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Construction Cost Code List Builder (Free CSV Download)

Pick your trade, choose the splits you need, and download a ready-to-use cost code list as CSV — the 12-code starter list from our guide, adapted to you.

Each preset splits only the codes where that trade's money concentrates.

Extras
Numbering

The download starts right away. We'll also follow up by email with more job-costing help — no spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Your list

12 codes

  1. 01 Materials Everything that becomes part of the work — lumber, pipe, wire, fixtures, paint
  2. 02 Labor Your crew's wages and payroll costs for hours on this job
  3. 03 Subcontractors Anyone who invoices you for work on the job
  4. 04 Equipment rental The lift, the excavator, the scaffold — rented, per job
  5. 05 Tools & consumables Blades, bits, tape, gloves — bought for the job but not part of the work
  6. 06 Permits & fees Permits, inspections, utility connection fees
  7. 07 Disposal Dumpsters, dump runs, hauling debris off site
  8. 08 Fuel & travel Fuel, mileage, parking, tolls attributable to the job
  9. 09 Professional services Engineering, architecture, surveys, testing
  10. 10 Insurance & bonds Job-specific policies and bonds — not your general annual premium
  11. 11 Rework & warranty Callbacks and fixing what didn't pass — on your dime
  12. 12 Other The holding pen — review it monthly and give repeat costs their own code

Codes are shown two-digit here; the file uses the numbering you picked.

How it works

A cost code is a shared answer to "what kind of cost is this", used the same way on every job. Twelve codes a crew can pick in five seconds beat eight hundred that get guessed at — sixty codes used sloppily tell you less than ten used honestly.

The list starts from the twelve-code list in our guide and splits only where your trade's money concentrates: a remodeler separates rough from finish materials, a roofer separates the roofing from the underlayment and flashing. Split a code when it regularly holds a large share of job cost and the split would change a decision — never because more detail feels rigorous.

Rules that keep the list working

  1. Five seconds, no asking. If two codes both feel right for a common purchase, merge them.
  2. Codes match how you bid. Your top codes are your estimate's lines, or you'll never line a bid up against reality.
  3. Keep the list stable. Add rarely, at month boundaries; renumbering mid-year breaks every comparison with older jobs.
  4. One person confirms the code. The crew describes what they bought; whoever runs the books assigns it.

The payoff is bid versus actual: after a few finished jobs, line up what you bid per code against what it cost, and the next estimate tells you which line to fix. The Bid and Actual columns option gives you that sheet ready to fill.

Questions

01 Should I use CSI MasterFormat codes? +
Not for a small crew. MasterFormat's fifty divisions assume someone whose job is coding costs. A short list every person on the team can use consistently answers the same question — where did the money go — with far less guessing.
02 How do I use the CSV? +
Open it in Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers, or import it as the category list in your bookkeeping tool. The file is UTF-8 with a byte-order mark, so accented names open correctly in Excel.
03 Can I add my own codes later? +
Yes — that's what the Other code is for. Once a month, look at what landed there; three costs with the same shape mean the list is missing a code, so promote them. Add at month boundaries and resist reorganizing.