Export a Customer PDF, Detailed PDF or CSV in Contractor Estimate Pro

Your bid is built. Now you need something to send, to keep on file, or to move to another device. In Contractor Estimate Pro, every export starts from the same place: open the estimate, tap the menu (≡), then tap Export.

In this guide we use City Parking Lot - Lot 89 Improvements (Estimate 2026-106, City of Atwater — fictional) as the finished bid. The customer PDF total is $386,171.50. The same number shows on the Detailed PDF Cost Summary and the Estimate Report.

What you'll need

• A finished estimate with pay items and markups (Create an estimate, How markups work)

• Your Company Header and any terms presets set in Settings (Set up your company header and PDF options)

• A sense of who the file is for: the customer, your office, a spreadsheet, or another phone

About the numbers in this guide: Lot 89 is our running example. The customer is made up. Use your own jobs and rates.

Creating and editing estimates needs the Pro subscription. Exporting PDFs, CSV and estimate files is free — you can still export work you already have without an active subscription.

The five Export options

On the estimate, tap the menu (≡). Tap Export. The submenu expands to these exact labels:

1. Customer Estimate PDF — the polished bid you send

2. Detailed Estimate PDF — internal cost and resource detail

3. Run Reports — rolled-up labor, equipment, materials, Subs and misc

4. Save Estimate CSV — pay item schedule for a spreadsheet

5. Export Estimate File — portable estimate JSON for re-import

That is the same menu that holds General Info, Analytics, Import Items CSV, Update Rates, Update Crews and Save Job Template.

Step 1: Export a Customer Estimate PDF

Tap Customer Estimate PDF. The Customer PDF Pricing sheet opens.

At the top, Select Terms and Conditions lets you pick a preset from Settings → Customer Estimate Options. If you have none yet, the sheet says: "No presets found. Configure presets in Settings → Customer Estimate Options."

Then pick how to price this PDF:

Option — What it does

Use standard pricing (last used) — Use estimate pricing as-is

Manual pricing overrides — Edit unit or extended prices for this export only

Round unit prices — Round to your selected step and manage the difference

Most of the time, Use standard pricing (last used) is the one. The other two change this export only, not the estimate itself (How markups work).

Your Company Header (name, logo, contact, custom text from Settings → Company Header) appears only on the Customer Estimate PDF. It does not go on the Detailed Estimate PDF or on Run Reports.

On our Lot 89 example, the customer PDF shows the Linesite Tech header and address at the top, then the estimate name, Estimate Number: 2026-106, Date: 10/21/2026 and Customer: City of Atwater. Below that is a table with Item #, Description, Quantity, Units, Unit Price and Extended Price for all seven pay items, then the Total of $386,171.50, the terms and conditions, and a Signature and Date line under Acceptance of Proposal.

Set up the header and terms presets once in Settings if you haven't already (Set up your company header and PDF options).

Step 2: Round unit prices on the customer PDF (optional)

On Customer PDF Pricing, tap Round unit prices. The Round Unit Prices sheet opens. The note at the top says: "Choose a rounding step and where to place any difference."

Rounding Step choices: $0.10, $0.50, $1, $5, $10, $50, $100, $1000.

Difference Handling:

• Place difference on selected line item — pick which pay item absorbs the gap

• Ignore difference — leave the rounded lines as they are and don't move the leftover

If you place the difference, tap the pay item that should take it (on Lot 89 we used 1 - Mobilization). The sheet shows Difference from estimate. With a $1 step on Lot 89, that difference is +$937.50.

Then tap Export PDF (or Cancel). Rounding changes that customer PDF only. The estimate's unit prices and the blue bar total stay as they were.

Manual pricing overrides is the other export-only path: edit unit or extended prices for this PDF without changing the estimate. Use it when one line needs a special price for the customer packet.

Step 3: Export a Detailed Estimate PDF

From Export, tap Detailed Estimate PDF.

This is for you and your office, not the customer. There is no Company Header on it. On Lot 89 the title is Detailed Estimate: City Parking Lot - Lot 89 Improvements, with Estimate Number 2026-106, Customer City of Atwater, Date 10/21/2026 and Status DRAFT.

The Cost Summary matches the stack from markups and Analytics:

• Subtotal (Cost): $351,662.39

• Bond (0%): $0.00

• Total Overhead: $25,651.24 — broken into Crew Overhead (10%) $8,798.39, Materials Overhead (10%) $7,337.85, Subs/Misc Overhead (5%) $9,515.00

• Total Profit: $8,798.39 — including Crew Profit (10%) $8,798.39

• Total Bid Price: $386,171.50

Below the summary, each pay item lists its crews, materials, subcontractors and misc/fees with unit cost, overhead, profit, bond and unit/extended bid prices. Use it when you need to see how a line was built, not when you're sending a bid.

Step 4: Run Reports

From Export, tap Run Reports.

