This builder puts the whole job on one list. Every item with its quantity, what you already have in stock, a scrap allowance, and the rate each supplier quoted with the date they quoted it, so old rates do not quietly carry into new jobs.

What This Tool Does

It subtracts the stock you already hold, adds a scrap allowance, rounds pieces and sheets up to whole units, prices everything at your supplier rates, and produces a purchase list with a total. Items without a rate are listed but left unpriced rather than guessed at.

Who It Is For

• Fabricators and workshop owners buying for a job.
• Procurement staff consolidating requirements across several jobs.
• Contractors checking that a material request is complete before it goes out.

How To Use It

1. Add a row per material: what it is, how much you need, and the unit it is bought in.
2. Enter the rate the supplier quoted and write who quoted it and when in the source column.
3. Enter anything you already have in stock, so the list shows what to actually buy.
4. Set the scrap allowance and add a transport figure if you have one.
5. Build the list, then print it or export the CSV for the supplier.

Inputs And Units Explained

• Item and quantity — the material and how much the job needs.
• Unit — kilograms, pieces, feet, metres, sheets or square feet. Pieces and sheets are rounded up, because you cannot buy two thirds of a sheet.
• Rate — what your supplier quoted, in rupees for that unit.
• Already in stock — subtracted before the scrap allowance is applied.
• Supplier and date — free text, carried into the export. Dating a rate is the difference between a record and a rumour.
• Scrap allowance and transport — a percentage on what you need to buy, plus a transport figure.

How The Calculation Works

For each row the quantity to buy is the requirement minus the stock in hand, with the scrap percentage added. Items sold in whole units, pieces and sheets, are rounded up. Cost is that quantity times your rate, and the total adds transport.

Rows without a rate are counted and reported separately, so the total is always honest about what it does not include. No market rate is ever substituted.

Worked Example

A job needing ten lengths of 50 by 50 by 2 mm square tube and two 8 by 4 sheets, with a five per cent scrap allowance.

Input or result	Value
Square tube	10 pieces needed, none in stock, rounded up after scrap
Sheet	2 sheets needed
Unpriced items	listed and flagged, not guessed

The printed list goes to the supplier as written. The dated source column means that in three weeks you will know whether the rate on the list is still worth quoting against.

Features And Benefits

• Stock in hand subtracted, so you buy what you need and not what you already own.
• Whole-unit rounding for pieces and sheets.
• Dated supplier rates, which keeps old numbers from drifting into new jobs.
• Drafts saved on your device, and a CSV export for the supplier.

Assumptions And Accuracy Limits

• It is a purchase list, not an inventory system. Stock figures are whatever you type.
• Unpriced rows are excluded from the total and flagged.
• No market rates are included, by design.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Carrying an old rate into a new job. Use the date column and check anything older than a few weeks.
• Forgetting consumables. Electrodes, discs, primer and fixings belong on the list too.
• Setting scrap to zero. Cutting waste is real; five per cent is a reasonable starting point.

A Steel Purchase List You Can Take To The Supplier

Going to the steel market with a vague idea of what you need usually ends in buying too much or coming back for more. A written list with each section, its length, quantity and weight lets you ask several suppliers for a price on the same basis.

Add the items for your project here and the tool totals the weight and the number of stock lengths, so the list you carry is the list the quotation is based on.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Free Tools

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• Pipe/Bar Cutting & Offcut Reuse OptimizerPlan cuts across stock lengths and your existing offcuts so you buy the minimum steel.
• Fabrication Quote Builder & Comparison WorkspacePrepare a clean, itemised fabrication estimate you can print or send on WhatsApp.

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