Cost View
See a live cost estimate for every entity in your project, organized by category, with totals that update automatically as you design.
Cost ViewThe Cost View gives you a real-time, itemized cost breakdown for your entire garden design. As you add or resize objects on the canvas, quantities are recalculated from exact geometry and costs update instantly — no manual refresh needed. The view is split into two tabs: the Cost Table for all entity-linked costs, and Additional for project overhead items like equipment hire and permit fees. Control how much pricing detail is exposed to clients using the cost estimate display mode in project settings.
Read the cost table
The cost table is organized into category sections:
- Paving — hard surface areas (patios, paths, driveways)
- Plants — individual plants and planting areas
- Structures — walls, fences, pergolas, and other built elements
- Lighting — light fittings
- Irrigation — irrigation zones and emitters
Each row shows:
- Name — the entity name or product name from the Pricing Catalog
- Quantity — computed from entity geometry (e.g. m², linear m, unit count)
- Unit — the measurement unit for that product (m², lm, m³, unit)
- Unit Price — the price per unit set in the Pricing Catalog
- Line Total — quantity × unit price
Category subtotals appear at the bottom of each section. A Grand Total appears at the foot of the table.
Click a row in the cost table to highlight the corresponding entity on the canvas. This helps you identify which entity is generating a specific line item.
Toggle contingency and markup
Above the grand total, two optional percentage rows can be toggled on or off:
- Contingency — a percentage uplift applied to the subtotal (e.g. 10% contingency for unforeseen site conditions)
- Markup — a profit or overhead margin applied after contingency (e.g. 15% contractor markup)
Click the toggle next to each row to include or exclude it from the total. Enter the percentage value in the field next to the toggle. The grand total updates immediately.
Contingency and markup percentages are saved per project.
Click any row in the Cost Table to select and highlight the corresponding entity on the canvas — useful for tracing which drawn object is generating a given line item.
Export the Cost View
Click Export in the Cost panel toolbar to export the cost estimate:
- PDF — a formatted cost report suitable for client presentation, including the project name, date, categorized table, and grand total
- CSV — a raw spreadsheet export of all rows for import into Excel, Google Sheets, or accounting software
The export reflects the current state of the cost table including any contingency and markup settings.
Export the cost view at each major design stage — concept, design development, and final design — to build a cost-progression record that shows clients how the estimate has evolved.
Review labor costs
Labor cost is calculated separately from materials. Price-list entries carry a labor hours per unit figure; the active labor rate (set per project in project settings) converts those hours into money. The grand total at the foot of the Cost Table includes both materials and labor. If a row shows no labor cost, check that the price-list entry has labor hours entered — a zero-hours entry produces no labor cost even when a labor rate is set.
Add overhead items in the Additional tab
Switch to the Additional tab to manage line items not tied to any specific drawn entity — equipment hire, permit fees, contingency allowances, disposal charges, and similar project overheads. Click Add item to create a new row and fill in the name, category, unit price, and quantity. Each row's pricing mode can be set to Lump sum (fixed total, quantity ignored), Each (unit price × quantity), or Per count (unit price × quantity). Additional items are included in the grand total alongside the Cost Table rows.
Set the client-facing display mode
Open Project Settings and locate the Cost estimate display mode option to control how much pricing detail appears in client-facing exports. Choose from five levels: Lump sum (grand total only), Category summary (per-category subtotals, no line items), Line items with totals (each row shows its total — the default), Line items with materials (materials cost added per row), or Full detail (materials cost, labor hours, and labor cost shown for every row). The display mode affects exported cost estimate reports but does not affect what you see in the Cost View itself.
Use Lump sum or Category summary for early-stage presentations when clients need only a ballpark figure. Switch to Full detail for final handover documentation.
Quantities update in real time. Resizing a paving area or moving a plant bed boundary immediately recalculates the affected rows — the Cost Table always reflects the current state of the canvas.
If a row shows a zero unit price, the entity is not yet linked to a price-list entry and has no manual price override. Open the entity inspector and assign a price-list entry, or enter a manual unit price, to populate the cost.
Overlapping surface areas are automatically deducted from one another — for example, a path drawn over a lawn reduces the lawn's billed area. Verify quantities in the Cost Table if your design has overlapping filled shapes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I manage the price list and labor rates?
The account-level price list and labor rate tiers are managed from the lobby, not from inside the Cost View. This keeps prices shared across all projects in your account. Open the lobby and go to your account settings to add or edit price entries and labor rate tiers.
Why does a row show zero cost even though the entity is on the canvas?
A zero-cost row means the entity either has no price-list entry linked and no manual unit price set, or the linked price-list entry has a zero unit price. Open the entity inspector to link it to a catalog entry or enter a manual price. For labor to appear, the price-list entry also needs labor hours per unit set.
Does the Cost View include labor as well as materials?
Yes. When a price-list entry includes labor hours per unit, those hours are multiplied by the project's active labor rate to produce a labor cost per row. The grand total sums both materials and labor across all rows. If you want to see the split, set the cost estimate display mode to Full detail.
Can I share the cost breakdown with a client?
Yes. Generate a Cost Estimate report from the Document Center — the report respects whichever cost estimate display mode is set in project settings, so you can show clients as much or as little detail as appropriate. The Cost View itself is always full-detail for your own reference.
What is the difference between the Cost Table and Additional items?
The Cost Table shows costs derived from entities drawn on the canvas — plants, paving, structures, and so on. Each row is tied to a specific drawing object and its quantity is computed from geometry. Additional items are free-form line items not tied to any drawn object — things like equipment hire, permit fees, or contingency allowances that affect the project total but are not modelled in the design.