Better Estimates in half the time.

As a small construction company, you will likely start out using a spreadsheet for Quotes and Estimates on your jobs. Spreadsheets work OK for those small, simple jobs but are difficult to use as detail and complexity increase.

If the jobs you bid on are complex to begin with, a spreadsheet might actually be slowing you down or causing a loss of potential revenue because of error and inaccuracy.

A spreadsheet is a great way of displaying data in columns and rows and even doing some pretty amazing calculations but is it the best tool for the job. Think of it like using the handle of a screw driver to pound in a nail. You can do the job, but it will take you a lot longer. You might even risk injury. When you want to pound nails, you use a hammer. It gets the job done quickly and efficiently compared to the screw driver or you can take it to the next level and use a nail gun.

The point is, a screw driver isn’t an effective hammer and a spreadsheet isn’t an effective estimating tool.

What is a good estimating tool?

A good estimating tool will allow you to

1. create a list of all items you use in your jobs, along with their costs and allows you to add these items quickly to your worksheet
2. group your job into phases
3. group items together as an assembly and add the assembly to the worksheet
4. create stored calculations to simplify the process of determining the amount of material used
5. view multiple views of your estimate
6. create templates for common tasks and job components that can be reused as needed
7. breakdown costs into a work breakdown structure (WBS) to import into your job cost application
8. break out cost by labor, material, equipment, subcontract and other categories
9. create purchase orders, subcontract orders, and budgets etc. from you estimate
10. integrate with your accounting and job costing to reduce duplication of effort when entering information
11. quickly recalculate the entire estimate as prices and quantities change

Sage Estimating

Sage Estimating is a great example of a top notch estimating application which will reduce the time it takes to create an estimate by 50% or more over using a spreadsheet. The application has many industry databases which simplify setup and get you started building better estimates quickly. It is also flexible enough for you to design your own customized system to meet your companies’ specific needs.

Sage Estimating integrates with Sage 100 Contractor and Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate. These systems share information so that you enter it once and use it in all applications.

Your estimate becomes part of the permanent record for your job and can be used in your accounting and job costing to create budgets, work schedules and compare actuals to estimates. The work breakdown structure of your estimate becomes the cost codes for your job. This is then further broken down by categories like labor, equipment and material. You can use this same information to schedule when material will arrive on site and when work for both employees and subs gets done.

Once the job is done you can compare your actuals with the estimate to determine what changes need to be made to improve your estimating for the next job. This way your estimates get better over time and you win more and better work and can insure it is profitable.

Stephan Garland