An example proposal, section by section.
This is a proposal for a detached ADU, the way the homeowner sees it on their phone. Next to each part is why it's there.
By Paul Chang
The company, the homeowner and the address are made up. The line items and prices come from a real estimate for a real garage-to-ADU conversion, with the names changed. It was built from a Buildertrend estimate. Here's what that estimate looked like before. If you build ADUs, here's what to put in an ADU proposal.
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01 · The cover and the letterIt starts with their job.
Their name, their address and the kind of project, before anything else. The photos are finished ADUs, because that's what they're buying.
The letter under it says what's being built in one sentence. The new ADU goes where the garage is, and it reuses the existing foundation. That's the scope in plain words.
The job in plain words → -
03 · Recent workPhotos of jobs like theirs.
This is an ADU bid, so the page shows ADUs and ground-up homes. A kitchen remodel would be a nice photo that tells this homeowner nothing.
It ends with an offer to set up a call with a past client. Most proposals don't offer that.
Photos of jobs like theirs → -
04 · The line itemsEvery line, in the estimate's own words.
Nothing here was rewritten. The descriptions and prices are exactly what the contractor priced. What changed is the grouping. Lines sit under headings a homeowner recognizes, each with a subtotal.
The gray box under site work is the homeowner asking a question on that line: "French drains included?" It goes straight to the contractor, with the line attached.
The price, by trade → -
06 · The priceOne number, and where it goes.
The total, then what it's made of. Each bar is one of the contractor's own subtotals, drawn to scale.
Below it is what the price doesn't include: permit fees, utility upgrades, landscaping, conditions nobody could see at the site walk. It sits right next to the number, so the homeowner sees it before they sign.
Last, two short notes on things homeowners always ask about: allowances and billing.
What isn't in the price → -
11 · Getting startedWhat happens after they say yes.
Four steps, from reading the proposal to the first day of work. The deposit amount is written out, and so is how long after the permit construction starts.
The homeowner can tell the contractor they're ready right from the page. The thank-you at the bottom is what they see after they do. It says plainly that nothing is signed yet.
What happens, and when →
What isn't shown here
The full proposal has eleven sections. The ones skipped above cover why this contractor, the two people who'll run the job and how to reach them, the process from site walk to warranty, and the warranty itself. The proposal guide has a page on each.
What the contractor sees
After the link goes out, the contractor sees every time it's opened and when the PDF was saved. When the homeowner says they're ready, that shows up too.
