If you have ever tried to estimate a job from a plan then you would know how tedious it can be, never mind the risk of making all kinds of errors. Typically, you’d have the plan laid out in front of you, together with a pencil and a ruler, or any type of measuring tool. This is fast becoming an archaic way of calculating estimates and performing takeoff.
Every commercial construction company understands the value of time and efficiency, especially since it has a direct impact on its bottom lines. The best commercial construction estimating software now, guarantee returns in terms of time savings, better accuracy levels, and ultimately, better margins for every job.
Having the best commercial construction estimating software is now considered an important competitive strategy. However, the cost of acquiring and setting up an estimating software application can be a bit of a turn off for most firms, especially the smaller construction companies. But the benefits far outweigh the initial costs.
For construction companies looking to find the best commercial construction estimating software for their needs, here are a few factors to consider:
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Scalability
Growth is the default goal of most commercial businesses. With growth comes an enormous demand for resources to support the operations. When selecting the best commercial construction estimating software, it is important to consider the scalability of the application. It can be quite aggravating over the long run if you start off with an estimating software that already has limitation from the get-go.
Most open source software come with limited options and can be difficult or even impossible to scale. However, as a construction firm, you’ll have to future-proof your organisation. Considering your growth rate, you will likely not have the same level of operations five years (or even fewer years) from now. Excel may have worked for you at an elementary level, but sooner or later, most construction companies outgrow it as it can no longer handle their scale of operations.
Most applications allow users to purchase extra licenses if they want to give more users access to the system. Others even allow users to purchase additional modules that add more functionalities to the system. However, scalability has more to do with the capability of the system to handle more transactions. Therefore, it would be more prudent to consider the needs of the firm going forward before deciding on the best commercial construction estimating software.
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Integration
Of course, you will not design your entire operations around estimating software. Software is meant to serve you and improve your efficiency levels. Acquiring a new software application for the organisation will undoubtedly affect your operations. Therefore, you’ll want to consider the estimating software that can best integrate with your existing business software.
Therefore, only custom software created specifically for the construction industry can provide proper integration with many popular business software. This will eliminate the need to enter construction data manually into other business applications such as accounting systems, which is often a common source of unintended errors. Only custom software comes with cutting edge out of the box features that can feed estimating date into other common business applications.
Integration with other business applications can improve overall efficiency as far as managing projects is concerned. For instance, the best commercial construction estimating software in the market works with accounting systems to help monitor budgets. They can produce useful reports that can help forestall potential overruns. By handling expenses and transactions, users can gain complete control and know where the company stands at any given moment. And with integrated job scheduling modules, overall project management can become a breeze.
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Support
No construction project can properly get off the ground without the right team in place. The same is true for the entire estimation process. The best commercial construction estimating software are designed by construction professionals. They stand behind the product and are ready to troubleshoot for potential issues, answer any questions and overall, help users optimize the value of their investment.
This is incredibly important because their collective understanding of the estimating process and the construction industry as a whole helps in designing software solutions that reflect special applications and the changes in the industry itself. Other software providers such as Buildsoft even provide support in importing historical data from the Excel environment. This helps construction companies move into the new standardized system in a fast, trouble-free, and seamless manner.
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Ease of Use
Priority should be given to software applications with clean, easy to use interfaces that are easy to learn and teach. The best commercial construction estimating software come with simple graphical user interfaces (G.U.I.) that will get most users up to speed in no time. Remember, the idea is to spend minimum time during the estimating process, and a cumbersome or complicated system can have a counterproductive effect on the company’s operations.
The process first involves importing of the blueprint, followed by easy navigation when performing takeoffs, cost sheets, and calculating estimates. This should be done with minimal assistance, or simply from tutorials. The entire estimating process can be tedious, and the role of estimating software is to improve the overall process.
If the system does not, say, cut down the time it takes to calculate estimates or perform takeoffs, then it may not be the right one for your organisation. Some applications such as Cubit Pro provide one of the most user-friendly 5D available to the construction industry. Estimators can now perform takeoffs in a faster and incomparable pace, which can save hours of productivity for the firm.
The best commercial construction estimating software usually come with out of the box features to suit the needs of almost every construction company. However, some types of estimating software are specifically designed for particular types of construction jobs. The most advanced systems feature trade-specific estimation capabilities that help firms generate the most accurate estimates for their specific trade.
Therefore, if your corporation is focused on a particular trade, e.g., paving, earthworks, or other heavy contracting works, it may be worth considering a trade-specific estimating software rather than acquiring a more general application with numerous features that you are unlikely to utilize.
