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Worked example
Real numbers from this tool, line by line.
A California remodeler who prices a 11,290-dollar job and asks the homeowner for a 2,500-dollar deposit is asking for 1,500 dollars more than the law allows. This estimate template shows it in the first result: contract price 11,290 dollars, lawful down payment 1,000 dollars, deposit over the California cap 1,500 dollars, progress payment ahead of the work 800 dollars, balance due 7,090 dollars.
The numbers from the default example
The example job: 40 labor hours at 85 dollars an hour, 6,200 dollars of materials with a 20% markup, 450 dollars of permit fees passed through, a 2,500-dollar deposit, and a first progress payment of 4,000 dollars collected when 3,200 dollars of work and materials have been delivered.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Labor total | 3,400 dollars |
| Materials billed (cost plus markup) | 7,440 dollars |
| Contract price | 11,290 dollars |
| Lawful down payment | 1,000 dollars |
| Deposit over the California cap | 1,500 dollars |
| Progress payment ahead of the work | 800 dollars |
| Payment terms to fix before signing | 2 |
| Balance due after the lawful deposit and progress payment | 7,090 dollars |
Two payment terms in that estimate break California law. Fixing them costs nothing: write 1,000 dollars as the down payment and collect 3,200 dollars, not 4,000, at the first milestone.
The two rules every home improvement estimate in California has to respect
Business and Professions Code 7159(d)(8) requires the contract to carry the heading Down Payment and, in 12-point bold type, the sentence: the down payment may not exceed 1,000 dollars or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less. On an 840-dollar job it is 84 dollars, so a 90-dollar deposit is already 6 dollars over.
Section 7159.5(a)(5) adds the second rule: a progress payment may never exceed the value of the work performed and materials delivered at that point.
What getting it wrong costs
Under 7159.5(b)(1), each violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of 100 to 5,000 dollars, up to one year in county jail, or both. In the default example two terms are flagged, so the fine ceiling the template shows is up to 10,000 dollars.
The license line changed in 2025
AB 2622 raised the minor work exemption in Bus. & Prof. Code 7048 from 500 to 1,000 dollars from 2025-01-01. A job under 1,000 dollars of labor and materials needs no CSLB license only if it needs no permit and you employ nobody on it. The template returns 1 for license needed when the contract price reaches 1,000 dollars or when you enter a permit fee.
Why a free estimate template does not catch this
Free estimate templates add up labor and materials correctly. None of them compares the deposit with 10 percent of the price, and none compares a progress payment with the work done.
What you type and what you get
8 inputs: labor hours, hourly rate, materials cost, materials markup, permit fees, the deposit you want, the first progress payment and the value of work done by then. 12 formulas return the contract price, the lawful down payment, the excess, the progress-payment check, the license line and the balance due.
The web page gives that full answer for your own job, free, with nothing blurred. The workbook is the file you keep: one copy per client and per job, the Down Payment and Schedule of Progress Payments statements already written out, and a check you re-run whenever the scope changes. It is a one-time payment, not a subscription.
15 seconds — what it actually does
Questions people ask
What does this estimate template work out?
You type 8 inputs: labor hours, hourly rate, materials cost, materials markup, permit fees, the deposit you want, the first progress payment and the value of work done by then. It returns the contract price, the lawful California down payment, how much of your deposit is over the cap, any progress payment ahead of the work, the license line and the balance due.
Who is this estimate template for?
California remodelers, handymen, roofers, painters, solar and HVAC installers who write home improvement estimates for homeowners. The payment rules in Bus. & Prof. Code 7159 and 7159.5 apply to home improvement work in California, so the check is written for that trade and that state, not for commercial bids.
Why not use a free estimate template?
Free templates add up labor and materials correctly, but none caps the deposit at 1,000 dollars or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, or compares a progress payment with the work actually done. Those two limits are what 7159.5 makes a misdemeanor, with a fine up to 5,000 dollars per violation.
What do I get free on the page?
The whole answer for one job: contract price, lawful down payment, the part of your deposit over the cap, any progress payment collected ahead of the work, whether the job crosses the 1,000-dollar CSLB license line, and the balance due at completion. Nothing is hidden or blurred. The paid file is the workbook you keep per client.
What does getting it wrong cost compared with this file?
Under Bus. & Prof. Code 7159.5(b)(1) each violation of the down payment or progress payment limits is a misdemeanor: a fine of 100 to 5,000 dollars, up to one year in county jail, or both. CSLB can also discipline the license. The workbook is a one-time payment, not a subscription, and you can check your own job free first.
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