Save Time with Pay Item and Job Templates in Contractor Estimate Pro
Once you've built a bid like City Parking Lot - Lot 89 Improvements, you don't want to rebuild the same lines from scratch on the next parking lot. Contractor Estimate Pro has two kinds of templates for that: a pay item template for one reusable line, and a job template for a whole set of pay items with their crews, materials, Subs and misc.
In this guide we use Lot 89 (Estimate 2026-106, City of Atwater — fictional) as the finished job you'd save as a job template. We also use lines like Sand Subbase, 12" and Aggregate Base, 6" as the kind of pay items you'd save one at a time.
What you'll need
An estimate with pay items already built (Create an estimate, Add pay items)
Markups set the way you want on General Information for each new bid (How markups work)
Your libraries and crews (Build your libraries, Make crew templates)
A sense of which lines you reuse on every job versus which packages you bid the same way every season
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. Importing, exporting and deleting templates under Libraries is free — but templates aren't of much use without Pro, because you need Pro to create and edit the estimates you put them on.
Two kinds of templates
Kind — What it saves — Best for
Pay item template — One pay item: crews, materials, Subcontracted Tasks, Misc. Plugs/Fees/Permits, normalized to quantity 1 — A line you put on many bids (silt fence, aggregate base, a permit plug)
Job template — The pay items on a bid, with their associated crews, materials, Subcontracted Tasks, Misc. Plugs/Fees/Permits, structure, costs and production rates — A whole package you bid often (a parking-lot layout like Lot 89)
A pay item template is not the same as a crew template. Crew templates live in Libraries and only define labor, equipment and a production rate (Make crew templates). A pay item template can hold the whole line: crew, gravel with trucking, a sub, a misc fee.
A job template is not the same as Import Items CSV. CSV import only brings in Pay Item #, Description, Quantity and Units, and it replaces every pay item on that estimate (Create an estimate). A job template brings the built-out lines with their crews, materials, Subs and misc.
Where templates live
Tap the Libraries tab. On the Libraries screen you'll see, among the other libraries:
Pay Item Templates — Manage reusable pay item templates
Job Templates — Manage reusable job/estimate templates
Those two rows are how you open and manage the template lists. They sit with Labor, Equipment, Crew Templates, Materials, Subcontractors and Units.
Step 1: Save the whole estimate as a job template
When Lot 89 (or any finished estimate) is in good shape — pay items built with their crews, materials, Subs and misc — open the estimate and tap the menu (≡) at the top right. Tap Save Job Template.
That menu is the same one that holds General Info, Import Items CSV, Update Rates, Update Crews and the export options. Save Job Template is near the bottom of the list.
The Save Job Template sheet opens. Name the template (our example: Parking Lot). The sheet says: "This will save all pay items, their structure, costs, and production rates. Customer information will not be saved." Tap Save.
So the job template keeps the pay items and their structure, costs and production rates. It does not keep the customer or the rest of General Information (name, number, due date, tax, markups). When you start the next parking lot from this template, you fill in General Information for that new bid as usual, including markups (How markups work).
Step 2: Start a new estimate from a job template
On the Create Estimate screen (General Information for a new estimate), choose Start From Job Template and pick which template to start from.
Fill in the base estimate info first the way you always do — name, customer, due date, tax and markups (Create an estimate). When you start from the job template, the only thing overwritten is quantities, and on a brand-new estimate there shouldn't be any yet. The base estimate info you already populated stays as is.
Then tap Create Estimate to save. Your Lot 89–style package of pay items is on the new bid, with today's crew rates already applied (see Step 6). Adjust quantities for the new job, and change any line that doesn't match this site.
Step 3: Add a pay item from a template (+ menu)
On the estimate's pay item list, tap the blue + button. You get two choices:
Create New — build a pay item from scratch (Add pay items)
From Template — pick one or more saved pay item templates to add
Tap From Template, choose the templates you want, and add them. That's the fast path when the next bid needs silt fence, aggregate base or sand subbase again.
Step 4: Save one line as a pay item template
Use a pay item template when the line is what you reuse, not the whole job. Open the pay item (for example 5 - Sand Subbase, 12"). Tap the hamburger menu on that pay item. You'll see:
Save As Template
Import Pay Item Template
Delete
Tap Save As Template. The name auto-populates from the pay item's current name (our example: Sand Subbase, 12"). Change it if you want, then tap Save.
A pay item template stores that single-line definition — crews, materials, Subs and misc — normalized to quantity 1. It can store crew overrides.
Step 5: Import a pay item template onto an existing line
After a pay item already exists — including after an Import Items CSV that left you empty shells — open the pay item, tap its hamburger menu, and tap Import Pay Item Template.
The Select Template to Import sheet lists your saved templates. The sheet says: "Choose a pay item template to import. The item number, description, quantity, and units will be preserved." Pick one (for example Sand Subbase, 12" or Aggregate Base, 6").
The template's crews, materials, Subs and misc come in. Item #, description, quantity and units on the estimate stay as they are. The app auto-proportions the crew and material quantities from the template to the pay item's current estimate quantity.
So if your CSV brought in Aggregate Base at 8900 SY, and your template was saved at quantity 1, Import Pay Item Template scales those crew and material quantities up to match 8900 SY. Then you can still tweak production rates, trucking or a material override the same way you would on any pay item (Add pay items).
