Protect the margin before the job owns it.
Build a pre-bid cost case around a verified site, your actual labor/material/equipment assumptions, explicit contingencies and location risk. ExpenseIntel does not replace estimating software; it exposes the assumptions that can make a profitable-looking job turn bad.
Build the case to calculate the minimum cost basis and target price.
Cost basis before optimism.
Margin is calculated as gross margin on revenue, not a simple markup. Location reserve and bid contingency are shown separately so they cannot hide inside one number.
What can still hurt this job?
These are pre-bid flags, not engineering conclusions. They tell you which assumptions deserve verification before price becomes commitment.
Which variable moves the bid fastest?
ExpenseIntel shocks one assumption at a time and ranks the incremental cost. This makes negotiation and contingency discussions concrete.
Leave with a bid preflight.
Copy the cost case into estimating notes or print it for an internal bid review. The output preserves what is user-supplied versus public evidence.