Free Contractor Business Trackers (Excel)

Free Contractor Business Trackers

Bid-hit ratio by count and dollars, a license & certification expiration tracker, a bonding capacity tracker, and an overhead recovery sheet that tells you the markup you actually need.

✓Bid log with % over low and won/lost/pending status

✓Hit ratio by count and by $, by client and by project type

✓License & cert tracker — days to expire, CE hours, status flags

✓Bonding capacity — single/aggregate limits vs. bonded backlog

✓Upcoming-bid check against remaining bond capacity

✓Overhead rate, break-even revenue and required markup vs. margin

✓Live formulas with example data

Contractor Business Trackers

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What's inside the workbook

Pre-formatted, print-ready, with embedded Field PM branding. Works in Excel, Google Sheets, and Numbers.

Bid Log

Every bid: date, client, project, type, amount, result, low bid, % over low, number of bidders and notes.

Bid Summary

Hit ratio by count and dollars, pending pipeline, average % over low, and breakdowns by client and project type with in-cell bars.

Licenses & Certs

Company and individual licenses and certifications with issue/expiration dates, CE hours required and completed, days to expire and status.

Bonding Capacity

Single and aggregate limits, bonded work on hand, remaining capacity, utilization, largest bond available and an upcoming-bids check.

Overhead Recovery

Annual overhead budget, overhead rate, overhead per labor hour, break-even revenue, required markup and margin, and a markup-to-margin table.

Stop re-typing the same form on every job.

Field PM has this exact form built in — crews fill it out from a phone, the data flows into the project record, and you get a clean PDF for the GC or owner with one click. No re-typing, no lost paperwork, no missed signatures.

30 days free · no credit card · every feature unlocked from day one.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate a bid-hit ratio?

Hit ratio by count = jobs won ÷ bids decided (won + lost). Hit ratio by dollars = dollars won ÷ dollars bid on decided jobs. Leave pending bids out until they are decided. Track both: if your count ratio is much higher than your dollar ratio, you are winning small jobs and losing big ones.

What is a good hit ratio for a contractor?

It depends on how you get work. On competitive hard bids with five to eight bidders, many trade contractors land somewhere in the 15–30% range; negotiated and repeat-client work runs much higher. The useful comparison is your own ratio by client and project type — it shows where your estimating hours pay off.

How is bonding capacity calculated?

Your surety sets a single-job limit and an aggregate (program) limit. Remaining capacity is the aggregate limit minus the bonded work you already have — measured either as remaining backlog or full contract value of uncompleted bonded jobs, depending on your surety. The largest bond you can get without special approval is the lesser of the single limit and remaining aggregate. Confirm the method with your bond agent.

How do I figure the markup I need to cover overhead?

Add up a year of overhead (indirect costs not charged to jobs). Required sales = (direct cost + overhead) ÷ (1 − target net profit %). Required markup on direct cost = required sales ÷ direct cost − 1. The Overhead Recovery tab does the math and converts it to gross margin, because markup and margin are not the same number.

Why track licenses and certifications in a spreadsheet?

Because expirations sneak up. An expired contractor license can stop permits and, in many states, put lien rights at risk; an expired crane, forklift or first-aid certification can pull a worker off a job. The tracker shows days to expire, CE hours still needed, and flags anything expired, due within 30 days, or short on CE within 90 days.

The office-side numbers that decide whether the company grows

Job reports tell you how each project is doing. These trackers tell you how the company is doing: whether you are bidding the right work, whether your licenses and certifications are current, how much bonded work your surety will support, and whether your pricing covers overhead.

Each tracker is a tab with live formulas and example data. Pair the overhead sheet with the markup vs. margin calculator and send your surety a clean WIP schedule every quarter.

Field PM keeps estimates, jobs, job cost and billing in one place, so backlog and margins are current when your banker or bond agent calls.

Four numbers a contractor's owner should check every month

Job-level reports tell you how each project is doing. These trackers tell you how the company is doing: whether you are bidding the right work, whether your people and company are legal to work, whether your surety will bond the next job, and whether your prices actually cover the cost of running the business. Each one is a tab in this workbook with example data you can overwrite.

Bid-hit ratio: spend estimating hours where you win

Estimating is expensive. A $2M bid can eat 60–100 estimator hours, and most of those bids are lost. The Bid Log records every bid: date, client, project, type, amount, result, the low bid and how far over it you were. The Bid Summary tab calculates:

Hit ratio by count and by dollars — decided bids only.
Pending pipeline and a rough expected award (pipeline × dollar hit ratio).
Average % over low on lost bids. Consistently 8% or more over low points to pricing or scope problems; within 2–3% means you were in the hunt.
Hit ratio by client and by project type with SUMIFS/COUNTIFS and an in-cell bar.

Get the low number whenever you can. Public bid tabulations are usually public record, and most GCs will tell you where you landed if you ask the day after award. Before you bid, level the sub and supplier numbers with the bid leveling matrix and roll them up with the estimate recap & bid proposal.

License & certification tracker

One row per license or certification — company licenses and registrations, qualifier and journeyman licenses, EPA lead-safe firm and renovator certifications, crane operator certifications, forklift evaluations, first aid/CPR cards. Enter the expiration date and continuing-education hours, and the status column shows EXPIRED, RENEW NOW (30 days or less), CE SHORT (CE hours still needed inside 90 days), RENEW SOON (90 days or less) or OK. OSHA 10/30 cards don't expire under federal rules, but some owners and states require a refresh; note that in the row. Forklift operators must be re-evaluated at least every three years under 29 CFR 1910.178(l). Renewal cycles and CE hours for trade licenses vary by state — the examples are placeholders to verify with your board.

Keep subcontractor insurance in the same discipline with the certificate of insurance tracker.

Bonding capacity tracker

Enter your single-job limit and aggregate program limit, choose whether your surety measures the aggregate by remaining backlog or full contract value, and list every bonded job with contract value and percent complete. The tracker shows aggregate used, remaining capacity, utilization with a bar, and the largest bond available right now. The upcoming-bids table checks each bid you're chasing against the single limit and remaining aggregate before you spend the estimating hours.

Sureties grant capacity based on working capital, net worth, profitable history and how well you document your jobs. Sending your agent a clean WIP schedule every quarter is the single best thing you can do to grow your program.

Overhead recovery and required markup

List a year of overhead — rent, office salaries and burden not charged to jobs, owner salary, vehicles and insurance not charged to jobs, software, accounting, legal, bonding fees, marketing, interest. Enter projected revenue, direct job cost, field labor hours and your target net profit. The tab calculates:

Overhead as % of revenue and % of direct cost
Overhead per field labor hour — add it to burdened labor when you set T&M and service rates
Break-even revenue at your current gross margin
Required markup on direct cost and the equivalent gross margin to cover overhead and hit target profit

Markup and margin get confused constantly. A 20% markup on cost is a 16.7% margin; a 25% margin needs a 33% markup. The quick table on the tab shows the conversion, and the markup vs. margin calculator goes both ways. Get burdened labor right with the labor burden calculator.

Related tools

Running the business, not just the jobs

These trackers are only as current as the numbers you feed them. Field PM keeps estimates, jobs, budgets, job cost and billing in one system, so backlog, margins and cost to date are there when your surety or banker asks. Start a free 30-day trial — no credit card required.

These trackers are management tools, not legal, accounting or surety advice.