The small business tender toolkit · Excel tool · Version 2.0
Bid Pricing Calculator
Price every item, cover every cost and see your profit before you submit. Then send the client a professional quotation – without ever showing your supplier prices.
- Built for South African supply and delivery RFQs and tenders
- Handles VAT correctly, whether or not you're VAT-registered
- Shows your break-even price, profit and margin as you type
R694 R347 · Instant download · Includes a 16-page user guide
Secure payment with Payfast
Bid Pricing Calculator – Version 2.0
- Excel workbook with 9 tabs: Settings, Item Library, Supplier Compare, Calculator, Profit & Points, Quotation, Checklist and Bid Register
- 16-page user guide
- Use it on every bid you submit
Regular price: R694
Today: R347
You save R347
Instant download · Secure payment with Payfast
Catching just one forgotten cost on one bid pays for this tool many times over.
What calculator customers say
“I used to calculate my tender prices manually using different spreadsheets. It was time-consuming, and I sometimes struggled to make sure I had included all my costs. This calculator gives me a more organised way of working through my pricing. I also found the user guide helpful when getting started.”
“Pricing has always been one of the areas I struggled with when preparing quotations. I wanted a tool that would help me work out my costs and expected profit more systematically. The calculator is easy to navigate once you understand the different tabs. I can now use it when preparing my supply and delivery quotations.”
“I like that this is an Excel tool that I can use for different quotations and tenders. It helps me look at my costs more carefully instead of simply guessing what to charge. The 16-page guide also makes it easier to understand how to use the workbook.”
Or save with the bundle
Best value
The Tender Starter Bundle
Win Your 1st Tender guide + Bid Pricing Calculator
R994 R847 – Save R147
What bundle customers say
“I decided to get the bundle because I needed both guidance on tendering and help with pricing. Having the guide and calculator together makes sense because they cover two important parts of the process. I like that I can read through the guide and then use the calculator when working on my quotations.”
“This was a good starting point for me because I was not sure what I needed to learn first. The guide explains the tender process, while the calculator helps with the financial side. I also appreciate having the templates available. Everything is digital, so I can access the materials when I need them.”
“I wanted to take my small business more seriously and start exploring government tenders. I bought the bundle because it includes both the tender guide and pricing calculator. I found the step-by-step explanations helpful, especially because I am still learning how the tender process works.”
Winning the tender is only half the job. Making a profit on it is the other half.
Many small businesses celebrate an award and then lose money on it. Not because the work was bad, but because the price left something out:
- VAT they could not claim back from their supplier
- Delivery they forgot to cost
- Packaging, insurance and admin they never priced
- The cost of waiting 30 days or more to be paid
Others price too high out of fear, and lose to a competitor who knew their numbers.
The Bid Pricing Calculator gives every one of those costs a place, so you know your real profit before you commit to a price.
“A good price is not the lowest price. It is the lowest price that still pays you.”
From supplier quotes to a finished quotation in 6 simple steps
1
Settings
Enter your company details, VAT status, mark-up and quote terms once. Every bid uses them.
2
Item Library
Save the items you quote often and their latest prices. The calculator warns you when a price changes.
3
Supplier Compare
Compare three supplier quotes per item and find the cheapest one that's still valid.
4
Calculator
Enter up to 100 items, your delivery costs and overheads. Watch your final price, profit and margin update live.
5
Profit & Points
Test other mark-ups, estimate your preference points and check you can fund the order.
6
Quotation
Print or save a professional quote as a PDF. Then tick off the checklist and log the bid.
Everything you need to price a bid with confidence
Live profit bar
Your final bid price, profit, margin and an OK / LOW MARGIN / LOSS warning stay on screen as you type.
Up to 100 line items
Default or per-line mark-ups, your own item numbering, and red warnings for missing prices or quantities.
VAT done right
Not VAT-registered? The calculator adds the supplier's VAT to your cost and removes VAT from your bid – automatically.
Delivery built in
Cost kilometres, tolls, couriers and labour. Then show delivery as a separate line, or spread it into your unit prices when the pricing schedule has no delivery line.
