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Estimating that
thinks like Excel,
built like software.

$29 per seat, every feature, no gates. Pay less per seat as you grow.

No credit card14-day free trialExcel paste-in / out
app.costable.com / Riverside Stage 2 / Slab + frame
G7= qty * unit_cost * (1 + markup)
DescriptionQtyUnitUnit costMarkupTotal
Slab + footings
1Concrete N32 — 100mm slab on grade42.0$285.0015%$13,765.50
2Reinforcement mesh SL82186.0$22.4015%$4,791.46
3Polyethylene vapour barrier186.0$3.8015%$813.16
Frame + cladding
4Studs 90×35 MGP10 KD312.0lm$8.9515%$3,210.66
5Plywood bracing 7mm36.0sht$54.0015%$2,235.60
6Carpenter labour142.0hr$95.0020%$16,188.00
7Cladding fix & finish86.0$48.5020%$5,003.40
Estimate total$46,007.78
VariablesSlab + frameFitoutSummary
Why Costable

Estimators don’t need another database. They need a better spreadsheet.

Most estimating software hides the math behind drag-and-drop wizards. Costable keeps the formulas visible, the keyboard shortcuts familiar, and adds the structure Excel can’t — named variables, reusable parts, multi-sheet rollups, status freezes, change-order tracking.

Spreadsheet-native

Same keyboard nav, formula bar, paste behaviour, undo you already know — minus the broken merged-cell formulas.

One sheet, everywhere

Estimates, cost library, variables, and reusable parts share the same structured grid language.

Deliberately simpler

No PM modules, no takeoff tooling, no schedule, no document control. Estimating, done well.

Cheaper than every credible alternative on the market
50–60% cheaper
vs Joist Pro mid-range
3–4× cheaper
vs Houzz Pro
7× cheaper
vs Buildxact entry
10–20× cheaper
vs ProEst
The grid

Every keystroke you already know.

Costable’s spreadsheet primitive shows up on every data-bearing screen — same cell editing, formula bar, paste behaviour, undo. Open it cold and your hands know what to do.

  • Arrow keys, Tab, Enter, Shift+Enter, Page Up/Down, Home, End — they all do what you expect.
  • Type = and click any cell to insert its reference. SUM, IF, VLOOKUP, plus your own named variables.
  • Right-click a row to insert above, duplicate, delete, group as section. Drag to reorder.
  • Excel paste-in coerces types and strips formulas. Export-out is a resolved-value snapshot.
app.costable.com / Riverside Stage 2 / Slab + frame
G7= qty * unit_cost * (1 + markup)
DescriptionQtyUnitUnit costMarkupTotal
Slab + footings
1Concrete N32 — 100mm slab on grade42.0$285.0015%$13,765.50
2Reinforcement mesh SL82186.0$22.4015%$4,791.46
3Polyethylene vapour barrier186.0$3.8015%$813.16
Frame + cladding
4Studs 90×35 MGP10 KD312.0lm$8.9515%$3,210.66
5Plywood bracing 7mm36.0sht$54.0015%$2,235.60
6Carpenter labour142.0hr$95.0020%$16,188.00
7Cladding fix & finish86.0$48.5020%$5,003.40
Estimate total$46,007.78
VariablesSlab + frameFitoutSummary
Variables

Change one number. Watch it cascade.

Define labour rates, markup percentages, project quantities once at the top of the estimate. Reference them by name. Update them once.

  • Four scopes — global, project, estimate, part. Most-specific wins.
  • Reference by name in any cell: =qty * rate_carpenter.
  • Override grid for fast project- or estimate-level tweaks across the whole variable set.
  • Per-item history on globals; rename-with-refs cascades atomically across every formula.
app.costable.com / Riverside Stage 2 / Variables
B4= rate_carpenter * 1.15
NameValueScope
rate_carpenter$95.00global
rate_labourer$58.00global
markup_material0.15project
markup_labour0.20project
num_apartments12estimate
slab_area186.0 m²estimate
VariablesSlab + frameFitoutSummary
Parts library

Build it once. Use it forever.

A part is a self-contained chunk of estimate — rows, sections, per-instance variables — packaged for reuse. The standard slab. The typical bathroom. The 80-tonne pontoon. Built once, reused everywhere.

  • Personal scope for individual estimators or org-wide for shared catalogues.
  • Per-instance variable values let one part flex across estimates without forking.
  • Nested parts with cycle detection — sub-assemblies once, reuse everywhere.
  • Inserts as a single row that hydrates to its full breakdown on demand.
app.costable.com / parts library
RefNameRowsUpdated
PT-101Concrete slab on grade — standard82d ago
PT-104Timber frame — single storey221w ago
PT-110Bathroom rough-in + finish181w ago
PT-120Pontoon — 12m × 3m313w ago
PT-205Roof truss + insulation141mo ago
The whole tool

Six surfaces. One spreadsheet primitive.

Every screen that holds data uses the same cell, the same formula bar, the same keyboard. Nothing to learn twice.

Cost library

One source of truth for unit costs across the org. Categorised, supplier-tracked, with stale-cost detection when library prices change after an estimate references them. Reference any item from a formula via @ref.

Structured project workflow

Create projects, keep estimates together, and move quoting work out of scattered spreadsheets into one estimating workspace.

Reusable parts

Build repeat assemblies once, then reuse them across estimates. Personal and org-wide parts keep standard work from being retyped.

Multi-sheet workbooks

Design / Fabrication / Install on their own sheets. Cross-sheet refs, section headers, anchored Variables tab, anchored Summary that rolls cost / sell / margin up.

Excel interop

Paste in from Excel or Google Sheets with structured type coercion. Resolved-value Excel export is part of the beta-readiness gate.

Onboarding ships a working sample

Auto-seeded sample project, estimate, cost library, and variables so new users can see the workflow before creating real work.

Stop fighting your spreadsheet.

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