Free General Contractor Resources & Articles

Joist offers free estimate templates you can customize for multi-phase renovation projects, new construction bids, and complex jobs involving multiple subcontractors and material categories. Add your labor, material, and subcontractor costs by phase or trade, and send a clear, professional estimate to the client before the project kicks off. Joist’s app also lets you break estimates into sections, making it easy to present project scope, change order terms, and payment schedules in one document.

A thorough general contractor invoice should include your business name and license info, the client’s details and project address, a description of the phase or milestone completed, itemized labor, materials, and subcontractor costs, any approved change orders added to scope, deposit or prior payment amounts credited, the current progress billing amount, remaining balance, and payment terms. For multi-phase projects, clear progress invoices keep clients informed and reduce disputes over what’s been completed and what’s owed.

Use a mobile estimating app like Joist. After a site walkthrough or scope meeting, you can build a complete project estimate—including phases, subcontractor allowances, materials, and a payment schedule—and send it to the client the same day. For general contractors, delivering a professional, well-organized estimate quickly signals to clients that you have the systems to manage their project as well as you manage the paperwork.

Yes. Joist offers free trade calculators to help general contractors estimate material and labor costs accurately across different project components. For complex multi-trade jobs, they help you build bids that account for the full scope of work without leaving money on the table. Joist’s estimating app also supports detailed job costing with line items, subcontractor costs, markups, and change order tracking, all in one organized place.

Start with Joist’s free general contractor estimate templates and trade calculators to build organized, professional bids for multi-phase and multi-trade projects. Our blog covers general contractor pricing strategies, how to structure progress payment schedules, best practices for documenting change orders, and tips for presenting estimates that give clients confidence and keep the project financially on track from day one.

Managing estimates, change orders, progress invoices, and subcontractor billing across multiple active projects is one of the biggest operational challenges for general contractors. Joist keeps all of it in one place, so you always know what’s been approved, what phase has been invoiced, and what payments are outstanding across every job. Store client info, track change orders, and send progress invoices on schedule so nothing falls through the cracks on complex, multi-phase work.