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Create an estimate

The order to set up estimating in Cooper and build an estimate - deliverable classes and deliverables, deliverable templates, the estimate, trade scopes and subcontractor bids, then a proposal for the client.

This guide takes you from an empty estimating setup to a draft proposal you can send to a client. The proposal is built from an estimate whose lines come from reusable deliverable templates, with subcontractor prices wherever you collected bids.

Estimators and project managers do steps 3 to 5. An admin with Settings access usually does steps 1 and 2 once for the whole company. After that, each new estimate starts at step 3.

StepWhereWhat you createWhat it feeds
1. Foundations (one time)Settings → Plan SettingUnits, class standards, deliverable classes, deliverablesEverything below: templates and estimates pick from these
2. Deliverable templates (one time, then as needed)Plan → Deliverable TemplatesReusable recipes of tasks and resources for one deliverableThe estimate's lines
3. The estimatePlan → Estimate WorksheetsAn estimate on a project, filled by importing templatesTrade scopes and the proposal
4. Trade scopes and bidsEstimate Manager → Trade Scope tabPackages of work that subcontractors priceThe cost on the lines you award
5. The proposalEstimate Manager → Convert to ProposalA draft proposal for the clientSending, signing and, later, approval

Before you start

Permissions

Cooper shows each permission as No access, Read only or Full access on the role screen. Ask an admin to check your role under Settings → Roles.

  • Step 1 needs access to the Plan Setting screens you use: Deliverable Classes, Class Standards, Deliverables, Units and Task Types. By default the Admin and COO roles have all of them. Project Manager does not, so ask an admin to do step 1. Existing workspaces may differ.
  • Step 2 needs Deliverable Templates access, and Global items access under Source to pick resources.
  • Steps 3 to 5 need Estimate Worksheets access. Writing to estimates also uses the Estimate Deliverables and Estimate Tasks rows. Trade scopes need Trade Scope, and proposals need Proposals.
  • Send to client with a signature request also needs My envelopes (CooperSign) write access.

Workspace mode

This guide assumes your workspace uses External project mode. In Internal only mode the Plan menu has no Estimate Worksheets item.

What must already exist

  • An active project. Creating an estimate does not create one. Add a project under Plan → All Projects (or with Quick Setup).
  • Global items with item classes, which are the materials, labor and equipment your templates price. See Source → Global items.
  • A legal entity on the project, if you plan to approve the proposal later.

Check before you create

New workspaces may already hold class standards, deliverable classes, deliverables and templates that were copied in when the workspace was created. Look at each list before adding records, so you don't create duplicates.

Create an estimate in five steps

Set up the estimating foundations (one time)

Open Settings → Plan Setting. Do these in order, because each record needs the one before it. The sidebar lists Deliverable Classes before Class Standards, but a class cannot be saved without a standard, so start with the standard.

Units and task types. Open Units and Task Types and add any that are missing. A deliverable needs a Unit, and every task in a template needs a Task Type.

Add a class standard

A class standard is a named set of classes, with a code of 1 to 4 characters.

  1. Open Class Standards and click Add New.
  2. Enter the name and code.
  3. Turn on Set as Default if this is the standard most projects use. The default is pre-selected in the class form and the project pickers.
  4. Save the standard.

To start a new standard from an existing one, use Copy structure. It copies the other standard's classes and their links into the new one.

Add a deliverable class

  1. Open Deliverable Classes and click Add New.
  2. Pick the Class Standard.
  3. Enter Seq. No, Class Name and Internal Code.
  4. Choose Applicability: Construction Only, Internal Only or Both. Applicability decides which estimates can use the class.
  5. Save the class.

Add a deliverable

A deliverable is something you build and price, such as a wall or a slab.

  1. Open Deliverables and click Add New.
  2. Pick at least one Deliverable Classes value. One deliverable can belong to many classes.
  3. Enter Deliverable ID and Deliverable Name.
  4. Pick the Unit.
  5. Optionally enter Cooper Rate. It accepts whole numbers only, so enter 125, not 125.50.
  6. Save the deliverable.

A deliverable must belong to a class

A deliverable that is not linked to an active class never appears in the template list or in the estimate's import picker. If a deliverable is missing later, check its classes first.

Open any of these lists later to check what exists. You do not repeat step 1 for each estimate.

Build deliverable templates (one time, then as needed)

A deliverable template is a reusable recipe for one deliverable: a unit and quantity, an ordered list of tasks, and the resources each task uses. When an estimate imports the template, it gets a copy of that recipe.

Create a deliverable template

  1. Open Plan → Deliverable Templates.
  2. Click Add Template, then choose New Editor. A Classic Form is also available.
  3. Under Filter by Class, pick a class first. The Deliverable select stays disabled until you do.
  4. In Template Info, fill in Deliverable, Template Name, Unit and Qty.

