Free Work Breakdown Structure Estimator
A work breakdown structure is the foundation of every government proposal cost estimate. The WBS breaks your project into manageable tasks, assigns labor categories and hours to each, and rolls up into a defensible total cost. Without a solid WBS, your pricing is just guesswork.
This interactive work breakdown structure estimator lets you build a hierarchical task structure, assign labor rates and hours per role, toggle tasks on and off to see cost impact, and export the result. The sample data shows a typical IT system migration project with five major phases: project management, requirements and design, development, testing and QA, and training and transition.
Government evaluators scrutinize cost proposals for realism. A WBS that maps directly to your technical approach — with named labor categories, reasonable hour estimates, and logical task dependencies — signals a mature contractor who understands the work. Sloppy cost estimates get flagged and can disqualify your proposal.
Pretty Paperwork Network builds WBS-based cost estimates for government proposals across all sectors.
