Section02 of 06
PageThe rate library
Next03 — AI, honestly
Included inThe free plan

Your rates. Not a model's guess at them.

This is the part that makes BillMate worth having, and it is the part most tools charge the most for. It is in the free plan, whole and unlimited.

Import the schedule you already have

Paste it straight out of Excel or upload a CSV. BillMate reads your headings, shows you a column-matching screen, and tells you exactly how many rows it skipped and why — trade headings and blank rows never disappear silently.

From then on, one button prices an entire bill from rates you set yourself.

  • Handles quoted descriptions, thousands separators, decimal commas and currency symbols
  • Unit spellings normalised for you — cum, cu.m and m3 all become
  • Capture rates back from any bill you price, so the library compounds
  • Export it, share it, move it between devices
Apply rate library — preview before anything changes
Reinforcement, high yield bars exact
kg
1,450.00
Painting two coats emulsion to walls exact
2,100.001,750.00
Excavate trench n.e. 3.00m deep
no match — different depth, never guessed

Rates go stale. BillMate says so — on the bill.

Every rate carries its real age. Anything over twelve months is flagged in the library, in the apply preview, and in the basis of estimate printed on the client's document.

When the year turns, uplift the whole schedule by a percentage — the job you currently do by hand in Excel — and everything is re-dated in one action. Enter 0% to record rates you have checked and found still correct.

  • Scope an uplift to stale rates, one currency, or a text filter
  • Real before-and-after figures before you commit, and one undo after
  • Nothing is ever silently converted between currencies
Uplift rates — 18%, rates over 12 months old
Excavate trench n.e. 1.50m deep stale
m³ · 20 months old
4,5005,310
150mm solid blockwork in walls stale
m² · 14 months old
8,2009,676
Painting two coats emulsion
priced this month — untouched
1,750
The rule behind it

A 3.00m trench never inherits a 1.50m rate.

Matching is the place where a pricing tool can quietly ruin your bill, so BillMate is deliberately strict about it.

Dimensions must agree

Every number in a description is part of its identity. If the depths, thicknesses or diameters differ, the rate is not offered at all — you are shown the gap instead of being handed a wrong figure.

Units must agree

An m² rate is never applied to an m³ item, however similar the wording. Unit spellings are normalised first, so your own inconsistent spreadsheet still matches.

Currencies never convert

A rate recorded in one currency is never silently turned into another at a rate you did not choose. It is simply left for you.

Why the library is free

Because it is the thing that makes the rest of the tool worth using, and a rate library you cannot trial is a rate library you cannot evaluate. Import your schedule, price two real jobs, and see whether the matching behaves the way you would price by hand. If it does not, you have lost an afternoon and no money.

What you pay for is issuing: the letterheaded PDF, the audit CSV, unlimited projects and the AI. The pricing engine itself is not held back from you.