Excavation quoting

Excavation quoting software
— quote jobs in under two minutes.

Excavation quotes hinge on the stuff the customer can't see — soil type, rock, depth, access and where the spoil goes — and a tight-access mini job in a back yard costs more per hour than open earthmoving. Tradewin prices bobcat and excavator hire, trenching, site cut-and-fill, footings, pool digs and spoil removal against your real machine, operator and tip costs, then sends a quote from the cab. Save your regular jobs — trenching per metre, fence post holes, spoil cartage — as TradeWin Recipes™ so the next quote is a couple of taps.

Try it now — price any job

Your starter recipe

Switchboard enclosure

$
×
ea

Circuit breakers

$
×
ea

Main switch + RCD

$
×
ea

Cabling & consumables

$
×
lm

Labour

hrs @ $/hr

Data is not collected.

Your total cost$1,424

Excavation job types in Tradewin

Pre-loaded job types with benchmarks — plus the ability to add your own custom jobs.

Bobcat / Excavator HireBulk Fill / CompactionCommercial ExcavationConcrete Slab ExcavationDrainage TrenchingDriveway ExcavationFence Post Hole DrillingFooting ExcavationGarden Bed ExcavationGeneral EarthmovingHouse Pad PreparationLandscaping Level Changes+24 more

What drives the price of excavation work

The same job can vary widely. Tradewin prices against your real costs, so these factors are built in — not guessed.

Spoil & tip fees

Trucking spoil off site and dumping it is often the biggest line in the job — tip fees, truck access and any contamination risk vary widely by location.

Soil type & rock

Clay, sand or rock changes dig rate dramatically; hitting rock means hammering or rock-breaking, which shifts pricing to an hourly or per-cubic-metre basis.

Depth & shoring

Deep sewer or footing trenches past about 1.5 metres typically need shoring, which adds real labour and material over a shallow reticulation or cable trench.

Access & machine size

Tight gates and restricted yards force smaller or mini excavators and slower work — a tight-access job carries a premium over open earthmoving.

Common excavation jobs and what moves the price

  • Bobcat / Excavator Hire

    Machine size, operator experience, and minimum hire periods affect hourly rates.

  • Concrete Slab Excavation

    Green-field slab dig — distinct from slab demolition; depth and access vary cost.

  • Drainage Trenching

    Depth, ag-pipe or pit connections, and reinstatement affect per-metre cost.

  • Driveway Excavation

    Sub-base depth, edge detail, and spoil disposal affect pricing.

  • Fence Post Hole Drilling

    Hole depth, post diameter, rock, and tight access affect per-hole pricing.

  • Footing Excavation

    Depth, soil type, access, and footing layout vary cost.

Why excavation contractors choose Tradewin

  • Price machine hire, trenching and bulk earthworks by the hour, metre or cubic metre on your real costs
  • Save common jobs — drainage trenching, post holes, spoil removal — as Recipes for one-tap quotes
  • Snap the tip or fuel docket — AI reads disposal fees and cartage straight into the job
  • Turn “can you dig my pool / trench my block?” website enquiries into a costed auto-quote draft
  • Build spoil cartage, tip fees and rock-breaking allowances into every quote so margin holds
  • Push invoices straight to Xero as a draft — no re-keying

Get started free

No credit card. Enter your costs for a real job and send your first quote today.

Create free account

Quoting the job is half of it

Every excavation job you quote becomes a job you can run — booked into the diary, worked, varied on site, invoiced and paid, all on the one record.

  1. 1

    Enquiry

  2. 2

    Quote

  3. 3

    Booked

  4. 4

    On site

  5. 5

    Variation

  6. 6

    Invoice

  7. 7

    Paid

Frequently asked questions

Is Tradewin built for excavation contractors?+

Yes. Tradewin supports 36+ excavation job types including Bobcat / Excavator Hire, Bulk Fill / Compaction, Commercial Excavation. You can also add custom job types for work that isn't in the list.

How fast can I quote a excavation job?+

Most tradies price and send a quote in under two minutes once costs are saved. Repeat jobs are faster — apply a TradeWin Recipe and the costs scale to the new job size automatically.

Can customers request quotes via SMS or my website?+

The website quote form works on the free plan and every paid plan. A dedicated inbound number is included with Business and Scale, or available through the separate number add-on on other plans. Either way, a saved Recipe can prepare a priced draft for you to review and send.

Does Tradewin connect to Xero?+

Yes. Once you issue an invoice you can push it straight to Xero as a draft — no double data entry.

Can Tradewin quote by the hour and by the cubic metre?+

Yes — machine hire, earthmoving and rock breaking price by the hour, while trenching prices per metre and bulk dig, pool and spoil work price per cubic metre. Each job type uses the right unit and is costed against your real machine, operator and tip rates.

Does it handle tight-access and rock-breaking jobs?+

Yes. Tight-access mini excavator work and rock breaking or hammering are separate job types, so the access premium and the harder, slower going are priced in rather than absorbed into a standard hourly rate.

Ready to quote faster?

Start free — no credit card required.

Start quoting as an excavation contractor