Every cost covered
Packaging, insurance, contingency, admin, finance costs and fixed bid costs such as document fees and briefing travel.
Break-even and walk-away price
Know the lowest price you can accept before a client negotiates or a competitor undercuts you.
Price in words
Your final bid price written out in words, ready for the bid forms – for example, "One hundred and twenty thousand one hundred and sixty-one rand and sixty-nine cents only".
Professional client quotation
Your company details, items, totals, amount in words, terms and signature block. It never shows your supplier costs or mark-up.
Preference points estimator
Estimate your 80/20 or 90/10 score against a competitor, and the highest price at which you still tie.
Cash-flow check
See how much cash the order needs, for how many days, and whether your price covers the cost of funding it.
Supplier comparison and Item Library
Compare quotes, spot savings, catch quotes that expire too soon and remember your prices for next time.
Checklist and Bid Register
A submission checklist with progress tracking, and a register that shows your win rate and profit from wins.
Bid Pricing Calculator – Version 2.0
- Excel workbook with 9 tabs: Settings, Item Library, Supplier Compare, Calculator, Profit & Points, Quotation, Checklist and Bid Register
- 16-page user guide
- Use it on every bid you submit
Regular price: R694
Today: R347
You save R347
Instant download · Secure payment with Payfast
Catching just one forgotten cost on one bid pays for this tool many times over.
The Bid Pricing Calculator is for you if...
- You bid on supply and delivery RFQs or tenders, or want to start
- You've ever wondered whether a bid you won actually made money
- You want to price faster, with fewer mistakes, every time
- You want quotations that look professional and match your pricing schedule
It's not the right tool if...
- You mainly bid on service contracts priced by labour (for example cleaning or security staffing). It's designed for supply and delivery.
- You don't have Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets or another spreadsheet program
Why it's different
Built by someone who has evaluated tenders
Made for South Africa
Hard to break
What's included
- The Bid Pricing Calculator (Excel workbook, version 2.0) with 9 tabs
- A 16-page illustrated user guide with a full worked example
- Example data already filled in, so you can see how everything works before entering your own bid
Bid Pricing Calculator – Version 2.0
- Excel workbook with 9 tabs: Settings, Item Library, Supplier Compare, Calculator, Profit & Points, Quotation, Checklist and Bid Register
- 16-page user guide
- Use it on every bid you submit
Regular price: R694
Today: R347
You save R347
Instant download · Secure payment with Payfast
Catching just one forgotten cost on one bid pays for this tool many times over.
Created by Phumzile Skosana
Phumzile Skosana is a seasoned businesswoman with experience in both the corporate world and entrepreneurship. She studied Mechanical Engineering at TUT, holds a National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, and joined Eskom as a Senior Technician. During her 10 years in the Maintenance and Engineering department, she had the opportunity to evaluate tenders.
She has started several small businesses. Some failed and others succeeded, and she brings the lessons of both to her work. She has benefited from enterprise development programmes such as SAB KickStart, Raizcorp and Anglo American Zimele.
Today she runs her own company, with government as one of its anchor clients. She built the Bid Pricing Calculator to help small suppliers price bids with confidence and win contracts that actually make a profit. She is also the author of Win Your 1st Tender.
10 years at Eskom · Former tender evaluator · Government supplier · Author
Frequently asked questions
Know your numbers before you submit.
You can keep pricing on a calculator and hope you didn't miss anything. Or you can use a tool that covers every cost, shows your profit, and produces a professional quotation in minutes.
Your next bid deserves a price that wins – and pays you.
Bid Pricing Calculator – Version 2.0
- Excel workbook with 9 tabs: Settings, Item Library, Supplier Compare, Calculator, Profit & Points, Quotation, Checklist and Bid Register
- 16-page user guide
- Use it on every bid you submit
Regular price: R694
Today: R347
You save R347
Instant download · Secure payment with Payfast
Catching just one forgotten cost on one bid pays for this tool many times over.