The Estimate Report is a rolled-up view of the same bid. On Lot 89 the title is Estimate Report: City Parking Lot - Lot 89 Improvements. The top totals match Analytics → Summary and the Cost Summary:

• Total Labor Hours / Value: 522.11 hrs | $30,813.33

• Total Equipment Hours / Value: 705.11 hrs | $57,170.56

• Total Materials (excl. trucking): $69,225.00, plus Material Tax $4,153.50

• Total Subcontractors: $190,000.00

• Total Misc: $300.00

• OH Total $25,651.24, Profit Total $8,798.39, Total Bid Price $386,171.50

Then the report lists Equipment, Labor, Materials, Subs and Misc in the estimate. Like the Detailed PDF, it does not carry your Company Header. Use it when you want hours and dollars by resource, the same way Analytics Summary does on screen (How markups work, Step 7).

Step 5: Save Estimate CSV

From Export, tap Save Estimate CSV.

You get a spreadsheet-friendly file of the pay items: quantities, unit prices and extended prices. The total matches the sum of the lines — the same cent-exact rule the app uses on screen and on the customer PDF.

Use CSV when someone needs the schedule in Excel or Google Sheets, or when you're handing numbers to another system. CSV is not a backup of the full estimate (crews, materials and markups aren't in it). For a portable copy of the whole bid, use Export Estimate File in the next step. For bringing an empty schedule into an estimate, that's Import Items CSV on the estimate menu — a different path (Create an estimate).

Step 6: Export Estimate File (JSON)

From Export, tap Export Estimate File.

That saves a portable estimate JSON — a full copy of this one estimate you can re-import on the same phone or another device. It's the move-this-bid path, not a reusable template in Libraries.

For pay item and job templates, JSON import/export lives under Libraries → Pay Item Templates or Job Templates (Save time with pay item and job templates). Library JSON for labor, equipment, materials and crews is separate from this estimate file too.

Which export for which job?

Export — Best for — Watch out for

Customer Estimate PDF — Sending the bid — Company Header and terms apply here; optional round / manual overrides change this PDF only

Detailed Estimate PDF — Internal cost review — No Company Header; shows crews, materials, Subs, misc and Cost Summary

Run Reports — Hours and dollars by resource — Matches Analytics Summary style totals; no Company Header

Save Estimate CSV — Spreadsheet or other systems — Pay items and prices only, not crews or markups

Export Estimate File — Moving one estimate to another device — Full estimate JSON; not the same as a job template

Tips

• Set Company Header and terms before you export. The header only prints on the Customer Estimate PDF. Terms presets save a tap on every bid (Set up your company header and PDF options).

• Round or override only when you mean to. Both change that customer PDF, not the estimate. The blue bar total on the estimate stays put.

• Place a rounding difference on a sensible line. A lump-sum like Mobilization is a common place for the leftover so unit prices on measured items stay clean.

• Use Detailed or Run Reports for your office. Keep the Customer Estimate PDF for the people signing Acceptance of Proposal.

• Exports are free. You need Pro to create and edit estimates, but you can still export PDFs, CSV and estimate files without an active subscription.

• CSV out is not CSV in. Save Estimate CSV exports prices. Import Items CSV replaces the schedule with empty shells (#, description, quantity, units).

FAQ

Where do I find the export options? Open the estimate, tap the menu (≡), tap Export. The five options are under that submenu.

Does my Company Header go on every PDF? No. It appears only on the Customer Estimate PDF. The Detailed Estimate PDF and Run Reports do not show it.

What is Customer PDF Pricing? The sheet that opens when you tap Customer Estimate PDF. You pick terms (if you have presets) and choose standard pricing, manual overrides or round unit prices.

Does rounding change my estimate? No. Round unit prices and Manual pricing overrides change that export only. The estimate's unit prices stay as they are.

What does Difference from estimate mean? When you round unit prices, the rounded PDF total may sit above or below the estimate total. On Lot 89 with a $1 step, that difference was +$937.50. You can place it on a selected line item or ignore it.

What's the difference between Detailed Estimate PDF and Run Reports? The Detailed PDF walks each pay item with its crews, materials, Subs and misc plus a Cost Summary. Run Reports rolls up labor and equipment hours and dollars, materials, Subs and misc across the whole bid — closer to Analytics → Summary.

Is Save Estimate CSV the same as Export Estimate File? No. CSV is the pay item schedule (quantities, unit prices, extended). Export Estimate File is the full portable estimate JSON for re-import.

Do I need Pro to export? No. Exports are free. Creating and editing estimates needs Pro.

Can I move an estimate to another phone? Yes. Use Export Estimate File, then import that file on the other device. For reusable packages you bid often, save a job template instead (Save time with pay item and job templates).

Where do library JSON exports live? Under each library in Libraries (including Pay Item Templates and Job Templates). That is separate from Export Estimate File on one estimate.

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