Add tasks and resources

  1. Add a task. Each task needs Task Name, Task Type and Days. Turn on Gross Up where it applies.
  2. With the task selected, click Browse catalog to add resources from your Global items.
  3. Set each resource's quantity.

The template's cost is the quantity times each Global item's unit price. There is no markup in a template.

Duplicate a template

Use Duplicate on a template to start a variation, such as the same wall with a different finish. A template can also be shared with another organization with Share with organization. Sharing itself is managed under Plan → Sharing.

If the template doesn't appear in the estimate import

The import list shows only templates whose deliverable is linked to an active class that is allowed for the estimate. If yours is missing, check the deliverable's classes in step 1, and the class Applicability.

Create the estimate and import templates

Create the estimate

  1. Open Plan → Estimate Worksheets.
  2. Click Add Estimate, then New Editor.
  3. Pick the Project. The Deliverable Class Standard fills in from the project and gates the deliverables builder. If you see "Select a Deliverable Class Standard first", set a default standard in step 1 or pick one on the project.
  4. Enter Estimate Name. Optionally set Contact, Estimate Status, Estimate Unit and Valid Until.
  5. Create the estimate.

Cooper adds the estimate to the list but does not open it. Click its row to open the Estimate Manager. The New Editor's deliverables builder can also pick templates while you create. The Quick Setup wizard is another way to start.

Import deliverable templates into the estimate

This is the everyday way to fill an estimate.

  1. In the Estimate Manager, open Detailed View.
  2. In the Classes or Deliverables panel, click Add Template.
  3. Choose a class, then pick the template.
  4. Set Deliverable Name and Quantity.
  5. Click Import Deliverable.

Cooper copies the template's tasks and resources into the estimate. Resources are priced at today's Global item prices. Later changes to the template do not update the estimate. The quantity does not multiply the resource quantities: the Rate is the total divided by the quantity.

Other ways to add lines, in one line each: Add New Deliverable in Table View; adding tasks and resources by hand; pushing a takeoff to the estimate; and Duplicate on an existing estimate.

Check the totals

The header shows Total Cost, Cost / Unit, Project Size, Duration and Cost Breakdown. The Summary tab shows the totals by class. An estimate has no markup, overhead or tax. Those are added on the proposal in step 5. Prices can be hidden with the eye icon, and by a limit on your role.

An import that fails can look like it worked

If the estimate is created but empty, the import did not add any lines. Check that the template's deliverable belongs to an active class that is valid for the estimate, then import again from Detailed View.

Package work for subcontractors, collect and compare bids

A trade scope is a package of estimate lines that you send to subcontractors to price. Work in the Estimate Manager's Trade Scope tab. You need Trade Scope read access to see it, and Trade Scope write access plus Plan write access to use Add TradeScope.

Create a trade scope

  1. Open the Trade Scope tab and click Add TradeScope.
  2. Enter Scope Name (required) and Description.
  3. Click Add Association to link deliverables, tasks or resources. A line can belong to several scopes, and a scope can hold many lines. Linking a whole deliverable removes its individual tasks from that scope.
  4. Optionally attach Folders, then save.

You can also select rows in Detailed View and use Add to TradeScope.

Invite vendors

Open the scope and go to Sourcing. Vendors move through a pipeline: Shortlisted, Invited, Quoted, Awarded, Rejected.

  • Add vendor shortlists an organization from your CRM, or adds a new one.
  • Email a vendor sends a secure link by email. The organization needs a work email. Cooper sends only to that address.
  • Copy public link gives you a link to send yourself.

The vendor's page does not show your scope description, so say what you need in the email.

Enter or collect quotes

Vendors price every line through their link. If a vendor replies another way, click Fill in quote and type their prices. You can attach their emailed quote under Attachment (their emailed quote). Cooper does not notify you when a vendor submits. The vendor's card moves to Quoted, so check the pipeline.

Compare bids

Open Compare bids. Each line is shown against your Internal est., the lowest price per line is marked, and the screen shows the total variance and a Best overall value hint. One quote is enough to compare.

Award a scope

  1. On the vendor you pick, click the award action. The Award scope panel opens.
  2. Tick Send email notification to vendor if you want them told. Cooper emails the vendor only when it is ticked.
  3. Confirm.

Awarding adds the vendor as a subcontractor cost on the linked deliverables and tasks. Those rows show a TradeScope badge. The Awarded and Buyout views of the list show what you have placed.

More than one vendor can be awarded on the same scope, so award deliberately.

Undo an award

On the awarded card, click Reject it. The award is removed from the estimate. Use Move to quoted if you want the vendor back in the running.

Inviting connected companies

Partners in the Estimate Manager has a second route, Request bids, for connected Cooper companies and emailed vendors. It adds due dates, numbered addenda, questions and answers, and Leveling. This guide uses the Trade Scope tab. Teams such as Bid List are not used by either route.

