Messy data steals profit. If your material price file or take-off schedule contains duplicate lines, CountBricks AI will still build an estimate, but the totals can balloon and margin forecasts get distorted. Knowing how to remove any duplicates in Excel is therefore a frontline skill for site managers, estimators and trade contractors who rely on CountBricks.com for instant pricing.
• A repeated line for 2 × 4 framing lumber can double your lumber allowance
• A twice-entered labor task can inflate man-hours and push back the project schedule
• Duplicate supplier SKUs can trigger purchase-order errors once the file is synced with CountBricks AI procurement tools
1. Open the Excel workbook that feeds your CountBricks price list.
2. Select File > Save As and append “_backup” to the file name.
3. Store the backup in your CountBricks cloud folder for quick retrieval.
These steps apply to Microsoft 365 and Excel 2019 onward. Older versions follow the same flow, only menu labels differ slightly.
1. Highlight the full data range. A quick way is CTRL + A inside the data table.
2. On the ribbon, choose Data > Remove Duplicates.
3. In the dialog, tick only the columns that identify a unique line item. For most residential builders using CountBricks, that means:
• Item Code (SKU)
• Description
• Unit of Measure
4. Click OK. Excel reports how many duplicates were found and how many unique values remain.
5. Save the cleaned file and import or sync it with CountBricks.com/services for real-time estimating.
• Sort before you dedupe. Sorting by Item Code clusters identical rows and makes visual review easier.
• Add a helper column. Concatenate Item Code & Description into a single field, then run Remove Duplicates on that helper to catch hidden variations such as extra spaces.
• Use Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells > Duplicate Values to preview duplicates in red before committing to deletion.
• Remember that Excel treats uppercase and lowercase as identical in the Remove Duplicates tool, so SKU123 and sku123 count as one record.
If your supplier sends weekly CSV price feeds, manually cleaning each file is tedious. Instead, use Power Query to automate:
1. Data > Get Data > From File > From Workbook, choose the incoming file.
2. In the Power Query Editor, select the identifying columns, then Home > Remove Rows > Remove Duplicates.
3. Close & Load. Each refresh will import the latest file minus duplicates. Map that refreshed table to CountBricks for hands-off updates.
Once duplicates are gone, CountBricks can:
• Generate voice-driven estimates that pull each item only once, giving accurate subtotals
• Apply current supplier pricing without multiplying quantities erroneously
• Produce blueprint take-offs that align perfectly with your master price file, eliminating double counts
Sunshine Homes migrated to CountBricks after discovering that a duplicated window line in their old spreadsheet overstated project costs by \$4,200. By following the duplicate-removal workflow above, they scrubbed a 3,200-line price book in under ten minutes. The immediate payoff:
• 6 % increase in bid competitiveness
• 90-minute reduction in weekly estimating time
• Zero PO discrepancies in the first quarter after switching to CountBricks
After the Excel file is clean, visit CountBricks.com/portfolio to see how other residential contractors have streamlined their data workflows. Then head to CountBricks.com/services to book a demo of our voice-enabled estimating engine.
1. Clean your master price file using the steps above.
2. Import the file into CountBricks and run a sample estimate.
3. Verify quantities and pricing on the generated quote document.
4. Share the quote with your client and secure the job faster.
Knowing how to remove any duplicates in Excel is a deceptively simple skill that delivers huge returns for residential builders. When you pair pristine spreadsheets with CountBricks AI, you protect your margin, speed up bidding and keep clients happy. Start cleaning today and let CountBricks handle the heavy lifting from take-off to invoice.
Eliminating duplicates in Excel is only the first step. Here’s how CountBricks converts that tidy sheet into revenue for residential builders.
• Walk the site with your phone, dictate “200 sq ft of ½-inch drywall”—CountBricks logs the line once, not twice, because your spreadsheet is clean.
• Our algorithm references your de-duplicated price book and applies live supplier feeds, giving you real-time totals you can trust.
• Click Generate and CountBricks produces a branded PDF showing clear quantities and costs, free of accidental repeats that confuse homeowners.
• Upload plans, mark lengths and areas, and let CountBricks link each take-off measurement to the single, correct item in your spreadsheet.
• When the project hits site, the same data flows into progress claims, ensuring you bill each activity once—never twice.
• Typical residential framing crews using CountBricks report a 4 % boost in gross margin after duplicate removal.
• Estimators cut manual spreadsheet time by 35 %, freeing hours for client meetings and upsells.
Upload your newly cleansed Excel file to CountBricks.com/services, schedule a live demo, and watch a sample project go from scope to signed contract in under 15 minutes. Clean data isn’t just neat—it’s profitable.
