recovered legally |
| Electrical | Disconnect and whip | Each | Code |
| Electrical | Breaker and panel capacity | Each | Whether the panel can take it |
| Condensate | Drain routing | Linear feet | Gravity or pumped |
| Condensate | Pump and secondary pan | Each | Attic and above-ceiling installs |
| Ductwork | Plenum and transitions | Lot | Rarely lines up on a swap |
| Ductwork | Duct modification or sealing | Linear feet | Condition, often unverified |
| Site | Pad, stand, or brackets | Each | Outdoor unit mounting |
| Site | Access difficulty | Hours | Attic, crawlspace, tight stairwell |
| Site | Crew size | Techs x hours | Most sets are not a one-person job |
| Close | Permit and inspection | Flat | Required in most jurisdictions |
| Close | Removal and disposal | Flat | Old equipment |
| Close | Startup and commissioning | Hours | Charge, airflow, verification |
| Totals | Job cost, overhead, profit | Sum, percent, percent | Three separate lines |
Say why the system is matched
Swapping a condenser and leaving an old, mismatched coil is cheaper on the quote and worse in nearly every way that matters, because efficiency ratings assume matched components. When your bid is a thousand dollars above the one that reuses the existing coil, the line explaining that is the difference between winning and losing the job.
Duct condition is the item that grows the job
Undersized or leaky ducts hold a new high-efficiency system back from doing what it is rated to do. If you can see the run, photograph it and price the work. If you cannot, put a line on the sheet stating that duct condition is unverified and that modifications will be quoted separately. An assumption written down is a very different thing from one left unsaid.
More on sizing and the flat-rate question in how to price an HVAC installation.
Repair against replacement, side by side
A customer with a failed compressor on a twelve-year-old system is making a real decision, and one number for one option does not help them make it. Show the repair figure, the replacement figure, the age of the existing equipment, and its remaining expected life. You do not need to editorialize. People given both options and the facts decide faster and stay yours.
On emergency calls the pressure to skip the sheet is highest and the cost of a wrong number is largest. A nameplate photo, a duct photo, and a note on access are enough to build a real quote without a second trip, and a scope drafted from those means you are reviewing a quote rather than writing one at ten at night.