Convert the estimate into a proposal

Convert the estimate

  1. In the Estimate Manager header, click Convert to Proposal. You need write access on Estimate Worksheets.
  2. In the Create Proposal panel, choose a Proposal template. Its values are copied, so later edits to the template do not change this proposal.
  3. Click Create Proposal. The proposal opens in a new tab.

Everything that is not archived comes across, grouped by class, one line per deliverable, with your rate and cost and a client rate. There is no per-scope selection, no alternates or optional items, and no payment terms. Markup starts at 0%. An awarded trade scope, or an accepted partner bid, replaces your cost on its deliverables. Tasks and resources stay on the estimate. Values are copied, not linked.

The proposal gets a number like EST-0001-PROP-0001, the status Draft, and a Valid Until date 30 days out. The template's footer sections become Exclusions & notes, and percentage adjustments, such as taxes, come from the template. If you have no templates, Cooper uses the system Standard Proposal. Templates are managed under Settings → Plan Setting → Proposal Settings.

Review and edit the proposal

In the proposal editor:

  1. Set Subject, Attention and Date. The date saves Valid Until.
  2. In Cost breakdown, edit Client rate on each line. Use Raise Proposal to raise the whole proposal at once, and Add New field for adjustments.
  3. Review Exclusions & notes.
  4. Click Save changes.

Choose what the PDF shows

Use Print and pick an output: Summary + detailed breakdown, Detailed breakdown only, or add Include Gantt chart.

Send the proposal to the client

  1. Click Send to client.
  2. Pick the client contact.
  3. Leave Ask the client to sign on to use CooperSign, and set the expiry and message. Turn it off and use Mark as sent if you send the PDF another way.
  4. Send.

Sending does not change the status from Draft. When the client signs, the status moves to Accepted or Rejected.

Revise a proposal

After you change the estimate, return to the header and use New Proposal. Cooper creates another proposal and keeps the earlier one, with no limit and no warning. Once an estimate has a proposal, the header shows View Proposal, and the button can stay visible until you reload.

What's next

  • Approve the proposal and start the project. Approving is a separate step. It needs a legal entity on the project, and it starts the project from the estimate. It is not covered here.
  • Change an estimate after conversion. The proposal does not change when the estimate does. Convert again with New Proposal.
  • Watch for the client. Proposals waiting on client approval show in Action items.

Troubleshooting

For AI agents

Agents use the Cooper MCP server. In the order an agent calls them:

  1. Foundations. estimate_browse with get_deliverable_classes or get_task_types reads them. Class standards, classes, deliverables and units have no dedicated tool. The generic db_find reads them, and db_create and db_update can write them, but those skip the screen's duplicate checks and name logic, so ask the person to use the app.
  2. Templates. template_wizard (start, get_deliverables, get_units, get_task_types), then template_suggest_tasks, template_search_resources, template_preview_item and template_create. template_create makes a Draft, and the deliverable must already be linked to the class. No tool updates or deletes a template.
  3. Estimate. estimate_browse (list_projects, get_templates), then estimate_manage with create (with estimateDeliverables) or import_templates. estimate_items with add_deliverables adds lines. takeoff_sync_to_estimate pushes a reviewed takeoff.
  4. Trade scopes. ts_wizard, ts_search_items, ts_manage. Then vq_scope_details, vq_search_vendor, vq_shortlist and vq_quote (preview with confirm false, then true), vq_browse with get_quote, and vq_status with accept (the award) or revert. These tools are gated by the Shopping Carts permission, not Trade Scope. No tool emails invitations, creates bid packages, issues addenda or levels bids.
  5. Proposal. proposal_manage with list_templates, then create (it accepts markupPercentage, which the screen does not). Then proposal_browse, proposal_edit, and coopersign_send, which returns a link that opens the prefilled Send dialog, so a person sends. proposal_approve needs confirmApproval and belongs to the next stage.

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Guides

Guides walk you through one job from start to finish across Cooper's modules, in the order the screens depend on each other. Start with how to create an estimate.

On this page

Before you startPermissionsWorkspace modeWhat must already existCreate an estimate in five stepsSet up the estimating foundations (one time)Add a class standardAdd a deliverable classAdd a deliverableBuild deliverable templates (one time, then as needed)Create a deliverable templateAdd tasks and resourcesDuplicate a templateCreate the estimate and import templatesCreate the estimateImport deliverable templates into the estimateCheck the totalsPackage work for subcontractors, collect and compare bidsCreate a trade scopeInvite vendorsEnter or collect quotesCompare bidsAward a scopeUndo an awardConvert the estimate into a proposalConvert the estimateReview and edit the proposalChoose what the PDF showsSend the proposal to the clientRevise a proposalWhat's nextTroubleshootingFor AI agentsRelated