This is separate from Import Items CSV on the estimate menu. CSV replaces the whole schedule with empty lines. Import Pay Item Template fills one existing line with a built template. From Template on the + menu adds a new line from a template.
Step 6: Rates when you use a template
When you apply a template, rates auto-update to the new crew rates. You do not need to tap Update Rates or Update Crews right after.
That is different from an estimate you already built by hand. An existing estimate keeps the rates it was built with until you tap Update Rates or Update Crews in the estimate's menu (≡). Those two menu items still matter for old bids when you change a library rate later. See Build your libraries and Create an estimate.
Step 7: Move templates between devices (JSON)
Open Pay Item Templates or Job Templates under Libraries. In that library's hamburger menu, use the import and export options for JSON. Save the files wherever you want to keep them — another phone, a tablet, a shared folder.
When you import a pay item template on another device, resources are resolved by name.
That is different from:
Import Items CSV on one estimate (pay item # / description / quantity / units only; replaces all items on that estimate)
Export Estimate File / estimate JSON (a portable copy of one estimate)
Importing, exporting and deleting templates is free. Using them on real bids still needs Pro to create and edit estimates.
Job template vs. CSV import vs. Duplicate Estimate
Path — What you get — Watch out for
Save Job Template (estimate menu ≡) — Pay items with structure, costs and production rates — Customer information is not saved; markups stay on each estimate's General Information
Start From Job Template (Create Estimate screen) — Those pay items on a new estimate — Base estimate info you already filled in stays; only quantities are overwritten (none yet on a new estimate)
From Template (+ on pay item list) — New pay item(s) from saved templates — Fast add without rebuilding crews and materials
Import Pay Item Template (pay item hamburger) — Fills one existing line; keeps #, description, quantity, units — Auto-proportions crew and material quantities to the current quantity
Import Items CSV (estimate menu ≡) — Empty line shells: #, description, quantity, units — Replaces all pay items already on that estimate; no crews, materials, markups
Duplicate Estimate (estimate menu ≡) — A copy of this estimate — Good for a revision of the same job; not a reusable template in Libraries
Use CSV when you're pasting a bid schedule from a spreadsheet and will fill in crews and materials next — including with Import Pay Item Template on each line. Use From Template or a job template when the built package is what you want to reuse. Use Duplicate when you're copying this bid, not stocking a template for later seasons.
Tips
Set markups on the new estimate. Job templates don't carry General Information or customer info. On Create Estimate, set Bid Markup and any separate Subs/Misc or Materials markups before or as you start from the template (How markups work).
Save pay item templates for lines you type often. Aggregate base, sand subbase, silt fence and mobilization-style lines pay for themselves the first time you skip rebuilding the crew and material.
CSV then Import Pay Item Template. Import the schedule, then open each line and use Import Pay Item Template so crew and material quantities auto-proportion to that line's quantity while the #, description, quantity and units stay put.
+ → From Template for a new line. Use Import Pay Item Template when the line is already there.
Quantity 1 on pay item templates is on purpose. The template is a unit recipe. The real quantity lives on the estimate.
After library rate changes on old estimates, use Update Rates / Update Crews. New template applications already auto-update crew rates; hand-built estimates wait for those menu taps.
Keep template names plain. Name them for the work (Parking Lot, Aggregate Base 6", Sand Subbase, 12") so the lists stay searchable.
FAQ
What's the difference between a pay item template and a job template? A pay item template is one reusable line (quantity normalized to 1). A job template is the set of pay items from a bid, with their structure, costs and production rates.
Where do I manage the template lists? On the Libraries tab: Pay Item Templates and Job Templates.
How do I save the estimate I'm on as a job template? Open the estimate, tap the menu (≡), tap Save Job Template, name it, and tap Save.
Does Save Job Template keep the customer or markups? No. The sheet says customer information will not be saved. It saves the pay items with their structure, costs and production rates. Set markups on each estimate's General Information.
How do I start from a job template? On the Create Estimate screen, choose Start From Job Template and pick the template. Your base estimate info stays; only quantities would be overwritten, and a new estimate shouldn't have any yet.
How do I add a new pay item from a template? On the pay item list, tap +, then tap From Template, and pick the template(s). Create New is the other choice if you're building from scratch.
How do I save one pay item as a template? Open the pay item, tap its hamburger menu, tap Save As Template. The name auto-populates from the current name. Tap Save.
How do I put a template on a pay item that already exists? Open the pay item, tap its hamburger menu, tap Import Pay Item Template, and pick one. Item number, description, quantity and units are preserved. Crew and material quantities auto-proportion to the current estimate quantity.
Is Import Items CSV the same as a template? No. CSV import only brings in Pay Item #, Description, Quantity and Units, and it replaces all pay items on that estimate. Use Import Pay Item Template on a line — or From Template on + — to bring in crews, materials, Subs and misc.
Do I need Update Rates after I apply a template? No. Rates auto-update to the new crew rates when you apply a template. Use Update Rates or Update Crews on estimates you already built by hand when you change a library rate later.
Do I need Pro to manage templates? Importing, exporting and deleting templates is free. Creating and editing the estimates you use them on needs Pro.
Can I move templates to another phone or tablet? Yes. In the Pay Item Templates or Job Templates library hamburger menu, use import/export for JSON and save the files wherever you keep them.
Is a crew template the same as a pay item template? No. A crew template is only labor, equipment and a production rate. A pay item template can hold the whole line, including materials, Subcontracted Tasks and Misc. Plugs/Fees/Permits.
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