Organization-level Estimate Preferences allow admins to define how estimates (formerly known as Material Lists) are generated and adjusted across the account. These settings control default markup, tax, template pricing, financing options, and adjustments - so estimates are consistent, compliant, and faster to configure.

Note: You must have a Hover admin account to update the default settings for Estimates.

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Open Estimate Preferences

Tap your initials in the top right corner

Select Estimate preferences from the drop down

Estimate Preferences has a left-hand menu: Preferences, Line items and pricing, Financing, Adjustments, Templates, Agreements, Materials, Checklist Templates, and Color Grouping Rules.

Select Preferences to set defaults for estimate creation, profit margin and sales tax access, margin limits, opening calculations, markup, and tax. Scroll to see every setting.

General estimate settings

Require questionnaire before creating estimates: Answer questions before an estimate is created. This is on by default for organizations created on or after October 1, 2026 but admins can turn it off.
Allow sales reps access to Starter templates: When enabled, sales reps can pick from Hover’s Starter templates alongside your Custom templates.
Round up labor quantities: Calculated quantities for labor and other line items round up to the nearest whole unit. This is off by default.

Profit Margin settings

Use the toggles under Profit Margin for my sales reps to decide whether sales reps can view and edit profit margin.

Orgs can set both the minimum, and maximum-allowed profit margin percentages. Once these are configured, any estimate that is generated will automatically fall within the specified threshold. Orgs can also use the toggle under Margin Limits to decide whether users can go above or below the profit margin limits.

Reps with edit access can change margin from Manage > Profit, within the limits you set.

Sales tax settings

Use the toggles under Sales Tax for my sales reps to decide whether sales reps can view and edit sales tax on their estimates.

Calculations for openings

Hover's template calculations are based on best practices we've seen in the industry. You may require different preferences to match how your organization orders and installs siding and trim.

Use the toggles in this section to determine whether the automated calculations should:

Include small opening areas for siding, or other walls
Include siding opening trim sqft for siding, or other walls
Include siding trim sqft for siding, or other walls

If the calculation preferences are not set up from the Estimate Preferences page, the default for all estimates will be 10% for areas with openings less than 33 SQFT.

Markup and tax settings

Orgs can apply pricing rules across all line items, template-wide. Perfect for speeding up bulk-updates!

If you enter a custom Markup percentage from this tab, it will apply to all templates as the default value.

Enter custom tax rate percentages for the separate Material, Labor, and Other sections across all your saved templates.

Note: You can override these default values later on, from the Templates tab.

Line items and pricing

Select Line items and pricing from the left hand menu:

From here, an org admin can manage all line items across the entire organization in one place instead of updating each template individually. Filter by All, Materials, Labor, or Others, or search for a line item by name.

Update units of measurement, unit costs, markup, and tax rates

If you need to make line item updates across many templates at once, doing so from this page will be more efficient. Each row shows the line item’s type, trade, unit, unit cost, markup, and tax rate.

Financing

On the Financing tab, admins can build a library of approved financing options. If someone adds an active, org-approved financing option to an estimate they've generated, the system will:

Calculate monthly payments based on term, and APR
Allow entry of a down payment

How to create financing options

Select Add new, then fill in:
- Name
- Term length (months)
- APR (%)
Use the toggle to set it as the default financing option (if applicable)
Tap Save
You will see the new financing option on the main Financing tab. Use the toggle to activate it.

How to remove a financing option

Click the trash can icon beside the financing option you want to remove
Select Remove from the prompt

Adjustments

Adjustments let orgs create a library of approved discounts and surcharges that can be applied to estimates.

Allowing sales reps to apply full estimate adjustments

At the top of this page, turn on Allow sales reps to create full estimate adjustments so reps can apply adjustments across the entire estimate rather than only to individual templates.

Allowing custom options

Orgs can choose whether users are allowed to create custom promotions.

If enabled, users can create a promotion during the estimate configuration
If disabled, users can only select from org-approved promotions

Select the Custom options enabled button. Then use the toggle to enable or disable.

How to create or remove an adjustment

To create an adjustment:

Select Add adjustment
Name the adjustment
Choose the Adjustment kind:
- Discount reduces the estimate. Surcharge increases it.
Choose the Type: Percentage or Fixed amount.
Enter the amount in Reduce estimate by (discounts) or Increase estimate by (surcharges).
OPTIONAL: turn on Enable users to change the % or $ amount on the fly for this price adjustment.
OPTIONAL: use the toggle to decide whether the adjustment impacts the Total price and the calculated profit margin of the job. When it’s off, it impacts neither.
Tap Save
You will see the new adjustment option on the main tab. Use the Active toggle to turn it on or off.

To remove an existing adjustment:

Select the three-dot menu beside an adjustment, then choose Edit or Delete.

Templates

From the Templates tab, you will see all active, saved templates for your organization.

Active saved templates will appear in the Custom template library when building estimates.
Inactive saved templates will not appear in the Custom template library when building estimates.

How to manage templates

Click on a template's 3 dot menu to view the activity history, duplicate, or edit a template.

When editing a template, you can:

Update the template name
Update the template description
Use a toggle to make a template activate, or inactive
Use a toggle to apply or remove custom markup and tax percentages

How to edit template line items

From the same template details page, scroll down to see every line item associated with that particular saved template.

Use inline editing to adjust the Unit of measurement, Unit Cost, Markup, and Tax Rate for any particular line item.

Adjustments made at the line-level will override preferences set at the template-level.

How estimate settings affect the estimate experience

Individual estimates will automatically pre-populate using the org-level settings. You can make adjustments, where permitted, with the Manage view.

Tap Manage from the Financials panel:

Markup adjustments

Org-level defaults will apply first, but if permitted, you can override the Markup percentage defaults.

Choose how markup should be applied:

From the line level

By Group
- Set the markup percentage separately for Material, Labor, and Other

By Template

Tax adjustments

Similar to Markup adjustments, you can specify if you want your estimate's tax rate to be applied:

At the line level
By Group
By Template

From this tab, you can also use the toggle switch to exclude tax in the estimate view. It is still applied, but won't appear on the estimate.

Cost visibility

The Cost tab is for reporting and visibility only.

Cost is shown:

By material, labor, and other
Broken out by template

Costs cannot be edited in this view.

Financing and promotions

If active org-approved financing options are available, select them from the Manage view Financing tab. The system will:

Calculate monthly payments based on term and APR
Allow entry of a down payment

Also, if custom financing is enabled at the org-level, you will be able to add a custom option from this tab as well.

Similarly, on the Manage view Promotions tab you can select from active org-approved promotions - if they were set up at the org-level.

Promotions apply discounts directly to the estimate total
Multiple promotions can be applied at once
If custom promotions are enabled, users can add a custom promotion during estimate configuration

You can apply multiple promotions at once.

Common Questions

Can I create a custom finance option for my estimate?

Yes. If custom financing is enabled for the organization in Estimate Settings, you can add a custom option during the estimate configuration. If this feature is disabled, you can only use approved financing options.

Why are tax fields blank?

If your org has not set tax defaults in Estimate Settings, tax values will appear blank in the estimate configurator.

Can I add my company logo to the estimate?

If your org is set up for one of the Hover membership plans, you have the added capability to promote your brand by adding your company logo to estimates, proposals, contracts, and the measurement PDF.
A Hover admin for your org needs to:
- Select Settings > Company info
- Scroll to Logo and upload your company logo.

Review this collection for answers to additional common questions.

How do I configure my construction estimate settings?